Living Off The Grid - 2 Years To Energy Independance

16 long years ago my family decided to completely change their lifestyle. I didn't understand exactly why my parents wanted to live differently then everyone else, but now that I'm older I understand better. They were forward thinkers. My father could see where the world was headed and didn't want any part of high energy prices. He wanted to live a simpler life and generate his own electricicty.

I was eight at the time we moved and was quite excited... although I didn't realize the hardships that were to come. Back in a time when nobody was really thinking about energy efficiency it was top on our list. We learned everything the hard way, but now we're happy to share our experience with other people.

We've developed a plan that all of our friends have followed so that they can become energy independant (gas too!). I'm going to share an overview of the plan with you.

To start out with you'll need to become more energy efficient. At first this simply means changing your light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL's) and becoming more aware of your energy usage. Over time this will lead you to turn off appliances that you're not using and trying to make your appliances more energy efficient. This might include keeping your refrigerator full at all times (even with jugs of water) as the less air there is in your fridge the less energy escapes when you open the door. This could also include washing your clothes in cold water instead of warm or hot water. The key is to put the money you're saving in energy into a savings account so that you have some start up later on.

After your house is energy efficient it's time to generate some of your own power. We recommend going grid-tie starting out as it's a good solution for most people. Grid tie simply means that instead of storing the power you produce in batteries you pump it back into the grid and lower your electric bill. Make sure to check your local laws to see if this is allowed. The great thing about grid-tie is that you could get started by building a wind generator and getting an inverter. You'll have to get an electrician to hook it up to the grid, but you could expect savings of 50% each month using this method and it would pay for itself in about 3 months.

Now that you're saving more money on electricity remember to keep putting that savings into a savings account. Keep building up your energy production until you no longer need any energy from the grid. Now it's time to start building your battery backup. You can find free sources of batteries from your local golf course or industrial sector (from forklifts).

Space out the whole process over two years and suddenly you no longer need to buy electricity and you have about $3000 - $5000 per year. Imagine what you could do with all that extra money.

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