Living off-grid: The homes that run without mains electricity

But is there an easier way to be self-sufficient?

Michael Wilkinson lives with his wife and children in a house overlooking the Suir Valley in County Kilkenny.

When they moved in six years ago, they faced rapidly rising energy bills and frequent power cuts which Michael said were “very frustrating”.

In response, the 41-year-old mechanic spent the past two years building his own energy system to wean his home off its reliance on Ireland’s national grid.

“We just kept adding and adding to it until we had enough that we could go without the mains completely,” Michael explained.

His design includes 36 solar panels spread across his roof and around his garden.

“We incorporated a wind turbine into the system and, again, I built the mast and everything for that myself,” he said.

“The whole thing operates basically with solar as the priority, wind as a backup then, when there’s no sun and no wind, there’s the petrol generator”.