Living Off the Grid is There a Cost Effective Method?
July 21st, 2008
The ever-increasing demands for power have resulted in huge upsurges in the costs to run our homes. This coupled with the daily warnings about our environment are signs telling us that it’s time to take action. So, what can we do? Well, how about living off the grid?
Some may be startled at this proposition but let me explain what off the grind living is. First off the grid living is not some hillbilly setup with outdoor plumbing and mediocre power limits. It’s simply a term that describes creating a power solution for your family that is not dependant on your local power company, hence the term living off the grid.
The idea of creating home made power is not a new one, and for most people this means installing some sort of solar and wind power system in order to become more self sufficient. Sounds easy enough right? Sure but the problem as you know is the huge cost investment that it takes to set up an independent solar and wind power solution. It can cost upwards of several tens of thousands of dollars to make the conversion and for most people well that’s just not feasible so they continue to feel locked into paying rising energy costs.
Well what if it was possible to find a better solution? One that allowed you to make the conversion at a fraction of the retail commercial cost. There are in fact ways you can trim down the cost behind this conversion and exactly how much might surprise you. It’s no secret that there are many plans out there on the net about how to set up create and make your own solar panels and wind generators. The problem is most are too complex to understand.
Well I came across a site called Earth4energy. After contacting the webpage owner and discussing with him his designs I quickly discovered that he had indeed found a way for the average consumer to start up a solar power system and wind energy solution for as little as $200. Now I will say that even he recommends you build on the system, but what it does show is that it doesn’t have to cost you tens of thousands of dollars you can start saving on your energy costs for as little as $200. I’m sure you will agree that starting in this way is a great solution, and allows people to begin to enjoy lower energy bills.
Here is a brief introduction into Earth4Energy and how it works.
Part one Working With Your Solar Power System
It consists of few different systems depending on what your needs are. First off, It explains in detail how you can build a working solar energy system for under $200. You can use this to power things like lights, computers, televisions and anything that needs electricity at your home. It is also highly useful for camping as the system is very portable and can easily be taken on your next family vacation. It also gives you a full step by step instructions with a very clear diagram for you to follow and there is no need of technical knowledge very easy to setup. After that you will learn how you can create a off-grid or grid inter-tied solar energy system. Both of these systems come with a detailed instructions and respective diagrams.
Part2 Working With Wind Power.
If you would prefer getting your power from the wind rather then the sun it also covers this area as well with full details and diagrams. Included in the Earth4Energy guide are instructions on building your own wind powered energy solution. This really is a fun project with many benefits. You can build and install your own power generating wind power system in your own backyard for as little as $200. Now that’s what I call a great start up wind power system. Having great energy solutions like this without the huge cost is a great way to get started living off the grid.
Common Benefits of Earth4Energy:

Now obviously to gain maximum benefit it is recommend you scale up these projects, but the idea is to show you that it doesn’t have to cost you thousands in order to enjoy off the grid living. In fact you can start with very little cost, which is why I highly recommend Earth4Energy.
Visit the official Earth4Energy website now


August 27th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
This was a very informative post. With energy costs always rising I always wondered if there were any possible cost effective solutions. I always though installing any kind of wind power or solar system would be just too costly vs the potential savings, thanks I just might have to look into this one
August 27th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Wow, Thanks I always though that building a living off the grid style energy solution would be too costsly perhaps this information will help me find a better cost effective green solution thanks