• Reduced dependence on exhausting resources: Who wants to depend on public utilities all the time? Living off the grid helps you rely only on your resources and not the ones supplied by governments or corporations. Wouldn’t you like to take charge of such factors affecting you life? With alternate power solutions, you can.

• Freedom of usage of naturally available resources: How would you feel when you don’t have to pay for the power you use? Wouldn’t it be delightful to use as much power as you want without worrying about the electricity meter? You can make use of the abundant power available in the nature to light up your home and make your food. The solar power solutions and the wind power solutions are the answers to your power quest (well, literally!).

• Reduced power costs, helping save your money: How would you feel if the electricity bills stop coming in your letter box? The alternate power solutions give you a return on investment very soon, thus making the power supply to your home eventually free!

• Making way for a healthier environment: Don’t you bless the people who planted trees years ago not expecting them to miraculously grow? They planted those trees for the future generations. Make the future of your future generations secure by giving them a greener, healthier world. Cut down on the usage of non-renewable sources of energy. Try to use water minimally. There is not much drinking water left for the next generations.

If you are thinking it is not very feasible to live off the grid, look for alternate power solutions and you will be surprised to learn that they are not only cost-effective but also extremely feasible.

Make power at home with solar and wind energy to eliminate your power bill.

When we decided to live off the grid, we make a pact to try to live as environmentally consciously as possible. And, for the most part, we have. We recycle glass, paper and metal – except when the exhaustion of a toddler turns our brains to mush and we forget.

But I am faced with a dilemma. Ants, really big ugly black ants, have decided that the land right outside our back porch is perfect, and moved in. Now in addition to being environmentally friendly, there is the added concern that we draw water from our own well. Therefore, if we eradicate them with chemicals it could pollute the ground water, and we would have no drinking water. Aside from an inconvenience, this could be a really big problem if we were to ever sell this house.

But the ants are huge! And getting stung by one really hurts. I can handle it with a bit of grousing, but it would be more dangerous to our 14 month-old daughter. What if they got inside and swarmed – do ants swarm in the baby’s room during the night? In fact, there was a case in west Phoenix where a baby was attacked in her crib by fire ants and died from the hundreds of stings.

After numerous moral and ethical conversations, we decided to call in the Orkin man. Especially since our cocktail of vinegar, Cajun powder and anything else nasty sounding in the pantry didn’t convince them to move on.

Once they arrived we were careful to explain our concerns and they shared that the chemicals break down very quickly and were not a threat. Grateful, we wrote the check and sent him out to do the deed.

I have to say that several weeks later there is still no sign of the ants and, well, I can just sleep better at night.

Note, there are several environmentally friendly pest control options, but when you live on five acres in the middle of the desert surrounded by forest you really need the heavy guns! It’s like living in the world’s largest bug light.

Alanna Vitucci is the President of Cactus Blossom Communications, a full-service marketing communications firm located in Ft. McDowell, Arizona. For additional information or to request a project quote, please log onto elance.com and search for CactusBlossomCom under the provider list. Or, contact her directly at 602.418.9068 / cactusblossomcom@direcway.com.

Off the Grid
Stories from a disconnected life by Alanna Vitucci

You don’t normally pay attention to how important water is to a functioning home. Without water you can’t flush the toilet, take a bath/shower or cook.

Recently we learned this lesson the hard way – when our well decided to quit pumping water at 2 am on a Saturday morning. Having woken up to some rather alarming noises from our water heater, once the sun was up, we started trying to contact the pump company. Only to learn that they had no 24-hour service number, and normal hours of operation were from 8-5 Monday through Friday. (Note to self – when living off the grid always ensure that you have repair numbers handy.)

After several frustrating hours, we quickly learned that water for cooking and showers was a plus, being able to use the toilet was non-negotiable. So amid dire thoughts of having to drill a deeper well, or worse – that the huge aquifer that we lived on top of had suddenly become bone dry – we packed up the baby and decamped to my parents home in Scottsdale for the remainder of the weekend.

Come Monday morning I placed a very anxious call to the pump company and they promised to send a technician out right away. After eight hours of work we had a new pump and several hundred feet of new casing inside the well itself.

The verdict – phew – was not that we had a problem well.

Rather, when our home was being built, the company delivering the roof tresses had backed over one of our tanks. At the time, everyone thought there had been no damage to the well itself. It turns out everyone was wrong – as the well casing had been cracked in five places and the old pump working overtime to draw water out of the leaky well.

That evening I took a long, hot bath and thanked the gods that our well was still, well, well!

Alanna Vitucci is the President of Cactus Blossom Communications, a full-service marketing communications firm located in Ft. McDowell, Arizona. For additional information or to request a project quote, please log onto elance.com and search for CactusBlossomCom under the provider list. Or, contact her directly at 602.418.9068 / cactusblossomcom@direcway.com.

We’ve all seen the ads — beautiful, cheap land for sale. Wouldn’t it be great, we think, to get away from it all and relax in our own cabin in the forest, undisturbed by modern life?

There’s just one hitch. There are generally no modern conveniences either. No phone, sewage, water or electricity for miles and miles.

Until recently, building in such remote areas was often expensive at the very least, or downright impossible. Today however, more and more Americans are building off the grid lifestyles or vacation escapes.

A key factor in this shift has been the development of cost-effective off-the grid power generation systems such as solar technology, wind power and even propane. These systems are not new, but rather today’s companies have developed better ways in which to harness and store the energy they create.

But how do these systems work, and are they consistently reliable?

Capturing the Sun’s Energy
At the simplest level, solar energy systems are comprised of cells that are generally placed on rooftops. These cells collect solar energy and convert it into electricity, which is then stored in water tanks or batteries for later use.

The Power of Wind
Power generated by harnessing wind is one of the world’s cleanest power sources. “By connecting a spinning rotor (an assembly of blades attached to a hub) to an electric generator, modern wind turbines convert wind energy, which turns the rotor, into electrical energy.” Throughout the world, Denmark, Germany, China and India have invested in wind power to supplement their traditional power sources. And, in the United States, there are several large wind farms. The biggest of which is Altamont Pass, currently operating 6,000 rotors, in California.

Propane
Propane is a clean burning gas that is generally stored in a tank outside of the home and piped inside. Today, propane can be used to power just about any household appliance, from heating and lighting to drying and cooking.

So if you have one of these ads tucked away somewhere in the what-if pile on your desk, maybe it’s time to call back that realtor!

According to Bergey.com, off the grid power systems generally cost between $5,000 and $50,000, depending on their size and complexity. Given that solar and wind generation systems are dependent on the whims of Mother Nature, a redundant or secondary energy source is generally recommended. Once a consistent power system is established, it then becomes relatively simple to install a well and septic system to provide water and waste disposal.

So now that the dream can be a reality, what’s next? Head to your nearest bookstore for a cup of coffee and spend the next several hours pouring over books of log cabins. Then dream about snoozing in the hammock that will be hanging from the back our your new porch!