H2OME

Home / Uses / Off-grid power for a glamping site

Hot showers in the bush, without the generator hum

Glamping sells silence, stars and a proper bed in the middle of nowhere. A diesel generator undoes all of it. This page looks at an off-grid alternative for small sites.

What a glamping site actually draws

A handful of bell tents or pods might have lights, USB charging and a small heater each. The shared amenity block needs a water pump, hot showers, a fridge and maybe a kettle and induction hob. Wood-fired hot tubs often carry their own heat. That kind of mix sits well inside 15 kW, especially when showers and cooking are not all running at the same moment.

What it would keep running

  • Tent and pod lighting with USB charging
  • Amenity block water pump
  • Shower hot water
  • Shared kitchen fridge and induction hob
  • Small heaters on cold nights

Wind or water in, hydrogen stored

Off-grid sites need to store energy when it is available and use it when guests arrive. A wind turbine on a ridge or a micro-hydro on a stream can feed the electrolyser, which turns surplus into hydrogen stored at low pressure. Unlike a battery bank alone, that hydrogen keeps for weeks without losing charge, so a windy midweek can pay for a calm, full weekend.

The fuel cell's by-product is water, which goes back into the loop. It needs about 9 litres of filtered, de-ionised water per kilogram of hydrogen, and returns most of it. On a site that already collects rainwater or draws from a stream, that is a small demand on the supply guests use for showers.

How it works →
The H2OME loop: an electrolyser splits water into hydrogen, the hydrogen is stored in a tank for weeks, a fuel cell turns it into electricity for your home, and the water returns to the loop.

Honest about the trade-offs

Round trip efficiency is 30% or less, so more energy goes in than comes out. On an off-grid site, that matters because the wind or water has to cover it. The pilot would size the turbine or hydro along with the storage. The upside is a site where guests hear the bush, not an engine, and the operator never carries diesel along a farm track.

Questions

Can it run without any grid connection?

Yes, that is one of the configurations it is designed for, charging from a wind turbine or micro-hydro. The site's wind or water resource has to be enough to cover the round trip losses, which is something to assess before installing.

How noisy is it near the tents?

There is no engine. Fans and pumps make a low hum, and the unit can be placed out of earshot of the tents. A wind turbine makes its own sound, which is worth considering when choosing where to put it.

Can guests use electric heaters freely?

Within reason. A few small heaters are fine. Many large heaters plus hot water plus cooking at once could exceed 15 kW or drain storage faster, so sites usually set sensible limits per tent.

More in community places and remote sites

Elsewhere

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