Plan the systems. Organize the build. Get ready to move in.
Work through water, wastewater and power as one project: define the design brief, compare complete quotes, coordinate installation and collect the records you need to operate the home.
Ready to build or install systems? Start with the design-to-handover sequence, then use the water, wastewater and solar guides to prepare your brief. Your state guide helps identify the offices responsible for approvals.
Still choosing a property? Use the land-buying guide or existing-home inspection guide first.
Build & installation
Building an off-grid home: from system design to handover
Coordinate site plans, contractor scopes, approvals, equipment orders and commissioning, with a project tracker and system-handover worksheet.
Read the guideWater
Choosing a water supply for an off-grid home
Compare wells, rainwater, hauled water and shared supplies, with a worked water budget, storage example and the information a designer needs before installation.
Read the guideWastewater
Septic systems, composting toilets and the rest of the wastewater
Understand septic site evaluation, alternative systems, composting toilets, graywater and the records needed for a new or existing off-grid home.
Read the guidePower
Planning off-grid solar around the way you live
Build an electricity load list, distinguish kW from kWh, understand battery capacity and compare complete standalone solar proposals.
Read the guideCosts & planning
What belongs in an off-grid property budget
Build a complete off-grid budget covering investigations, access, water, wastewater, power, construction, ongoing costs and equipment replacements.
Read the guideHomes & occupancy
Tiny homes, manufactured homes and RVs: choose the right approval path
Distinguish dwelling construction from placement and occupancy, identify the documents to request, and investigate temporary RV living before buying.
Read the guideLand & purchase
How to evaluate off-grid land before you buy
A practical sequence for checking a rural listing, requesting records, commissioning investigations and deciding what must be resolved before closing.
Read the guideInspections & ownership
Inspecting an existing off-grid home
A buyer’s guide to the approval records, well and septic investigations, power-system evidence and handover documents for an existing rural home.
Read the guideWorksheets to take with you
Use the examples in each guide first, then fill these files with your own measurements, records and dated quotes. The spreadsheet files are blank CSV templates, not calculators or price estimates.
Understand the approval questions
For land use, access, construction, site constraints and continuing obligations, the ten research topics explain what evidence to obtain. The utility connection guide works through the separate questions for power, water and sewer.