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14kW is a lot. On our boat we can live off-grid with 860W of solar and a hydrogenerator for when we're under way. Last time we were connected to shore power was in December when we were in the Canaries...

Here's a short summary of our energy setup (and other notes on the Atlantic crossing) https://lille-oe.de/2025-01-24/

Admittedly in the time since Canaries we've also burned some 10-15l of diesel for propulsion purposes. And we cook with an alcohol stove, not electric. But we do desalinate all our water with the solar we have.




Approximately 3-4 kW per capita is required to approximate medium European lifestyle. A bit could be optimized, but not all that much.

Anything less and you're making important tradeoffs. Either on heating/cooling, transportation, or hardware capabilities. Usually making tradeoffs hurts the most disadvantaged and poor.

Remember to also count stuff. Embodied energy is a thing so often forgotten. Trash and other waste disposal is not free either. Growing food requires energy input too.


Is there much movement towards electric instead of petrol/diesel propulsion on the water when there is no wind?




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