Having a plan to get away from society and into your own private location may bring about ideas of creating your own off-grid homestead. You likely know that there will be sacrifices that have to be made when you go off-grid, but one thing that can be hard to sacrifice is air conditioning. Having AC in your home can sure make long, steamy days and sweltering summer nights more bearable, but can you have air conditioning in an off-grid home? Here are a few things you should know as you make your transition into an off-grid kind of life. 

You can operate an AC with solar power in an off-grid home. 

It is not completely unheard of for an air conditioner to operate with a solar-power system. If you invest in enough solar panels, you could harness enough power to be able to use your air conditioner during the hottest parts of the day. It is best to work with a home air conditioning installation professional to make sure you have enough solar energy to power the system you buy for your home. 

You may have to rely on a hybrid energy source for around-the-clock cooling.

Around-the-clock cooling with AC in an off-grid location is going to be a bit harder to manage. If you are planning to make a home for yourself in a geographic location where it stays hot all through the day and night, you may have to have a combination of power sources to keep the AC running. For example, you can utilize solar panels during the day to supply energy to the system, but you may also need a gas-powered generator to keep the AC running through the night. 

You may have to settle with a smaller AC system than usual. 

Even though you may be wanting a central air conditioning system in your off-grid home, it may not always be feasible without access to electricity. The average central air conditioning system is going to use as much as 3,000 to 5,000 watts of electricity to operate for just nine hours a day. Even if you do have some kind of combination power source, it can be difficult to create this much power and have anything left for other necessities. Something like a window AC or a ductless mini-split can offer cooling for substantially less power. However, these systems may not cool your entire off-grid home. 

To learn more, contact, a company that offers air conditioning services.