Hi Everyone, I am back from my vacation to Tampa to hang with the mother and enjoy nice weather! It was a great trip but we were so glad to be back. Upon our arrival we were greeted with heavy downpours and wind. We were mentioning how thankful we were that it was not snow as it should be this time of year. I got a new truck, picked it up Thursday of last week and when we got home the weather cranked it up a notch. THere were reported 70mph wind gusts. Nobody was prepared for it and 300,000 people suddenly lost power. We at Swood south were 1 of those families.
We talk alot about how we want to go off grid and with that comes alot of preparation on our part. We prepare so that daily tasks can be as comfortable as possible and yet still take us off the grid. Unfortunately Swood SOUTH is not prepared for too much off grid activity and although we had a generator and a roof over our heads (which is more than many and for that we are thankful) we were without some of the major comforts. This made the 4th and 5th day of forced "off grid" trying.
I also talk alot about learning and experiencing life and we will put this into our "lessons learned" file and build off of that. We learned the supplies we were lacking and we will make sure that Swood North has those comforts.
We got our power back today (at 4am) and slowly things are going back to normal.
L
3 comments:
It was a crazy weekend for weather. We did not lose power but many folks around us did.
Spring is just around the corner!
As someone who has lived completly off grid (solar electric) for 24 years, may I offer some advice?
The transition between grid power and independence can be done in a gradual (as income provides) manor.
Too often people think it is one or the other, grid or independence.
You currently have grid power and as you mentioned a generator.
Without getting into great detail, you can first purchase a "quality" inverter (DC to AC) that also has DC charging capabilities and as many deep cycle (golf cart) batteries as you can afford. With that you can keep the batteries charged with either the grid power or (get all the more out of) your generator run time.
Yes you'll have to do some wireing and have an understanding of basic electric. If you don't have those skills...a book will probably be cheaper than an electrician.
Then the expense of solar panels can be added as income allows but for as long as your batteries last..hey...you've found some independence.
Hope this helped rather than confused.
Best to you in this venture...
We are talking about a generator here. Although, our power seems reliable there are times when it isn't.
Linda
http://coloradofarmife.wordpress.com
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