Living Off Grid. - A Crazy Idea?
When we first moved to our home in the woods, and decided to live with a measure or self sufficiency, my husband would occasionally bring up living off grid. Though we most certainly are on grid now, he would express a desire to go off grid when we build our house. I dismissed it as a crazy idea, but is it?
Living off grid does not mean living like the Amish without electric. It means generating your own electric, usually using wind or solar power. Depending on the situation it can mean doing with a lot less electrical power. For a glimpse of someone lives off grid, check out Wretha's Adventures Living 100% Off Grid.
There have been a couple of events that have made me rethink the idea of living off grid. The ice and wind storms left us with out power several times this winter. It is then that you realize how truly dependent you are on electric, and on the electic company to restore your life to normal. I don't like that feeling.
If you are generating your own electric, there certainly will be times when the electric goes out for what ever reason. The difference in living off grid is in the control. You are the one fixing it. If living off grid means less dependency on electric, it also means that doing without electric would be less of a disruption.
What really has me thinking is a rate increase being requested by our electric company. The increase has not been approved yet, but they are seeking an increase of 44% implemented over three years. This rate increase is solely to cover their increased cost due to fuel prices and environmental regulations. 44%! Maybe off grid living isn't such a crazy idea.
We may not be ready to go off grid just yet, but it sure is looking more appealing all the time. If that rate increase goes into effect, we will have to look hard at our electrical consumption, and options to decrease it.
Image credit: Mariusza Petelicki
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8 comments:
I've always thought living "off the grid" is an intriguing idea. I do it in my own small way by using a solar cooker. It's fun, and it works great. I've written a few posts about this on my own blog, ideasforfrugalliving.com. Have a great (Frugal) day!
While on our vacation a couple weeks ago, my husband & I talked about off-grid living, because we were in Hawaii, where you could almost live outdoors with no problem. For me, I'd have to live somewhere sunny and warm- and then it wouldn't be that hard, since solar power would be abundant & heating & cooling unnecessary. I'd love to try it, and to be free of electric bills! That's the only utility bill we have right now, and I'm glad of it.
Living off grid, IMHO, is the way to go. A few years back, here in MI, the "grid" went down for about 3 days and it was humbling to see how people reacted and how limited we all became. We had a generator, but it still wasn't enough...
Tessie,
I've been curious about those. I'll have to check it out.
Joanna,
For us heat would not be a problem if we had a a decent wood burner. We've talked a bit about getting an outdoor wood furnace that would heat both our house and my parents. If we ever build, we want to go earth bermed. Then we will require very little heat and no a/c
Gail,
We had power out for two three day stretches here, and a few other smaller stretches. The whole grid was not down though. It was an eye opening experience! ;)
If you've not already done so, you may want to check out the Country Living/Off the Grid discussion forum at MotheringDotCommunity.
Hubby and I have been learning and gearing up for this very thing. We had some land that we were going to build on, but..get this..a gigantic power-line system has now been scheduled to go right through our property.
So the very thing we were trying to get away from, is the very thing that's keeping us from getting away from it. Sounds crazy, but true.
If you can get off grid, DO IT!
When we build our dream house,Lord knows when,it will be somewhat off the grid.We plan to use solar panels,and geothermal heat,stuff like that.It gets hot here in Dixie,so I will not be without my A.C.lol.I think its a good idea.
Thanks Stephanie for the link to my blog! :) I can say one thing, prices are going up, doesn't mater if it's for the solar panels and all the gear it takes to fun on solar, or if you are paying the electric company for their product/service. If anyone really wants to go off grid, now is the time to do it.
We have had a couple of eye opening experiences after going off grid, last year there was a big wildfire, it came very close, everyone lost power, except for us, we were the only light in the entire community. The power goes out here all the time, it's a regular thing, but we don't know it when it happens except for when we can't the local radio station to come on.
Being off grid is being free, in many many ways. I don't have to worry about rising electricity costs, I don't have to worry about the power company turning my power off, I don't have to worry about something happening to the power lines somewhere down the road from me causing my power to go off. Not to mention black outs, brown outs, surges and spikes.
Thanks again for the link. If you or anyone else wants to go off grid, go for it, the sooner the better. It's not that difficult to do, if we can do it, anyone can. :)
Wretha
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