What we build
Building an off grid home in Kenya
Off grid means the house makes its own power, finds its own water and deals with its own waste. Around Laikipia people mostly do it for practical reasons, because the nearest transformer is three kilometres away and nobody is coming to move it.
Power
Size the system to what you will actually run, not to a number that sounds impressive. Lighting, sockets, a fridge, a pump and a television are modest loads and a system of around three kilowatts with battery storage handles them comfortably.
What breaks the budget is heat. Electric water heating, electric cooking and electric space heating are enormous loads. Use solar water heating, gas or wood for those and your electrical system can stay a third of the size.
- About 3kW with storage covers a normal family house
- Solar water heating instead of an electric cylinder
- Gas or wood for cooking and heating
- A generator as backup, sized small, used rarely
Water
A large roof is a water asset. On this side of Mount Kenya a 200 square metre roof collects a serious volume across the two rainy seasons, and the only thing standing between you and using it is gutters and enough storage.
Boreholes are the permanent answer where the geology is right, but get the hydrogeological survey and the Water Resources Authority permit first. A dry hole is a very expensive lesson.
Waste
A septic tank and soakpit is the standard solution and works well where the ground drains. Where it does not, a biodigester takes less room and handles poor soil better. Either way it is designed at the start, because it sets the levels for the whole house.
Questions we get asked
- How much does an off grid house cost in Kenya?
- The house itself costs the same as any other. The services are the difference, and a full package of solar with storage, rainwater harvesting, storage tanks and a biodigester usually adds KES 1.5M to KES 4M. A borehole on top of that adds KES 900,000 to KES 3M depending on depth.
- Is off grid cheaper than connecting to Kenya Power?
- It can be, and the deciding factor is distance. If poles have to be run to your plot, a connection can run into the hundreds of thousands and you still pay a bill every month. If a transformer is at your gate, connecting is cheaper up front and solar becomes a backup rather than a replacement.
Also worth reading
Tiny homes and cabins
A tiny home is a small, well designed house, usually under 50 square metres. Done properly it feels deliberate rather than cramped. Done badly it is a shed with a bed in it, and the whole difference is in the detailing.
Container homes
Shipping container conversions have become a common sight, especially on holiday and Airbnb plots. They go up fast and they suit remote sites where a conventional build would be a logistics problem. They also have failure modes that nobody mentions in the sales photos.
Prefab and panel houses
Prefabricated panel systems, expanded polystyrene panels and light gauge steel frames all promise a faster house. Some of them deliver, particularly on remote sites and on very repetitive projects such as staff housing.
Planning an off grid home?
Tell us the plot and roughly what you have in mind. We will come and look, then give you an itemised figure and a programme.