Living Off The Grid

For many people, living off the grid is the dream of a lifetime. There is such peace of mind that comes from being free from the utility companies and the hustle and bustle of city life. Then there is the satisfaction of knowing that you are at least a little more in control of your destiny.

It is entirely possible to live off the grid, I personally know numerous people who are completely independent of the utility company. These people also managed to do nearly all of the work required on their own, with a minimum investment. Their creativity is admirable!

One of the more difficult aspects is finding a piece of land suitable for living off the grid. With land prices so high, it takes some searching to find just the right place, but it can be done. With the internet, GPS, and MLS real estate listings, you can cover a lot of ground from the comfort of your own home.

Click here to build your own solar or wind generator.

Ideally, you need a great exposure to the sun, a fairly good sized stream, some land for gardening or small-scale farming, woods to supplement the heat, and good neighbors! The neighbors can make a big difference, as I found out long ago when I lived in rural Wisconsin.

Actually, you don't really need to be a back-to-the-earth mini homesteader to live off the grid. In fact, if the only thing you did was free yourself from the electric bill, you would have accomplished a great deal. Imagine saving nearly all the money you currently spend on electricity, it could easily be close to $2,000 per year.

How to get off the grid

The easiest way to get off the grid is to use solar energy. For a small investment and a minimum amount of work, you can build your own solar panels. Many of the required components can be found right in your own garage or workshop. You can literally buy nearly everything else at a good hardware store.

One friend of mine took discarded servo motors and other junk from old machine tools and uses them to generate his own power. He is living off the grid entirely, though he admits that he does have a phone!

My friend used his old servo motors to build a mini generator to harness the power of his stream to make electricity. There are also kits available to enable you to do it yourself. This may take a little more home engineering, but it certainly is within the reach of anyone with some determination, and a good stream.

Living off the grid without property

Like many other subcultures, people off the grid have their own communities at times. Some of these communities are like RV parks, others like house-boat villages. Imagine being able to travel around with some like-minded friends, all the while being free from the grid!

 This can extend to cars that run on discarded cooking oil, or other recycled fuels. On a larger scale, you could make your own ethanol from your farm byproducts, or those of neighboring food processors. There are countless ways to reduce your dependence on fossil fuels and the greedy oil companies, it just takes some knowledge, determination, and work.

For the people living off the grid, it is very much well worth the effort.

Find out how to generate your own electricity and get free!