We are on our way to finally purchasing a small rustic land in Portugal, our plan is to drive there next month and formalize a purchasing contract with the owners which we will finally sign early next year.
One of my goals when getting the property is to try to live off-grid as much as possible when spending periods of time there, that means finding a reasonable way to get water, electricity, heat, and sewerage.
1. Water. Out of all, water is the most critical one, which is why we only considered properties that had a well or spring on them when searching. My idea is a basic setup with an elevated IBC deposit, protected from direct light. I plan to flow water from the well to the deposit when needed and use that for hygienic purposes. Drinking water is a different story, we plan to initially purchase that, and later on, consider installing a depuration system. Irrigation water will also come from the well using a pump.
If the well runs out of water in the summer, there is the option of contracting a borehole. There is plenty of underground water in the area.
2. Electricity. Our idea is to purchase an energy storage system with 1800 watts capacity and charge it from a simple solar panel installation. As a backup, we will use an old gas-powered generator I own with 3200 watt capacity. This setup should be enough for our daily needs as well as construction/restoration needs when using electric tools. I've already purchased a mid-capacity energy storage system from Bluetti and a portable solar panel as a small temporary solution which I can also use for short outdoor trips elsewhere.
For cooking, we initially plan to use our camping cooker which runs with gas bottles. We may purchase a gas cooker later on.
3. Heat. Our idea is to install a wood stove inside the cabin. The weather in central Portugal is not too cold so this solution should be enough to warm the whole place in winter, but my idea is to also externally isolate the cabin to keep it cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
For water heating, we will use a small gas heater.
4. Sewerage. Finally, we plan to use a dry WC as the first solution. Never used one of those before, but have been reading a lot and they seem to be a reasonable solution. We initially plan to build an outhouse as a toilet and as we extend the cabin probably will build an indoor small bathroom. We also plan to install a septic tank to properly deal with sewerage.
All in all, it will be for sure a nice adventure and I plan to post about it as we move forward.