Wellness Wednesday: FCS Goes Off-Grid
Merriam-Webster's defines "off-grid" as "not connected to or served by publicly or privately managed utilities (such as electricity, gas, or water)." This week we're excited to feature 17-year member and former affiliate president and national membership committee chair Lorraine Tanguay of Maine, who, as a seasoned off-grid resident since 1991, could be the ambassador for FCSfit Year Two on the theme of resource well-being! Read on to learn how she does it:
Will you describe your house?
Our house is now a three-bedroom farm house which is situated in the western mountains of Maine. It looks like any other 175 year-old house with the exception of there are no power lines coming to our home. We have approximately 10 acres of land, most of it is woods. We have one neighbor that is about a quarter mile away from us. Every other neighbor is at least half a mile away. Behind our house is a small storage shed with a four solar panel array on the roof. Behind the storage shed is a 30-foot tower with a wind turbine at the top. The view from our is is a majestic mountain range called the Mahoosuc Mountains. You can see for miles and miles.
To what degree/percentage are you off the grid?
We are 100% off the grid. We are not hooked up to any form of power company.
What type of energy source(s) do you use?
Our power comes from sun, wind and a 16-battery battery bank to store our power with a generator for backup. From February until November the sun and the wind provide us with all the power we need. During the winter months we do need to run our generator for about 3 hours every 3 days. My kitchen appliances (stove refrigerator and hot water) as well as our backup heaters are all propane.
What inspired you to live this way?
The house had belonged to my husband's grandparents and had been their camp since the early 1940s. In 1989 we were offered the camp and bought it because we wanted very much to keep it in the family. This was a four bedroom farm house on 10 acres of land in rural Maine, which had been moved to its present location in the winter of 1928 by utilizing horses and skids. During the summer of 1989 and 1990 we installed indoor plumbing which meant taking one of the bedrooms and converting it into a full bathroom. In 1991 we decided that we wanted to move our two sons out of a small city and onto a dirt road and try our hand at living off the grid. At that time we only had a generator for power. We listened to a battery operated radio to get the news and weather and there were 2 television stations that we would listen to on the radio in the evenings. Our children did homework by gas lanterns and we all played games and read quite often. Our refrigerator, stove, hot water, and back up heat are all propane. Our main source of heat is wood.
Neither my husband nor I had even been exposed to living off the grid so we read a great deal about it and attend conferences and seminars and read a great deal about living off grid so we would better understand what we were doing. In 2002 we put in the a 12 battery system with an inverter and four solar panels and a small wind turbine. We had to watch our power use and check the amount of power in our batteries so that we would not run out. Our house had all CFL light bulbs and recently (we) went to all LED light bulbs.
Are there any trade-offs to this lifestyle in your opinion?
At first we would need to be extremely conscientious about power usage as we would need to do a great deal when we ran the generator. We would all take showers, do the dishes, iron clothes and usually there was time enough to watch a movie while the generator was being used for other things. Now, with the solar panels, wind turbine and battery bank we don't have to worry as much about running out of power however, all of the outlets have switched power strips that are turned of when not in use. We have most of the modern conveniences including several computers and printers, Internet, big screen television, DVD player, constant hot water, etc. One of the biggest issues with living off the grid for us is that I have an Infrared sauna which I can only use when the generator is running and the same goes for some of the power tools in our basement. They draw too much electricity for our inverter. We have to go to a laundromat to do our wash but I have a large clothesline for drying our clothes during the summer months. I don't have a lot of small appliance that would use power in my kitchen. I make coffee on the stove through the use of a Melitta coffee maker. I do have a microwave, mixer, Instapot pressure cooker, and a toaster but that is the extent of my small appliance. I do own a hair dryer and curling iron but use them as little as possible. I made my own window quilts for every room to help conserve heat. They also keep the house cooler in the summer.
When we have guests we have to make sure that they understand about how we live. You don't leave the phone and computer charges plugged in as they draw power just by being plugged in, no long showers as we only have a dug well, and turn off lights when you leave a room.
I don't feel that there is anything that I would change. We have lived this way so long now that we don't think about our can't dos and we concentrate on what we have.
Appliances like propane refrigerators are quite expensive so when we decided to buy a new more efficient model 2 years ago we had to do a great deal of research to find the one that was right for us. We found out that we only had about 5 companies to choose from and not a big selection. When we went to buy a new kitchen stove I had to look for a propane one that did not need electricity. We finally found one that used a 9-volt battery for the electronic ignition system.
What are the biggest benefits you see?
We love where we live. We are on a dirt road where it is almost always quiet. I don't get an electric bill! The gas we have to buy for the generator is quite inexpensive compared to our neighbor's power bills.
Our sons were 6 and 7 when we moved into the house and they grew up loving the outdoors as there was nothing to keep them inside. We felt that our boys would grow up better on a dirt road and that proved to be true. Our sons are both Eagle Scouts and have college degrees and very good jobs. If we had remained in the city I am not sure that they would have done so well. Our youngest son has recently bought a home of his own and is looking into installing solar panels.
Are there any examples of how you’ve used your experiences in off-grid living at home in your classroom?
I do talk about how to conserve power and explain to my students that I live off the grid and what that means. I have taught classes on how much power appliances, chargers, and so-forth use, and what to look for when buying major appliances.
Inspired to incorporate more earth-friendly practices in your daily life? Check out the archived webinar, Living Green (you will be prompted to sign in). Archived and live webinars are always free for members via the MyAAFCS Member Open Forum Library.