Since when is living without responsibilities much more responsible? When one is living “off the grid”.
When a person lives off the grid, he/she has found and is making good use of alternate forms of energy to power a home. This individual has, essentially, replaced the traditional grid (or the power grid) which connects energy providers so that individual homes can be provided power, natural gas, water and telephone lines. However, there are multiple other viable sources of energy which can be utilized effectively – solar heating, geothermal energy and wind power to mention just a few. All of these alternative energy sources are considerably more cost-effective in the long run for a homeowner as well as far more beneficial for our Earth.
Evaluate your own home … what can you do to go off the grid? Can you mount solar panels on your roof? Build a windmill? Dig a well? Burn wood in a fireplace? Hang dry wet laundry on a clothes line? Install a rain barrel or cistern (an above- or underground water tank)?
Mind you, going off the grid isn’t as easy as it sounds. You are at Mother Nature’s whims … should you be relying on solar power to heat and light your home, what do you do on a cloudy day? You should invest in a back-up generator to have on hand, in case of such emergencies. Typically, these generators run on natural gas, propane or gasoline and should only be operated when needed the most.
With global warming becoming more of a concern each day, going off the grid is becoming more popular for consumers everywhere and for good reasons. People will not receive further nasty monthly bills from energy providers to pay and, by doing so, will dramatically reduce their own carbon footprints. Go on … cut those ties with your own utility companies and live irresponsibly! You will, in fact, be living more responsibly.
