Living Off the Grid: How to Generate Your Own Electricity
Electrical and Lighting, Featured, Green Home, Repairs and Installation by Bob Ritzman
Our off the grid house near Anaconda, Montana
Taking the Alternative Energy Plunge
When my wife and I moved to Montana last year, we found a comfortable home on several acres with a view of the mountains. There was only one hitch – the house was off the grid. In fact, everyone in the subdivision generated their own power, including the bed and breakfast nearby.
That doesn’t mean it was primitive. The house had solar panels, a wind turbine, a battery bank and inverter, a generator, and a full range of appliances including washer and dryer, refrigerator, stove, satellite TV, propane furnace, and even a dishwasher. Since I had operated a cogeneration power plant before coming to Montana, I wasn’t too concerned about generating my own electric power, so we bought the house.
Solar panel with tracker
Life Off the Grid
The previous owner showed me the critical facilities and told me how to operate them. When we moved in we put CFLs (compact fluorescent lights) in every light socket, programmed the thermostat to automatically lower the temperature at night, and made sure to turn off the lights when we left a room. We thought we had everything under control.
On our third night in the house, we went to bed as usual to the faint sound of wind outside, a sound we were already beginning to enjoy because it generated most of our power. In the middle of the night, I was awakened by the sound of – nothing. No hum of the refrigerator, no furnace fan, and no wind. The tiny power light on the carbon monoxide detector was out, as was the digital display on the clock radio. We had no power.
Wind turbine
I got up and went outside to check the power equipment. Apparently the wind had died during the night and the small amount of power in use had drained the batteries. I started the gasoline generator and it began providing power to our house and recharging the batteries.
I had just learned the first lesson of wind and solar power: they can’t always be counted on when you need them. No matter where you are, the sun will always set and the wind will stop blowing.
Battery bank
Alternative Energy Cost
Since then, I’ve learned the second lesson of renewable energy: while the energy may be free, it still costs more than electricity from a utility company. This may not be obvious, so let me explain. The following are the approximate prices for the equipment we have now, materials only – installation is extra:
| Solar array | 1 kW | $6,000 | |
| Dual-axis tracker | $6,250 | ||
| Wind generator w/50 ft tower | 1 kW | $3,700 | |
| Inverter/charger | 4 kW | $3,000 | |
| Batteries (1 day reserve) | $8,000 | ||
| Total | $26,950 |
If you assume that we receive eight hours of sun and eight hours of wind per day (a generous assumption), we would produce 487 kW-hours of electric energy per month from renewable sources. This is almost half the 920 kW-hours per month that was used by the average American home in 2006.
Electrical inverter/charger
Assuming the equipment has a 20-year lifespan, it will produce 116,880 kW-hours of energy during that time, and my prorated cost for the equipment will be $0.23 per kW-hour. That’s more than twice the average cost of the same amount of energy from the local utility company.
Backup Generator
On the days when there’s not enough renewable energy, we recharge the batteries using a gasoline generator, which produces approximately 3.5 kW-hours of electric power for each gallon of fuel burned. This translates to an efficiency of approximately 10%, with a fuel cost of about $1.00 per kW-hour given the current price for gasoline in 2008. Compare this to a coal-fired power plant that has an energy efficiency near 40%.
That means that the carbon footprint of my generator is more than three times as large as a coal-fired power plant for the same amount of electric energy produced. If my generator burned propane, its carbon footprint would be slightly smaller because the proportion of carbon in the fuel is smaller. If it burned diesel, the footprint would probably be smaller still, because the efficiency of a diesel generator can approach that of a utility power plant.
Backup generator
Lessons Learned
In summary, this is what I have learned about renewable energy by living off the grid:
- You can’t count on it when you need it. You need a battery bank, and you should have a back up generator available, too.
- It’s expensive. While the energy is free, the equipment is not, making the cost of power higher than utility prices.
- When it fails, the carbon footprint of non-renewable backup generation is larger than that of a utility company.
This doesn’t mean I’m against renewable energy, just that given our current technology, living off the grid is not as simple and cost efficient as many people may think.
Additional Information
- Southwest Windpower, Renewable Energy Made Simple
- Oasis Montana, Inc., Renewable Energy Supply and Design
- Xantrex Technology, Renewable Energy Systems
39 Comments on “Living Off the Grid: How to Generate Your Own Electricity”
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October 20th, 2008 at 11:49 am
thanks for giving us [OffTheGrid enthusiasts] the benefit of your experiences through your website!
