21 Sep 2005 @ 20:38, by Raymond Powers
PLUGGING IN TO THE WIND AND SUN
GO OFF THE GRID WITHOUT LOSING POWER
By Rose Miller
Utne.com
July 28, 2005 Issue
[link]
Letting go of electric appliances and other modern conveniences is a form of
environmental asceticism that most people aren't willing to undertake. But
unlike those in the back-to-the-land movement of the 1970s, not everyone who
moves off the grid has to do away with all, or even any, modern
accoutrements. Contemporary back-to-the-landers aren't retreating from
modernity; they're bringing it with them, constructing homes and retreats
equipped with solar panels and wind turbines that provide plenty of power
year-round.
Writing in E Magazine, Jim Motavalli highlights the success stories of a
handful of families who live electrified lives off the grid
. After five years that included
hand-cranking a wringer for laundry and cooking by flashlight, the Lillys
installed solar panels and wind turbines to bring electricity to their West
Virginia farm. Jim and Mindy Phypers don't have to do without a
refrigerator, stereo, computer, or even a microwave, let alone lights and
hot water. The couple, who live in sun-drenched Tucson, Arizona, get their
power from twelve solar panels, a wind turbine, and solar heating tubes that
put hot water in the taps.
For those who would follow in the Lillys' and Phyperses' footsteps,
organizations in the US and Canada are springing up to help. Grist's Umbra
Fisk provides a trove of such resources for people looking to install
micro-wind turbines on their property
. She
recommends visiting the National Wind Technology Center's online Clean Power
Estimator , which helps
determine the viability of wind power in a specific area. The Wind Energy
Resource Atlas of the United States
also gives information
that can be helpful in deciding whether to turn to wind as an alternative
power source. The Solar Living Institute , a
nonprofit spin-off of Real Goods , a northern
California green-living company, has the goods on renewable energy and green
building design and demonstrates them in action at the organization's Solar
Living Center in Hopland,
California.
Several companies sell products that help consumers convert their households
to alternative power sources. Among them is John Schaeffer's aforementioned
Real Goods, founded in 1978 to meet the needs of participants in the
original back-to-the-land movement. The company now sells solar panels,
micro-wind turbines, batteries, and environmentally friendly appliances.
According to Motavalli, many back-to-the-landers rely on Lehman's
, a Kidron, Ohio-based company that sells
nonelectric appliances and other necessities for an off-the-grid lifestyle.
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