On a usual morning, we wake up and flip on the lights and crank up the heat. We start the coffee-maker and turn on the hot water for a shower. We check our email and do a multitude of other tasks that require electricity.  The vast majority of us take it for granted that the electricity will flow unimpeded from that little outlet in the wall to the various energy eaters we have hooked up to them. In short, we are connected to the “grid.”  The grid is a common name for the system of wires and pipelines that carry electricity and natural gas to our homes. A typical house is connected to power, natural gas, water, and telephone lines.

The power generated to homes from the grid usually comes from the burning of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources meaning that when they are used up, they can’t be replaced in our lifetime – or millions of lifetimes. Not only are they non-renewable, but when they burn, they emit greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.  In fact, electric power generation is the largest source of greenhouse gases.  Our cars don’t contribute as much to global warming as the average home.  Our carbon footprints, which we have all heard so much about, measure how much carbon dioxide we send into the atmosphere just by going about our daily lives. A drive to work, a flip of a light switch, lighting the grill all rely on the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and gas.  And each time we do it, poof – there goes more carbon dioxide into atmosphere.

Now that the reality of the energy crisis is upon us and the subject of alternative energy is the constant topic of discussion in newspapers and on the radio and television, unconventional concepts such as eco-living and living off-grid are beginning to hit the mainstream.  When people go “off-grid,” they opt out of the public utilities and provide all their own power needs through renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, water, and bio-diesel.  This is the largest step in being self-sufficient.  A smaller step is to be grid-tied – meaning you are hooked up to the power grid, but also produce your own electricity.  This way you can save on your electric bill and often sell any extra power you produce back to the utilities’ system.  Both are excellent ways to reduce your carbon footprints, exert independence (it’s wonderfully empowering and liberating!), and reduce your consumption of fossil fuels as well as your monthly power bills.  If those aren’t incentives enough, there are tax breaks by way of credits and rebates available for those who invest in powering their homes with renewable energy as well as the increase in property values that will result from the investment. It’s a real option for those who have already found their own little slice of heaven that is too far to feasibly plug into the grid.

There’s an awful lot to like about off-grid living.  It’s different for everybody. It almost always requires a few lifestyle changes and a different daily routine.  The first step is just developing the desire to do it.  The next step is examining the various ways to produce your own power and determining what types will work where you live or where you plan to live.  If you’re looking for land to build on, you’ll want it to have some open spaces for solar panels, possibly a high elevation for wind, and/or perennial flowing water - the most consistent source of all.  The clouds may cover the sun and the wind may quit blowing, but a perennial stream offers a constant source of power.  The geography of Middle Tennessee offers countless year ‘round streams that provide enough of a flow to power a home and enough open spaces to collect the sun’s energy.  It is an ideal region to find a spot to set up an off-grid living experience.
It seems to be becoming a movement. Alternative energy technologies are rapidly advancing and the costs of equipment have dropped greatly.  They should be falling even more in light of the surge in interest.  And do-it-yourselfers can find numerous kits, resources, and manuals on how to build their own equipment in books and on-line.  Read on for more information about going off-grid.