The Everything Guide to Living Off the Grid (3 page)

Can You Survive Off the Grid?

Any version of off-grid living takes some adjustment. If you are simply looking for a way to reduce your dependence on traditional energy sources, you will need to be sure your usage does not exceed your ability to create energy. Part of the equation is installing the necessary alternative energy sources, but another part is weaning yourself away from an energy-reliant life. You will need to perform an energy inventory on the appliances and other gadgets you have in your home and decide what can stay and what can go. There are a number of small electronics, like hair dryers, clock radios, and coffeemakers, you might use daily that may not work with your new lifestyle. These objects aren’t always necessary, but sometimes it’s hard to give up the small conveniences of life.

You can use this formula to estimate an appliance’s energy use:

Wattage × Hours Used Per Day ÷ 1,000 = Daily Kilowatt-hour (kWh) Consumption (1 kilowatt [kW] = 1,000 watts)

If you’re looking at a completely self-sufficient lifestyle, get ready to be introduced to some muscles you didn’t even know you had! Moving off the grid in this fashion is plain hard work. There is wood to cut, gardens to plant, livestock to take care of, and meals to prepare. The nearest McDonald’s might be fifty miles away, so fast food is often off the menu. This is not the life for someone who does not want to sweat and does not understand that a few blisters are actually medals of honor. This is not the life for someone who
needs
that daily run to Starbucks, weekly trips to the mall, and monthly weekends at the spa (although you can install a solar-heated whirlpool bath in your home). Just as you would assess your power needs, you need to assess your physical abilities and decide how much off-grid living you can employ in your life.

The Different Levels of “Off-Grid” Living

What does off-grid mean to you personally? You can actually live off-grid in the middle of a suburb, if your version of off-grid is to be less dependent on
traditional fuel sources. Installing a geothermal heating and cooling system along with solar panels and a battery array might be your solution for an off-grid existence. You can also live off-grid by purchasing 200 acres of land in the mountains of Kentucky and creating your own self-sufficient environment. You can live off-grid by buying a small farmette and learning to raise some livestock and some vegetables.

The beauty of your off-grid lifestyle is that you get to determine what you want to do and how far you want to go. However, every successful adventure begins with a plan. List your goals and set down intermediate steps. Do you want to eventually move away from the city, but still need the employment found there? Perhaps your next step would be relocating to a smaller town near enough to commute to the city, with a larger piece of property to begin your first garden. Do you want to have a green home? Perhaps your next step would be to look into the geographic advantages of the different options of alternative energy.

Each goal you make and each step you take will bring you closer to your final destination of living off-grid in your own way.

How Far Off the Grid Are You Able to Go?

For many, moving up to a secluded spot nestled next to Yellowstone National Park with nothing but the pine trees, bears, and moose as neighbors could seem ideal. But, you need to realistically decide how far off the grid you can go. Here are some things you need to consider:

Health Care

If you are newly married and are planning to have children, or already have children, you don’t want to be 200 miles away from the nearest hospital, unless you have the kind of training or experience that makes you capable of giving emergency medical attention to your family members. And, even if you have that training, what happens if you are the one who gets hurt?

Cellular Phone Linkage

With modern technology and a good satellite provider, you can have Internet and television access almost anywhere in the world. The problem
comes when you are trying to get cell phone linkage, because you need to be able to bounce off a tower. There are still many places throughout the United States and the world that don’t have cell coverage.

Access to Mass Transportation

If you need to fly occasionally, you need to decide how close you want to be to an airport. Luckily, today there are a number of secondary airports that feed into major airports. Even a relatively small city like Dubuque, Iowa, has an airport that feeds into Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. Depending on frequency of flights, you should decide how long you want to travel to get to an airport.

Access to “Civilization”

There are many other conveniences you might not want to sacrifice with your new off-grid lifestyle. Do you want to occasionally go to a movie or out to dinner? Will you need to go grocery shopping on a regular basis? Will your children take piano, ballet, gymnastics, or other lessons? Do you want to live near a library or in a college town? Remember, it’s not realistic for you to believe that you could “commute in” for many of these activities. If you are living a completely off-grid lifestyle, you won’t have time to spend several hours driving back and forth. You need to be brutally honest with yourself before you make any decisions!

