MAYER, Ariz.—Bigger isn’t always better for those seeking a life of sustainable self-reliance.
Pulling the plug on the system can sometimes be a good thing—healthy and even therapeutic.
That’s the idea behind the “off-grid” community—a market predicted to surpass $68 billion by 2028—where self-reliance comes not from owning more but from owning less. The key is downsizing and getting rid of unnecessary “stuff.”
In other words, an excessive life is not necessarily the best way of living.
“The term off-grid is often used to describe communities not connected to conventional power sources, such as utility companies,” notes Jackery, a supplier of portable solar power generators.
Far From the Madding Crowd
The Bradshaw Mountain Range in Arizona’s upper Sonoran desert has it all for those who desire privacy living off-grid.It’s quiet, remote, thick with prickly pear cactus, mesquite, and palo verde, with jutting mountains that seem to scrape against a hot blue sky stingy with rainfall.
Even better, it’s miles from any city, highway, or urban center.
On this rugged landscape requiring an all-wheel drive vehicle to get there, developer Timothy Hyland hopes to build an off-grid community of 40 houses on 314 acres.
When built, each 1,500-square-foot home will be self-contained and won’t rely on traditional utilities—not from any municipal power grid or water supply.
Instead, each home will run using solar panels, wind turbines, electrical storage batteries, and a backup propane generator in case one power source goes out.
Fourteen deep wells will provide homes with fresh water year-round. Each home will have space for parking.
“My vision has always been to use solar, wind, maybe geothermal. There’s plenty of wind up here,” said Mr. Hyland, co-owner of Silver Mountain Ranches, an off-grid residential project in Mayer, Arizona.
“I could see a house that has 100-percent solar, maybe has a backup propane generator, and could potentially have a wind turbine for residential use.”
In the United States, off-grid communities are becoming more mainstream as they appeal to the desire for simplicity and genuine connection with real people rather than a power grid.
These communities include Breitenbush and Emerald Earth in Oregon, Earthen Ecovillage in North Carolina, Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in Missouri, and Twin Oaks Community in Virginia.
Vulnerable Power Grid
“Let’s say the power goes down in Phoenix, and you’ve got your off-grid living community here. You move your family up here and stay here until things calm down,” Mr. Hyland said.“There’s a lot of uncertainty out there about the ability of the electric grid—not just from hackers attacking but electrical demand.”
Although off-grid living still conjures images of an isolated cabin in the woods, the sustainable housing market has embraced the concept.
“Sustainable” home configurations now include tiny houses, “walkable” neighborhoods, tool-shed home conversion kits, tree homes, and off-grid communities.
Some developers have even created sustainable housing plans using old nuclear missile silos or military bases, hoping to appeal to a more survival-minded market demographic.
Off-grid housing is a growing business as it slowly enters the mainstream. SkyQuest Technology Consulting projects the off-grid housing market to surpass $68 billion by 2028 at a yearly growth rate of 4.3 percent.
The “growing inclination toward sustainable living” drives the trend, fueled by cheap, renewable energy.
Globe Newswire reports the rising off-grid housing market in North America and Europe is due to “growing interest in eco-friendly and minimalistic housing options requiring less energy.”
“It has led to increased demand for off-grid living and is expected to positively impact the market in the coming years. Moreover, the financial sector has also shown interest in the market, with banks and insurance companies now offering specialized insurance packages for off-grid homes, which could help to boost the market’s growth further.”
Go Small, or Go Home
For example, tiny home builder American Tiny House notes that people will downsize into a tiny house to save money and live a simpler life.“They are desiring a more simplified and affordable way of life. The old saying, ‘less is more,’ clearly rings true with the idea of a tiny house,” according to the company’s website.
“Living in a tiny house can provide freedom to achieve a better quality of life.”
“When people think of off-grid community, they think of a cabin in the woods,” said George Soucek, a solar power expert with Sunbear Industries, working with Mr. Hyland on the Silver Ranches housing project.