November 1st, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Hi and thanks for the valuable information.
I am planning to put in Solar Power for my home at the beach! But, I will have Edison as a backup at night! I want to go 100% Solar, so I don’t have to be on the Gas Methane Grid at all!
If I install a Powered Generator, it would probable be a Bio Diesel Generator, so I could put used Vegetable Oil in it!
Also, I would have put in a 4KWH System in place of a 2KWH System, and larger backup Battery Storage, if I lived in Montana, like they do, just to make sure, I had enough extra power! Better to be safe, than sorry! I would also have a Wood Burning Fire Place as well to heat the house, as it gets really cold in Montana!
Have fun,
Elliott
November 1st, 2008 at 2:15 pm
P.S.: While I was burning wood in the Fire Place, I would also use the heat generated from the Fire Place, to cogenerate electricity!
Just thought you would like to know.
Good luck in Montana,
Elliott
November 5th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Would not a larger battery bank allow one to tide over the times when no power was being generated?
Or to put it another way, surely you need sufficient storage capacity to last through the expected null power periods? [which didn't seem to be the case above.]
Presumably, if you had sufficient capacity that your usage couldn’t drain the bank completely until there was some power being generated again, then you wouldn’t have to resort to using a petrol generator with the attendant problems?
Or would adding a third source of power, independent of wind and sun, help?
November 5th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Thanks for saying what the off-grid evangelists are so careful to gloss over. Every few years, I look at the prices of photovoltaics and associated equipment and compute what it would cost to take my house off-grid. So far, the *interest* on that figure (never mind depreciation) far exceeds what I pay for grid energy. I haven’t even tried to find out what would happen to my homeowner’s insurance premium if I were to install a big storage battery and a gasoline-powered generator in my basement.
November 6th, 2008 at 11:40 am
i’d like to make the point that sustainability is not all about technology. perhaps it should be seen more in the light of moderating our use of power. it sounds like your house is pretty chockablock with appliances. i think to really make a go at sustainability, we need to forgo nonessential appliances. for instance, where’s the sense in having a dryer run off of solar power when you could just put your clothes out to dry?
November 7th, 2008 at 6:28 am
Hi,
Interesting site. Of course, Nanosolar’s printed solar panels will bring the cost of solar panels way down.
So far as joe six-pack goes, there are dozens and dozens of ways to reduce your carbon footprint. Check out http://livinggreenlivingwell.com for projects around the house that are inexpensive that pay off big. So far, my natural gas bill went from $125/mo to $79/mo, and my electric (more modestly) went from $125/mo to $110/mo.
It’s about your choice of appliances, lightbulbs, double-insulating your hot water tank (with Reflectix and a fiberglass blanket), installing a solar-powered gable vent or roof fan, insulating your garage door, sealing around the windows, installing a high-PSI, low-flow showerheads (so you’re heating less water per shower).
Then, with these savings, your can either reduce debt save the money in a high-interest online savings account, so you can affords a solar array or windmill or geothermal. Everyone should do all you can do to reduce your carbon footprint first, then consider generating your own electricity. The rates will drop as demand decreases across the grid as well.
Enjoy the day!
November 8th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
There is a co-generation of heat and power product for homes.
http://www.freewatt.com/Technology/freewattpowergen.asp
November 9th, 2008 at 10:41 am
In response to ELLIOTT’s comments: I would like to have a diesel generator running on biodiesel. However, I don’t know of any biodiesel fuel that will remain liquid when the temperature here in Montana dips to -30F. I have operated conventional diesels in such weather and the fuel heating systems are a real pain.
If you know of anyone who is making something to cogenerate electricity from wasted fireplace heat, please post the website for more information. The intent of my article was to address what it costs for what can be done now. I can’t generate power from dreams.
In response to Syona: You are correct that a larger battery bank is part of the answer to complete sustainability. In today’s economy, I am having trouble with the $8,000 price tag. I am hoping that the technology for plug-in hybrid electric cars will produce better and cheaper batteries.
I would love to have a third source of electric generation. I just don’t know of anything that is currently available to me or most homeowners.
