By Maggie Romuld

It used to be considered "counter-culture," an eco-alternative lifestyle choice for hippies and radicals, but going "off-grid" is becoming an increasingly popular choice for a broad range of people. While the majority of early adopters did it to get "back to the land," the reasons people now give for leaving the traditional comforts of "on-grid" living are as varied as the people who choose to abandon the system. Environmental concerns; climate change; terrorist threats; fragile food supplies; or uncertain energy reserves - regardless of the reason - it is clear that more and more people are trying to wean themselves off fossil fuels, reduce their carbon footprint, and lead a self-sustaining lifestyle.

Most houses are connected to power, natural gas, water and telephone lines, but the "grid," the power plants, the intricately linked physical web of power lines, and the distribution systems that deliver electricity throughout the country, is undergoing some fundamental changes. Throughout the world, from Germany, Denmark and France, to Africa and North America, communities are making the transition from large, centralised sources of power to smaller "distributed" energy sources. And technology has kept pace with demand. Small wind farms, or individual wind turbines, or solar panels can provide local, reliable sources of energy, while combining small appliances, improved home insulation, wireless internet and cell phones can reduce household energy requirements. You can now choose, therefore, to either partially, or completely, cut ties to the traditional grid, and still maintain a comfortable existence.

The latest technological advancement of interest to people living off-grid, or wanting to, is the Bloom Box - a much-hyped, off-grid source of cheap electricity. Details of the Bloom Box were revealed at a press conference on February 24th in California. The "Bloom Energy Server," according to the company that developed it, is "a new class of distributed power generator, producing clean, reliable, affordable electricity at the customer site." The firm's executives call the Bloom Box a "game-changer" and think that people will install the box in their home and "use it to generate electricity from such fuels as methane and ethanol or even solar, rather than buying it from expensive, wasteful centralised producers."

The invention is merely an oxide fuel cell (which has been recognised for years as a promising device for supplying power), but Bloom Energy says that their fuel cell technology is different from traditional "hydrogen" fuel cells in a number of ways. The cells use low-cost materials, including a common sand-like powder instead of precious metals like platinum, or corrosive materials like acids; provide "unmatched" efficiency in converting fuel to electricity (converting fuel into electricity at nearly twice the rate of some legacy technologies); are capable of using either renewable or fossil fuels; and are capable of both energy generation and storage. Best of all, the system is easily maintained. [60 Minutes video]

The Bloom Box takes in oxygen from the air and emits CO2 just like an ordinary hydrocarbon-fuelled generator and each Bloom Energy Server provides 100kW of power, enough to meet the baseload needs of 100 average homes or a small office building, day and night, in roughly the footprint of a standard parking space. [Bloom Box]

It remains to be seen if the Bloom Box is the answer to all our power problems. If it proves itself, it will certainly be a welcome addition to the off-grid lifestyle. But conservation, energy-efficient appliances, increased insulation and other well-established practices will always play a large role in true, clean-energy homes whether on, or off, the grid. If you would like to learn more about off-grid living, visit Popular Mechanics, Off-Grid.net or Howstuffworks for more information..