OffGridSkills
Track 05 of 09

Heating & Cooking

Stay warm and fed without the grid

Heat and cooking are where off-grid living gets cosy — and where it gets dangerous. A well-chosen wood stove can heat, cook and dry clothes; a poorly installed one can burn your house down or poison you with carbon monoxide. Learn to match a heat source to your space, burn efficiently, and cook well over fire.

A cast-iron wood stove with a kettle, fire burning inside

What you need to know

The concepts that underpin everything else in this skill.

  • Heating load vs insulation: fix the envelope before buying a bigger stove.
  • Wood stove basics: draft, combustion efficiency, seasoned firewood.
  • Carbon monoxide: the silent killer — ventilation and detectors are non-negotiable.
  • Cooking options: wood stoves, rocket stoves, gas, induction (off-grid), outdoor kitchens.
  • Passive heating: orientation, thermal mass, and heat retention.
  • Fire safety: clearances, hearths, flue maintenance, chimney fires.

What you need to learn

A staged progression — master each level before moving on.

Beginner

  • 01 Build and light a fire safely (indoors and out).
  • 02 Identify and season firewood correctly.
  • 03 Cook a full meal over a campfire or rocket stove.
  • 04 Understand stove clearances and hearth requirements.

Intermediate

  • 01 Install a wood stove with correct clearances, flue and flashing.
  • 02 Size a stove to your space (too big is as bad as too small).
  • 03 Use thermal mass (masonry heaters, rocket mass heaters).
  • 04 Run an off-grid propane or gas cooking setup safely.

Advanced

  • 01 Build a rocket mass heater or masonry heater.
  • 02 Integrate multiple heat sources (wood + solar thermal + backup).
  • 03 Sweep and maintain flues, and manage chimney-fire risk.
  • 04 Design an outdoor summer kitchen to keep heat out of the house.

Your next steps

A practical, ordered path from where you are now.

  1. 1 Install CO detectors and check insulation before adding heat.
  2. 2 Choose a heat source matched to your space and fuel supply.
  3. 3 Learn fire lighting and firewood processing now — it's the cheapest skill here.
  4. 4 Have any stove/flue installation inspected before first fire.
  5. 5 Practice cooking one full meal per week without grid power.