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Hi,
How realistic is it to live off of the electric grid (using solar and back up generator) but have water / sewage?
Is is possible? If so, how?
Can anyone give me information on this so that i can begin to implement this?
Thank you.
Hi,
How realistic is it to live off of the electric grid (using solar and back up generator) but have water / sewage?
Is is possible? If so, how?
Can anyone give me information on this so that i can begin to implement this?
Thank you.
There is one couple who has written of their "off grid" journey in TN here on CD. Other than that you'll likely find more detailed information about living off-grid in other more specialized homesteading and prepper forums. A websearch of DIY articles from Mother Earth News should also be fruitful.
If you are determined to go "off grid" then why not with your water/sewage also in the form of a well and septic system?
Hi,
How realistic is it to live off of the electric grid (using solar and back up generator) but have water / sewage?
Is is possible? If so, how?
Can anyone give me information on this so that i can begin to implement this?
Thank you.
People lived "off grid" for a couple of million years and seemed to do just fine. It takes a lot of dedication and willingness to CHANGE.
There are a gazillion books out there (check out abebooks.com for an inexpensive alternative for purchasing books). Also magazines such as Backwoods Home, The Mother Earth News, and several others that do not immediately come to mind.
You can also watch youtube videos about it. The important thing to do is to educate yourself first, before you make any decisions about living this way.
My husband and I live in the rural Missouri Ozarks and soon will be changing our lifestyle to use wood for heat and cooking. It's a big step. Perhaps in the near future we will go off grid, but it's going to take some preparation. You can't just jump into it.
There is one couple who has written of their "off grid" journey in TN here on CD. Other than that you'll likely find more detailed information about living off-grid in other more specialized homesteading and prepper forums. A websearch of DIY articles from Mother Earth News should also be fruitful.
If you are determined to go "off grid" then why not with your water/sewage also in the form of a well and septic system?
Thank you.
I guess what i was asking is how possible is it to find land that is off the electric grid but with water / sewage whether it's on or off the grid?
It's obvious that i need to so a lot more research.
I'm a woman and alone (boo-hoo 'cept for my dog) so it seems like a big undertaking.
So i thought a good compromise would be to get off of the electric grid but have county water.
I'll do some more research and then be equipped with some more intelligent questions.
People lived "off grid" for a couple of million years and seemed to do just fine. It takes a lot of dedication and willingness to CHANGE.
There are a gazillion books out there (check out abebooks.com for an inexpensive alternative for purchasing books). Also magazines such as Backwoods Home, The Mother Earth News, and several others that do not immediately come to mind.
You can also watch youtube videos about it. The important thing to do is to educate yourself first, before you make any decisions about living this way.
My husband and I live in the rural Missouri Ozarks and soon will be changing our lifestyle to use wood for heat and cooking. It's a big step. Perhaps in the near future we will go off grid, but it's going to take some preparation. You can't just jump into it.
20yrsinBranson
Yes, i understand what you're saying.
I'm just beginning to contemplate this and, as i said to the other reply, i'm a woman alone.
Maybe i need to find a man first.
They come in handy.
I had a young hippie friend in Santa Cruz who, with her boyfriend, decided to live off grid and had all sorts of romantic notions about it.
After a year, they were back in town living in a condo that one of their parents bought them.
They were young and strong but the energy that it took was too much for them and their romantic notions quickly dissolved.
I'm aware that it's no piece of cake but would sure like to be able to live in such a way at some point.
Thank you.
Hi,
How realistic is it to live off of the electric grid (using solar and back up generator) but have water / sewage?
Is is possible? If so, how?
Can anyone give me information on this so that i can begin to implement this?
Thank you.
The average home uses 9,400 to 10,000 kWh annually. So you would have to need 5-15 kwh Turbine or Solar unit to even make a noticeable difference in your build. These units run anywhere from a few hundred bux on a home built set up to 300.00-1200.00 on a small 5-15 pre-fabed residential kit.
Here is a site I found for new and used smaller residential turbine kits.
Now if you plan supplying the whole house, it depends on you usage and your wallet size. A 10,000 kwh solar system will run close to 20,000...your electricity company will buy anything extra produced though.
There is one couple who has written of their "off grid" journey in TN here on CD.
Don't forget the mod (or one of them), of this CD forum:
Off-Grid in Alaska - Off-Grid in Alaska: Our chronicles as we create our off-grid homestead in Interior Alaska -- from escaping the rat race and big city, to extreme cold weather subsistence/self-sufficient living just outside the Arctic Circle
The average home uses 9,400 to 10,000 kWh annually. So you would have to need 5-15 kwh Turbine or Solar unit to even make a noticeable difference in your build. These units run anywhere from a few hundred bux on a home built set up to 300.00-1200.00 on a small 5-15 pre-fabed residential kit.
Here is a site I found for new and used smaller residential turbine kits.
Now if you plan supplying the whole house, it depends on you usage and your wallet size. A 10,000 kwh solar system will run close to 20,000...your electricity company will buy anything extra produced though.
Try more like $50K-60K if that 10 kWh system (assuming pole mount) is puchased/installed by a contractor rather than DIY (before federal, state or utility subsidies) .
Net metering guidlines vary state to state and not all excess is purchased in every state. http://dsireusa.org/
Net metering is generally considered to be grid-tied, not "off grid".
Don't forget the mod (or one of them), of this CD forum:
Off-Grid in Alaska - Off-Grid in Alaska: Our chronicles as we create our off-grid homestead in Interior Alaska -- from escaping the rat race and big city, to extreme cold weather subsistence/self-sufficient living just outside the Arctic Circle
Thanks, I did forget. I also can't remember where to find Lisa's thread on she & her husband's place in TN.
People lived "off grid" for a couple of million years and seemed to do just fine.
20yrsinBranson
True enough, depending on what definition of "just fine" you are willing to put up with. The same can be said for indoor plumbing, modern dental care, and modern medical care. If I break a leg, I'll stick with modern scientific medicine, thank you very much, in an on-grid setting where they can run the X-ray machine! Toothache? Same solution. In addition to providing relief for the toothache, they can get at the root cause and correct it. Why would anyone want to be off-grid? Somebody please explain that to me.
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'cept for my dog) so it seems like a big undertaking.