In response to darcy: I agree that sustainability is more than technology, and I admit that I am tied to some of my conveniences. When the temperature is -30F, the snow is past your knees and falling horizontally in the wind, that gas (propane) clothes dryer is one of my wife’s favorite indulgences.
In response to James Livingwell and Rene: Thanks for the links.
In response to everyone, thanks for your interest in a subject we will be seeing a lot more of. If you come across new technology that is actually in production, I am interested.
November 9th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Hello everyone,
Thi is my first time at this site and it is quite interesting and informative.
I would like to put my two cents in for what it is worth if I may.
I live in Yucca Arizona where there is ample sunshine and wind most times of the year on 40 acres at 3000 ft ASL.
My home is 20 miles from the closest grid connection and I have been living off grid quite comfortably for the past 5 years.
It is quite a learning experience to say the least but after working all of the bugs out it is truly amazing the feelings one gets not being connected and dependanton the grid.
My home is 1600 sq ft and construction is insulated concrete which has amazing insulating qualities not to mention fire resistance and soundproofing.
In being offgrid it is extremely important to do EVERYTHING you can to make the structure energy efficient.
My system consists of 12 170 watt PV panels, one small 400 watt wind turbine and 12 250amp hour batteries.
I am using electric appliances including a large refrigerator and freezer and a 52in LCD TV with Home theater receiver. The hot water, cook stove and clothes dryer are propane
I recently added a transformer to step up from 110 volts to 220 volts and I now pump water from my well with my solar system instead of running my propane generator.
In my experience having done 12 volt appliances and extremely expensive propane refrigerator that heats the home in the summer time I deccided it to be more cost effective to buy additional solar panels instead of 12 volt appliances.
In the early morning prior to the sun coming up my battery bank usualy still has 80 percent left unless of course there are lots of clouds the day before.
Living off grid can be a gratifying experience if one plans ahead and takes certain steps to make everything efficient.
Thanks
Bob in Northern Arizona
December 1st, 2008 at 2:00 pm
The great republican depression, now upon us, will force development of realistically efficient refrigeration – Africa uses a solar refrigerator now! Sweden has a solid state DC powered units. LED, DC power lighting systems with no converters to waste power are possible. Super-insulation and solar orientation, as well as ground heat storage have been suggested. Better storage batteries, with designs for the car market are near. Better, DC microwave cooking methods and appliances are possible. Communication by solar powered cell phone systems are already a reality. Expect advances in Compressed Natural Gas technologies to power emergency generators cheaply. Computers already qualify as modern power efficient devices. Off- gridders will have to change lifestyles with the rest of America, and stop trying to mimic on-line decadent lifestyles, and develop their own! The depression will provide a new, realistic, survival based perspective to off-grid. Communal efforts, where one huge windmill with storage facilities may serve a group of homes will make sense as the depression deepens. Newly designed light weight cars getting 50+ mpg will be mandated! The convulsive paradigm shift America will go through, forced upon them by the depression, will vindicate all attempts at off-grid living. We are at the footsteps of a new world and the great republican depression is pushing us ahead. Becoming self-sufficient in food production will be heralded in with GMO’ed, bug proof and fast growing veggies. Zero running cost, zero upkeep homes are technologically possible! The great depression will make them a reality and a necessity for Americans. Smaller self-sufficient, off-grid “Pods” will replace McMansions in the suburbs. Work schedules will give more time off and better commuting arrangements for labor, who will no longer subsidize companies by investing in cars to get to factories! We are up against Mao’s revenge, an endless army of little yellow women, 5′1″ tall, willing to work 24,7, for a bag of rice and a place to sleep on the factory floor! They have proven they can build cars, televisions, computers, anything we can do, they can do cheaper and better! We must exploit this by going off grid and using science and technology to survive!
December 20th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I am helping a friend who is building on an island with no electricity. I read the article, therefore, with great interest until Uncle B’s political, liberal progressive post.
Sorry you do not have some sort of filter that would enable this kind of responses to be on a different page…, perhaps the “footsteps of a new world” (sic) page.
January 9th, 2009 at 11:10 am
Uncle B’s diatribe was rather silly, but I think the whole thread is really interesting especially considering the real cost of off grid power. In the end, centralized power stations provide power more efficiently, cleaner and at lower cost than any other. It’s interesting to note that old power plants then called lighting plants rarely were larger than 2KVa which must have been deemed adequate for a home of the day. One could of course use kerosene lamps and then go to bed early.
