What does living off the grid mean to our family? And why would we want to cut ourselves off from the world like that? These are the two most frequently asked questions by visitors to our home and to our website. For most people it really looks like living off the grid has many different meanings, but the reality is quite different from the perception that most people have.

Our family has been producing our own renewable energy power for over 15 years now by learning how to build a wind generator, and how to make solar panels, and now we are looking at micro hydro power next. Living off the grid, means first living with renewable energy for our family.

We have taken personal responsibility for our own energy consumption, our food production and even our building materials and how we heat our home.

It really is great having a few acres to cut firewood and logs each year for building. Every year sees us building more projects and finishing a bit more on our home. Having the raw materials at hand to do that is something we could not live without, since choosing this option.

Many people talk about their carbon footprint, recycling, green options, but all these things can be more easily managed with a simpler life spent living off the grid. There is time for reflection, time to make choices that make long term impact on our planet and just time away from the hustle and bustle that leads to the problems our world faces.

Cut off from the World? Just because we choose to live off grid and not connect to the power grid? That just isn’t true. Modern technology has caught up with us finally allowing us to live as we want to, but still stay connected to the World, when and where we choose to.

Satellite internet connections and satellite TV allow us to stay connected, watch our favorite movies or watch the Hockey game on Saturday night. We are nearly to the point where our Skype phone works with the satellite internet too, not quite though. We still struggle with our poor cell phone service. We could choose to set up a satellite phone if we want to, but for now we will make do with what we have.

Oftentimes, living off the grid means coming up with some unique solution to a problem that seems to stump other families, and that is the challenge of our lives, our mission in fact to bring living off the grid to the forefront of family living options.

As an example, most families today are caught in a pinch with rising energy costs and rising costs in general, you can never totally escape the outside costs of taxes, and the things that must be purchased, but you can more thoroughly control it with our method of living. Think for instance about that home energy bill you get every month, $200 or even more, what if you made a small investment to get started with renewable energy now, you could eventually eliminate that bill altogether.

As we gaze out the window at all of those trees, our small pond, gardens and the beauty of the outdoors we spend living off the grid we know we have made the right choice for our family.

Visit our homepage to learn more about living off the grid.

Build a wind generator- Solar Panels- Living Off the Grid Homepage