How-To Articles

Powering Your Off-Grid Glamping Site or Airbnb Cabin with GridFree Solar in Rural New Zealand

Powering Your Off-Grid Glamping Site or Airbnb Cabin with GridFree Solar in Rural New Zealand

With the growing popularity of green and sustainable living, many people with patch of land are looking to set up a glampsite or cabin powered by an off-grid solar kit, like those provided...

Aug 27, 2024Rachel Simpson
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Beginner's Guide to Off Grid Electricity in New Zealand

Beginner's Guide to Off Grid Electricity in New Zealand

Living off-grid in New Zealand means generating your own electricity and becoming self-sufficient. This guide will cover the basics of setting up an off-grid electricity system, including the different types...

Jun 30, 2024Rachel Simpson
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Foraging as a Way of Life + Pickled Onionweed Recipe

Foraging as a Way of Life + Pickled Onionweed Recipe

In my early 20s, while living in the Swiss/Italian Alps I fell headfirst into the wonderful wild world of foraging and folk herbalism. I was instantly drawn to the beautiful,...

May 21, 2024Rachel Simpson
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Living Off the Grid: 9 Surprises and Misconceptions

Living Off the Grid: 9 Surprises and Misconceptions

Thinking about going off the grid in New Zealand? We had a chat with some off-gridders to hear all about what surprised them most when they moved off grid, and...

Dec 22, 2023Rachel Simpson
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What is a kilowatt hour?

What is a kilowatt hour?

If you’ve started looking into solar, kilowatt hours (kWh) is a term you’ve probably seen – but what does it mean and how do you use this term to find...

Nov 5, 2023Rachel Simpson
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Effects of Shadow on Solar Panels

Effects of Shadow on Solar Panels

Occasionally customers will call us wondering why they can’t seem to fully charge their batteries despite having plenty of sunshine - more often than not, there’s a shadow being cast...

Oct 22, 2023Rachel Simpson
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Tips for Conserving Water Off-Grid Over Summer

Tips for Conserving Water Off-Grid Over Summer

With a much drier season expected this summer, it’s important to be prepared for the lack of rainfall we’ll have over the next several months, so here are some quick...

Oct 13, 2023Rachel Simpson
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Best Appliances for Off Grid Living

Best Appliances for Off Grid Living

Going off the grid and trying to work out what the best appliances will be? By choosing the most efficient appliances you can cut down on your electricity use quite...

Sep 29, 2023Rachel Simpson
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Tips for Going Off Grid in a Tiny House

Tips for Going Off Grid in a Tiny House

If you’ve chosen to go tiny in your off-grid journey, we’ve got a couple tips and suggestions to help with the planning! 

Sep 14, 2023Rachel Simpson
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What is Solar Pumping?

What is Solar Pumping?

Solar water pumps are usually to replace on-demand pumps such as petrol or mains pumps - saving on bills and time.

Aug 8, 2023Billy Robb
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How to Look After Off Grid Solar Batteries

How to Look After Off Grid Solar Batteries

Batteries are a key component in all our off grid solar kits. They are also your biggest investment, so it is very important to look after them to maximise their...

Jul 31, 2023Rachel Simpson
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5 Things to Consider before Living Off Grid in NZ

5 Things to Consider before Living Off Grid in NZ

Dreaming about escaping the rat race and living off the land? Here are five things to consider before making your big move towards living off grid in NZ. 

Jul 24, 2023Rachel Simpson
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10 Things to do to Prepare to Live Off the Grid

10 Things to do to Prepare to Live Off the Grid

In this article, we will cover 10 important things to think about so you know how to prepare to live off the grid.

Jun 14, 2023Rachel Simpson
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How to Read Gel Battery Voltage

How to Read Gel Battery Voltage

A common mistake new solar users will make with our kits is reading your Gel battery charge using the bars or percentage on screen, and misinterpreting charging voltage vs resting.

May 22, 2023Rachel Simpson
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How to get the most out of your solar kit

How to get the most out of your solar kit

An off grid solar kit is a significant investment, and with some careful planning and attention, you can maximise its output and longevity.

May 22, 2023Rachel Simpson
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10 Things to be aware of when buying bare land for off grid living

10 Things to be aware of when buying bare land for off grid living

If you’re just starting the process of buying bare land in NZ, and you’ve not done it before, there’s a lot to think about! It’s important to do your due diligence when buying land, so to make things easier, we've listed ten things that...

May 16, 2023Rachel Simpson
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Top Tips from Off-Gridders

Top Tips from Off-Gridders

Our Facebook group, GridFree NZ, is full of off-gridders with plenty of knowledge about all the different areas of off-gridding, so we pulled together some of their advice to help you...

May 10, 2023Rachel Simpson
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How to Prepare for Living Off-Grid in Winter

How to Prepare for Living Off-Grid in Winter

Getting ready for your first winter off-grid? It can be a bit daunting heading into it, so in this article we list some recommended tasks to complete before winter really sets in. 

May 2, 2023Rachel Simpson
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How to configure the Growatt WIFI-F monitoring device on your phone

How to configure the Growatt WIFI-F monitoring device on your phone

Step by step guide to configuring your Growatt WIFI-F module.

Apr 26, 2023Rachel Simpson
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Off Grid Toilet Options

Off Grid Toilet Options

Going off grid and trying to plan your toilet system? Here are some common plumbed and no-plumbing toilet options and considerations for each, so you can work out the best off grid...

Apr 17, 2023Rachel Simpson
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How to Cook Off-Grid

How to Cook Off-Grid

One of the main things we tell people when they’re looking to power a full time off-grid lifestyle is that our solar kits aren’t designed to handle cooking – so...

Feb 10, 2023Rachel Simpson
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What are the best methods to heat water off-grid?

What are the best methods to heat water off-grid?

Electric hot water cylinders use a LOT of power, so it's best to heat water off grid with an instant gas hot water camping shower, a woodburner and wetback, or...

Dec 16, 2022Rachel Simpson
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What's the difference between a Standard and a Hybrid solar kit?

What's the difference between a Standard and a Hybrid solar kit?

Looking at our solar kits but not sure whether to go with a Standard or Hybrid kit? Here's a rundown of the key differences in function, contents, and recommended uses.

Oct 18, 2022Rachel Simpson
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How to run a washing machine/dishwasher on solar

How to run a washing machine/dishwasher on solar

You may have seen our larger kits listing a washing machine or dishwasher in the What Can This Kit Run? section - much like with running anything on solar, there's...

May 30, 2022Rachel Simpson
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More Off-Grid Resources

Join our GridFree NZ community on Facebook to connect with others looking to venture or live off-grid, just like you.
Check out GridFree customer installation stories to see how other people went solar. Subscribe to our Youtube channel for more how-to videos and installs behind-the-scenes. Have a question you didn’t see addressed above? Contact us.