January 13th, 2009 at 11:42 am
I have issues with the notion of living a suburban life style while being off grid. It seems to me that the very reasons that would cause most people to be off grid would be the very same reasons that they might want to sort of shrink everything onto a different playing field. For example a much smaller home would be an idea as well as the use of super insulation practices. As far as gas or diesel generators go they will never fail until you really need them. Basic survival may demand having a greater than 30 day supply of wood or some other fail safe fuel. There are a few areas where all help may be shut off for long periods of time in the winter and complex systems could easily cost people their lives. A study of what tribal people did a hundred years or more ago may give one some good ideas on how to scale down and live off the grid.Trying to live as if one is in the suburbs may induce some severe penalties. Going out at night to check generators for example can get you up close with such things as a bull moose or large bear in the wee hours of the night.
January 18th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
You can hang your clothes out in -30 F they will dry just as well. The ice crystals turn directly into gas.
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:27 am
Very interesting site, it is gratifying to know that people are willing to share their experiences for the benefit of others.
Bill
Ceret
France
January 29th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Thanks for the great article. Perhaps what you have would be enough in a different climate. In the SW, you’d probably get more bang for your buck on solar panels I’m guessing.
For me, personally, a dishwasher isn’t worth it since I have to prewash stuff anyway. As for the dryer, I to hope someday find one with a good enough filter so we can retain the heat rather than venting out without having a lint problem.
We downsized to half the space we once had, and honestly, the regular acts of cooking, running the dryer, and so on, keep us warm in NJ, along with good solar orientation. We have insane bills anyway because we are in an apartment that isn’t metered individually, but I know we haven’t run the heater most of the winter.
Several homes around here have retro fitted solar panels to exsisting homes, but we have so much less daylight in the winter I don’t think they are independent either.
February 8th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
I am intrested in learning to build a solar energy that can provide electricity to already built houses in Africa. What materials needed and how to supply the house or property with the solar energy. There is abundant sun almost daily. Victor.
March 2nd, 2009 at 6:11 pm
I have been looking into off-grid living for about a decade. The cost of solar and wind are too much for me to consider. The main reason for getting off the grid is to get away from utilities that keep raising rates, rates that are getting harder and harder to keep up with. If I can’t afford rate increases, I certainly can’t afford thousands of dollars for equipment to get off the grid. I homeschool my daughter and we have decided to try to produce an effective way of doing laundry without electricity as a science project, and then hanging our clothes out to dry. This is a step towards self sufficiency. We are also planning a garden, perhaps greenhouse project to help lower food costs. I have started researching wood burning stoves for heating as well. Several people I have talked with that do heat with wood burning stoves say they will never go back to heat pumps/forced air heat. They say the heat produced is much warmer and stays warmer longer. I live a short drive from the city and am surrounded by woods. Wood is plentiful. We have already replace light bulbs with flourescents, lowered the thermostat, etc. I have just downloaded a plan for a solar oven that we intend to try out as well – no photovalvics required, just a tires tube, plywood, glass, and a black pot! Look at http://solarcooking.org/images/tirecooker.jpg.
Thanks for telling me what not to do. I’m still looking for other helpful things and finding them occasionally.
Ben Erickson Says:March 3rd, 2009 at 10:03 am
Hi Amanda,
Sounds like you’re on the right path by tackling small energy saving changes first. We had a wood heater as our only source of heat for years. It worked great, though it was a lot of work (good work though, since I enjoyed cutting and splitting my own wood). Besides being a bit dirty, the only other problems we had were distribution of the heat (it tends to stay in the room it’s in), the occasional chimney fire (scary), and what to do in the fall and spring when you just need a little heat. If you already have a central heating system, running the fan on it would solve the distribution problem as well as the spring/fall dilemma.
For more info on energy saving changes and other environmentally friendly options, check out our Your Green Home page.
March 12th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
You can make your own windmills and get forklift/golfcart batteries for power and save loads on up front cost. The amount the original poster quoted was for pre-manufactured stupidly high priced stuff. You can build a wind generator for around 500 bucks, any DC permanant magnet motor with fan blades mounted on it will work for a generator.The rotor blades are made from 6″ pvc pipe, cut in half, straight on one cut, diagonal on the the other and voila, you have two blades.You will need to supplement that with solr PV panels, but you can go off grid with wood heat, this is the ultimate 3-way power plan, and it works. Just do some online searches , build it and let us know how you turn out. Even if you just wire into part of your panel to power one or two things, hey its worth it!