“This community is going to be state of the art,” Mr. Soucek said. “It’s more cost-effective than traditional energy sources.
He said having a redundant power supply offers buyers security and lower energy costs. It is especially true because of the increasing demand on Arizona’s power grid.
“So there is no chance of running out of power. A prime example of what energy independence makes possible is you don’t have to worry about your power going out or taking the food out of the refrigerator. The battery system will have continuous power.”
Always Options
As many consumers are finding out, downsizing into a tiny home is another affordable option, according to the building products marketing firm Kleber and Associates.The company said small home spaces are cheaper to build, buy or rent. They also have lower maintenance costs and utility bills.
“In San Jose, the average [home] price is a whopping $750,000. This figure means that for many potential home buyers, these particular locations are off the board when it comes to finding a new home.
“Smaller-sized accommodations act as a workaround for this problem,” the company’s website states.
The average tiny home runs about 225 square feet compared with 2,260 square feet for an American single-family home.
A tiny house can cost as little as $8,000 to more than $60,000, making it a reasonable option for home buyers struggling in the current real estate market.
And having options motivates home buyers, says Anders Engnell, construction manager of Culdesac Tempe, in Arizona.
The company bills the project as the first-of-its-kind “walkable” neighborhood in the United States where cars are not only obsolete. They’re off-limits.
“What that means is we’re non-car dependent. Our apartments don’t have parking assigned for them,” Mr. Engnell said.
“And the residents who live here don’t bring cars to the site and park the cars here. They’re choosing a different way of living.”
The development will feature 700 rental apartments and 44,000 square feet of retail and amenities built on 17 acres.
“Where’s the big parking garage? It’s not here,” Mr. Engnell said. “Parking garages are one of the first things you would design for a project like this.”
“We were able to build around people first—a community for human beings that works.”
Co-founders Ryan Johnston and Jeff Berens started the company in 2018. Their vision was to build a walkable community with all the comforts and amenities of modern urban living.
Everybody Walks
“It’s a big project,” spanning multiple construction phases, Mr. Engnell said.In addition to a general store and other retail within walking distance, the project will have more than 1,000 bicycle parking spots and 100 electric Bird scooters for getting around.
“Parking requirements in the United States are very high,” Mr. Engnell said. “For an apartment community like this, you must build big garages. We’ve done a lot of research that shows in places like Tempe. Many parking lots can sit unused, with lots of empty spaces.”
“What we’re hoping without that vehicle traffic, without that asphalt, is it'll be cleaner and cooler [with] more trees; more white buildings to reflect heat. We’re already feeling that even on hot days.”
Although cars are prohibited on-site, tenants can still own them but won’t find parking within a tenth mile of Culdesac Tempe to prevent overflow.
It’s all about having options, Mr. Engnell adds, and choosing to live without needing a car.
“I do not own a car. I know many people in the younger generation who aren’t getting a driver’s license. Can I be free to live without attachment to that vehicle? I find driving stressful,” he said.
“The goal of this neighborhood is to make it more free and helpful in many ways from all the benefits you get. It’s very empowering.”
Mr. Engnell said the waiting list for a rental unit is long—10,000 at last count—with leases granted on a first-come basis.
He said one of the most significant benefits of a walkable community is not paying an auto loan, car insurance, or even maintenance and other associated costs.
Vehicle Required
At Silver Mountain Ranches, a car or truck remains an indispensable tool for gaining access to and from the location.But the biggest gain will be energy savings, Mr. Soucek said.
He said most homes consume around 1,000 kilowatt hours monthly. However, the new construction homes at Silver Mountain will be capable of producing 18,000 to 22,000 kilowatt hours using only solar.
“From a macro perspective, I think the [housing market] needs to change” to a more sustainable model, Mr. Hyland said. “The electrical grid demand is going to be so huge. I think crime is driving a lot of this initiative too.”
With off-grid living, he said people feel they can breathe more easily surrounded by mountains and nature.
“But it will be an environment where people will look out for each other.”