All of these different variables are important for you to consider as you decide how far off the grid you want to live.

Keeping and Maintaining Relationships

Just because you are moving off-grid does not mean you have to leave your friends and family behind. Especially today, with the technology available, it is easy to keep in touch on a daily basis.

Social Networking

Facebook, Twitter, and blogging are wonderful ways to share information, post photos, and keep up to date on the comings and goings of your friends and family. A quick browse through your Facebook page can
update you on any changes or events in the lives of any of your “friends.” TechCrunch recently reported that Facebook, which currently has over 350 million users, is poised to become the most popular social networking site in the world. Over the past year, the number of users in countries outside the United States, particularly in Europe, Africa, and Latin America, has grown significantly.

Video Chat and Video Conferencing

There are a number of software programs that allow you, with the use of a webcam, to hook up with friends and family all around the world in a video chat and even a video conference. Some of these programs allow for multiple chats at the same time, so you can connect with several friends all across the country and visit together via video chat. You will need high-speed Internet and a computer with webcam capabilities, but beyond that, the software is user-friendly and you can “see” your friends and family whenever you desire.

Make Room for Visitors

When you decide on your off-grid property, make sure you’ve set aside space for visitors. A back-to-basics, out-in-the-country lifestyle appeals to many people, and even though they might not be able to choose this life for themselves, they are curious and eager to learn more. Most people who make the move find they often become a long-weekend destination for families and friends. Although the extra mouths to feed can be a little burdensome, these visits give you the opportunity to put your guests to work so they get a taste of what living off the grid is really like.

On the other side of the coin, living off the grid does not always mean staying off the grid. Getting back out and “on” again to visit family and friends is allowed!

Taking the First Steps

For many, just getting started seems overwhelming. You should start with baby steps to get you moving toward a more independent, self-sustaining lifestyle.

Reduce Your Energy Use

Look around you and unplug all of those unnecessary appliances. Use a hand-operated can opener instead of an electric one. Use a whisk instead of a mixer. Look for phantom electricity drains. The U.S. Department of Energy states, “Many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched off. These phantom loads occur in many appliances, such as VCRs, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances. This can be avoided by unplugging the appliance or using a power strip and using the switch on the power strip to cut all power to the appliance.”

In the average home, more than 50 percent of the electricity used to power electronics is consumed while the devices are turned off! In the United States alone, phantom load costs consumers more than $3 billion a year and adds up to the output of several full-size power plants.

Check the Energy Star ratings on your appliances and, if you can, replace older appliances with more efficient new ones. If you can’t afford to do that, inspect your current appliances. Be sure that seals are in good repair, or replace them. Make sure your washing machine belts are tight so the engine doesn’t have to work harder to get your clothes clean and the spin cycles draw out a majority of the water. Be sure that filters in your furnace, air conditioner, refrigerator, and dryer are all clean and allow free-flowing air. Also, check the air vents from your dryer to the outside to be sure they are clean and free of obstructions.

Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy that helps us all save money and protect the environment through energy-efficient products and practices. You may see Energy Star appliances at your local home-goods store; that seal means they are certified energy-efficient products.

Plant a Garden

Whether you have a spot in your yard that can be tilled or some potting soil, a collection of containers, and a room on your patio or porch, you can plant a garden. Start with some tomato plants in a five-gallon pail or some herbs on a sunny kitchen window. Begin to learn the joy of growing your own.

Many of the more urban communities have been promoting “community gardens,” or shared spaces in a public location, where residents can purchase a plot to use for gardening. This is a great solution if you live in a heavily populated city or simply don’t have the yard space for a large garden. Just be sure to have the soil tested before buying, as lead and other toxic heavy metals are present in some community gardens.

Stop Eating Out

When you are busy and running late, it’s so easy to fall into the habit of driving through, picking up, or eating out. To learn to be more self-sufficient and to have a healthier life, plan a menu and learn to cook from the basics. Make your own homemade pizza or taco salad. Substitute healthier alternatives to high-fat, high-sodium fast-food offerings.

Start Exercising

If you are planning to be self-sufficient, you need to be physically fit. Begin taking daily walks or working out for fifteen or twenty minutes in your home. Park your car farther away from the store, so you’re forced to walk. Walk rather than ride, if possible. Have your family participate in outdoor sports together, rather than watch television.