April 30th, 2009 at 11:36 am
This article fails to mention that if you live in a rural area where power lines do not already come to your porperty, the cost of bringing power lines to the property may equal or exceed the cost of a complete solar system. That triples the cost of “conventional” power over the lifetime of a solar system.
The article also doesn’t step back and look at the issue of grid reliability and cost: the thousands of individuals affected by an aging and vulnerable transmission system. The cost of power blackouts to individuals and the entire economy compared to the crash of an individual system is many times greater than the simple and unrealistic perspective of simple power production costs. Let’s get real here and take a look at the whole picture.
Ben Erickson Says:May 1st, 2009 at 7:31 am
Hi Calvin,
Good points. Also, if you install an alternative energy system while on the grid, some states will allow you to sell any excess power generated back to the utility company, and you won’t have the expense and complications of a battery backup system to store the power. Plus, you can take advantage of the 30% federal tax credit for the cost of installing a solar or wind system. To find out more about the tax credit, read our article Energy Efficiency Tax Credits for Homeowners.
May 17th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Hello. Has anyone mentioned the Insulated Concrete Form houses as well geothermal heating and cooling? Only one person commented on making a very insulated house to retain the heat. Someone suggested a great idea to somehow conserve the heat from the dryer. Any way to do that? Thanks. LomaVista1985
May 24th, 2009 at 9:16 am
we need some advice on how to improve our insulation on our home. We live in blue ridge ga. The house is built near a large stream that required us to build the home 12 feet off the ground. which worked out fine by placing 3 garages and my shop under the house. The question is hows the best way to insulate the floor or ceiling of the garages and shop??? We placed r-19 in the floor with the paper side up toward the living space. Could we use styrofoam and sheet rock to close it up?? just not sure on how to do the job better.
June 7th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
I confess that I’m no Green eco warrior, I don’t believe in man made climate change and i think for the most part the environment is doing just fine. I just want to spend my 14 non working hours per weekday and whole weekends living away from the rat race. My 2 room cabin on acreage in Victoria Australia is well away from the grid. If one dismisses the feel good but expensive, innefficient, unreliable and high maintenance solar array, dual axis tracker and wind generator from the equation $15000 can be deducted from the up front costs of running Bobs household by simply running the generator into the battery bank and invertor. The used old school 6KVA 18 horsepower gasolene generator I just purchased set me back $1000 and according to the spec sheet uses 1 gallon per hour at half load (3KVA).At $4.00 a gallon I can run the Genny for 3750 hrs to keep the batteries charged, or maybe almost double that with a deisel engine. Another possible alternative fuel supply for the genny on my 44 acres of woodland is to build a wood gas producer to run the existing gas engine.
Environmental issues and hippee dogma aside,would any of the electrically knowledgable contributors here agree that this is the most economical and practical way of living off grid ?
Bill.
June 28th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
As far as the dryer goes,I hardly ever use ours.When the weather is 50 or above ,I hang ours on the clothesline on the porch.In below freezing weather and temps when it doesn’t dry well outside,I do what my parents and grandparents before me did.I use a clothesrack in the house.There are 4 in our family,and it does save on the electric bill. Rachel,from mid-Maine,USA
September 17th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
I’m curious about the routine maintenance required of the alternative energy sources ie; how often to clean solar cells; replace batteries; what is required for the wind turbine? If I want to go away for a few days can I leave the home and not worry?
Thanks
October 3rd, 2009 at 3:54 pm
If you want the heat from your close dryer, take the exhast hose and put a paer of pantiehose over the hose, makes a great filter.
November 1st, 2009 at 7:22 am
Hi
I am trying to get all the information I can. We are in the planning stages of a home on land that we have in Maine. This home needs to be totally off the grid, no propane–no electric power. We have been thinking of concrete homes and earth sheltered, however the earth sheltered seems to be more expensive as a 1200 foot home of each is about $100 sq foot however the cement home has a basement adding more space. Any info or insite will be greatly appreciated..Thanks
November 5th, 2009 at 1:01 am
hi can anyone help me i’m confused with all this solar info. i’ll be moving to a rural area with no electricity, refrigeration, how will i go about finding out the prices for solar panels and other helpful items that can help me out and are they easy to install? please email me if you can be of any help gaby_8377@hotmail.com
November 22nd, 2009 at 12:56 pm
I have a metal roof. I have heard of adhesive backed roll roofing that is designed for metal roofing. Although I have scoured the internet, I haven’t been able to come up with anything concrete on the subject. Has anyone else ever heard of such a thing? I am also told that if I am willing to forgo the sound effects of rain falling on a metal roof, there are shingles that can be applied to standard roofing that has solar panels.
