Do you want to live off-grid?
June 27, 2009 by Jennifer
Lately I’ve had off-grid living on the brain. Probably because I read WAY too many green building / home books, which without fail, contain an abundance of self-sufficient homes to obsess over. I’ve also been thinking about off-grid in an urban context. When I lived in Humboldt and New Mexico I knew plenty of folks who were living off-grid to varying degrees but most of them lived in fairly rural areas so that was my example.
I currently don’t live in a rural area and for various reasons, I won’t be moving to a rural area anytime soon. So the question is, how to manage off-grid in an urban setting. You can, in fact live off-grid and urban at the same time. Here’s one awesome example:
If you haven’t considered off-grid living, you should know that there are plenty of benefits, such as…
It’s green. Of course being a tree hugger makes off-gird living seem fairly seductive. Off-grid life employs many of the green tactics most green heads like anyway; recycling, composting, conserving natural resources, organic gardening, living smaller and on less, re-purposing, and so on. Green living is like the gateway drug to off-grid
Fewer bills in my email inbox! If you could score zero (or much lower) electricity, water, or gas bills why not?
Self-sufficiency in hard times. If power costs more, if there’s a storm and power goes out, if tomato or egg prices rise, if we run smack out of resources, it matters less if you’re off-grid. Off-grid folks are in a better place to handle the impact of hard eco and economic times.
If you’re into simple living and less materialism, off-grid living is a way of life that allows you to hold these goals or ideals close.
If you do want to live in a rural area, one that’s naturally off the grid, this is a way to do it.
Obviously there are off-grid cons too.
- It’s more work, especially at the onset. If you have to install solar panels, start a garden, build a home, dig a well, etc, that’s a lot of time commitment and some upfront costs.
- Off-grid living requires a certain amount of ongoing upkeep.
- There’s a learning curve. I don’t think off-grid topics are that complicated, but there is a large amount of info out there to digest.
All of the above is just the tip of a much larger off-grid iceberg. If you’re interested in off-grid living here are some resources:
- Off-grid net
- Off the Grid – a super keen book I love.
- Off the Grid
- Is Living Off the Grid Right For You?
- Brilliant and Bizarre Off-the-Grid Green Designs and Technologies – such a good post!
Maybe soon I’ll post some cool off-grid magazines (there are lots of good ones). For now, tell me about your goals… Is off-grid something you’re already doing or interested in doing?
Yes. It was a major factor in my move to Alaska. In some fashion I have lived off grid for most of my time here (since December 2001). It’s allot of work though. It often feels like a full time job unto itself.
This summer I decided to take a break and succumbed to city life. I rented a normal home in town with full plumbing. I do still have a small garden space though. And when it gets dark again I’m sure I will miss my midnight walks to the outhouse, just me and the moon!
This life is much easier but i don’t see myself living in town forever. I definitely want to be completely off grid at some point in the future, probably when i’m all finished with college.
Have you seen the Campbell Scott movie Off The Map? It’s very inspirational for anyone dreaming of the a simpler life. The house is amazing – straight out of the book Shelter. Definitely one of my all time favorite movies.
Hey
Actually I LOVE Off the Map, but no one else I know likes it. I thought the house was amazing too. I know some other folks who did off-grid in Alaska, but for some reason the homes there that are off-grid do seem to lack plumbing. In Humboldt and New Mexico I saw a lot more sophisticated off-grid homes.
We built a passive solar home on this mountain in New Mexico and had we stayed, we were planning on adding some panels and other self-sustained features, but we moved. Building a house by hand was really hard though. I think the next time, I’ll get a existing home and revamp it to be off-grid.
That’s so cool you like that movie. Except now that it came up I’m going to have it stuck in my head til I watch it again.
In Alaska plumbing difficult in many places because of the perma frost. And also many people who are off grid here have to pack into the land and so this really limits what you can have. Most people have holding tanks for water if they are on the road system. It works. I to would prefer to purchase and renovate.
I dated a guy when i first moved up here who was off the road system. To get to his house we had to park the car. Hike in a few miles, cross a river, and then hike deeper. So to get large household items in he would wait for winter and pack it in on sleds with a snow machine. One spring when i visited I had to get back for work and couldn’t wait any longer to leave but it was not ideal because it was break up (snow melt and ice breaks up in the river). The hike out is pretty steep anyways and then with the melt off i was basically climbing up hill while muddy water rushed over my feet and hands It was so slippery that every step i would just grab on to trees and brus to keep from sliding back down the hill. An adventure I guess.
When I buy a place a definate prerequisite is to be able to drive up to atleast the driveway to my house.
I was visiting a friend last night who is completely off grid. No holding tank, a root cellar for a fridge, composting toilet, and for power they use a combination generator, solar, and wind. She does have internet when the generator is on and cell phone coverage if she stands at the end of the driveway. But its a beautiful place and they don’t mind the work involved.
Everyone i know who I’ve gotten to watch Off the Map thought it was depressing and the beauty was completely lost on them. I’m glad to hear there is someone else who enjoyed it. I should just buy it as i rent it every 6 mos or so!
Wow, that was cool to watch, thanks! While I don’t see my family living as the family in the video did, I do think that there will be more and more ways in the future to incorporate their ideals into our lives. Being the pioneers that this family was and still is, I believe them when they said their lifestyle could be difficult and isolating at times. I applaud them for becoming sustainable in a world that wasn’t. I see them as the folks who have laid a foundation for more and more of us to find ways to become sustainable that are less difficult and isolating.
I think this is already happening, and even small things give me signs of it. When I was using my canvas bag at the grocery store the other day, I was reflecting back on when I started to do my own grocery shopping in my early 20s. If I had brought a canvas bag to the store then, the cashier would surely have been confused about what I would need it for. Now it’s not only acceptable, it’s chic to bring your own bag, which is a very cool thing!
Karen.