Living off-the-grid in Portugal

Over the past few years, solar panels have gone from a luxury innovation to a relatively affordable product that comes in all shapes and sizes, from massive solar arrays to foldable panels connected to a phone charger. Not only does it help the environment, but it also saves a lot of money along the way.

Susan Piggott is a skilled interior decorator, and her story is a representative example of the benefits of making the switch to off-the-grid living, drastically improving someone’s situation. “I live where I live due to circumstances that weren’t really in my control at the time, so I’ve tried to create an environment that I can move forward with”, she told Central Magazine.

Susan lives in Herdade de Montalvo, along the shore of the Sado estuary near Alcácer do Sal, in a property owned by her late husband. “I arrived in Portugal eight years ago with my husband, and within six months, he passed away”, she recounted.

“I’ve been left in a terrible financial situation, not one that was planned. Unfortunately, the Portuguese succession law has not been easy for me”, Susan explained her predicament. “I’m still fighting to move forward with the estate area here, and until then, I can’t go anywhere.” Under Portuguese inheritance law, the spouse or other surviving family members are entitled to about half of the deceased’s estate even if no will is formalised; however, legal proceedings can be notoriously slow.

The unforeseen passing of Susan’s husband left her living alone on a sizable property, leading to some glaring inefficiencies. “My typical electric bill would be over €200 per month, and yet I lived alone”, she shared. “I never put a light on.”

“I’ve had to survive”, she continued. “I’ve had to overcome the problems that I’ve encountered and am still encountering, something that was never planned for when my husband and I arrived in Portugal because we didn’t have time to plan for that sort of thing, nor did we expect to.”

Having been placed into a predicament that many will go their entire lives without experiencing, Susan turned to friends in the area for assistance. “Nobody could believe why I was getting such high bills”, she remarked. Thankfully, she knew a man named Nuno Santos, who owns a solar panel installation business. “He came to my house and went off-grid for me. He did it out of an act of absolute kindness, because he recognised that I was in a very vulnerable position. Obviously, he will be paid for his services as and when I can pay him.”

“He pointed out the issues I was facing, and he told me the only way was to upgrade the entire system and depend on solar and battery, so his team came and did that for me”, she added. Now, with all the technology in place, her electricity bills have been slashed from €200 to just €50 a month. “I haven’t noticed any change at all, other than my bills. Everything works as efficiently as it did.”

Sustainability

Solar energy has consistently proven to be a good investment on both the global and personal scale, especially here in Portugal, where the sky is spotless for most of the year. The major challenge for its more widespread adoption is the large upfront cost to install it, but this burden has been heavily eased by government support, who offer to cover 85 percent of the costs, up to a maximum of €7,500 per household, with money from the Environmental Fund.

Susan’s off-the-grid lifestyle currently only covers electricity in the scope of how much her solar panels can produce, but further steps can be taken. Being completely energy independent is possible with enough solar panels and batteries, but it’s important to note that energy is the easy half of going off-grid. The challenge comes in unlinking from the water system, since although there are farms in the country with their own cisterns, these tend to be unreliable due to Portugal’s arid climate.

She originally came to Portugal with her husband for two reasons: “the sun, and the neurological clinic in Torres Vedras”. Despite the tragedy that came early on in her stay, she still appreciates the nation. “Portugal is a beautiful place to live, and it offers a lifestyle that is not really comparable to other European countries”, she concluded.