Any information will be helpful.
November 23rd, 2009 at 7:30 am
Check at Sam’s Club for 6 volt golf cart batteries. They have 220 amp hour capacity, can be wired together for 12 volt or more systems, last 5 to 7 years or more when properly maintained and cost only $72.00(approx.) as compared to the other options.
regards,
Mike
November 23rd, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Kudos to the author of this website. You have provided valuable insight to the average Joe. Question: Has any research been done on using geothermal to heat and cool homes? By geothermal, I mean burying PVC pipes into the ground (in a zig zag U pattern) and using a fan to push air through to acquire heat (or to cool) the house. I’ve heard of some people have done this. Is this doable?
Ben Erickson Says:November 30th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Hi Andrew,
Water based geothermal heat pump systems are very energy efficient, though they cost more to install than traditional heat pumps. They use a drilled well to circulate ground water through the HVAC unit.
Check out our video on Geothermal Heat Pumps to find out more.
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:13 pm
While the equipment listed was expensive, it wasn’t compared to the alternative: having the power company run power to the site. Even at the relatively low cost in the area I live in, it would cost 50,000 dollars to run power onto my property from 2 miles or so away, PLUS the power bill every month. The 28000 spent is still not in the same league as bringing power in and having a power bill.
I agree with the other comments that perhaps you don’t have enough battery for the house. You may need to have more battery power to take advantage of your system.
December 12th, 2009 at 7:26 am
Praise God for you Amanda. I love your approach and your determination. I looked at the solar oven you provided by link and loved it. Also, one can heat their water for household use with solar, simply. If you have a wood stove as I do, while most heat goes into the room air, a monster lot of heat is vented to the outside. You can reclaim a portion of that heat to further warm the interior of the house. My wood stove has a flat top and I do all my cooking on that surface. Simple metalic spacer materials on top can reduce heat for one pan while another sits directly on the surface. And it’s free cooking since you are already trying to heat your interior. You first heat your food, cooking it, then automatically that heat disappears back into the surrounding air to help heat the house. I can’t believe how many people do NOT dry their clothes outside. The only time you can NOT dry your clothes there is when it is raining. Even when it does rain on my already hung out laundry I just call it God’s final rinse because it won’t rain forever. In the coldest of winters your clothes still dry out there by sublimation. Wet clothes will always dry outside unless you have precipitation, yet even that only just delays the process. I have a friend who created a mamoth water tank (lake if you will) that is very deep (depth is critical). He put in plumbing while the pond was being built. Now he uses a very small pump to bring the really cold water (50 degrees) from the bottom of the pond up to the condenser in the house. It does the same work as a compressor (drawing heat out of the room air) but with almost zero cost after the initial minimal investment. This won’t work for everybody but nearly free and unlimited air conditioning all summer should excite most any modern human being – most especially down in south Texas where I hail!! So many ways to merge the best of modern society with simple solutions from the distant past centuries.
February 5th, 2010 at 11:33 pm
It is unbelievable that the author actually thinks he is living “off-grid”!The wife treasures her dryer,he has a very expensive set-up to maintain, and loads of modern appliances.You will not save money without removing those modern conveinences out of you life. Hence, the reason we have gotten to the paoint we are at now!To go off-grid should be to contribute to the environment & to love a simpler life. With that, comes the low utiltiy bills, etc..I think he has missed the whole point of why we are doing these things.We need to get back to our roots: CONSERVE & PRESERVE
February 15th, 2010 at 2:30 am
Hello,
Consider bio gas generated from composting toilets and your kitchen waste. If you have so much land, consider raising some animals, chicken etc. whose waste would add to the bio gas production. Plus you have your own food! You also get fertilizer, rich in nutrients for your plants. That’d supplement some of the power (not sure if your generator runs on gas). Eventually you might need a higher backup…