Instead of going off the grid you can modify many of your behaviors and strike a fine balance. Think using less, buying less, slowing things down, etc and of course installing a solar PV system to offset some to most of your electricity needs.

The first time I ever heard the concept of being off the grid, was last summer when a fellow co-worker spoke about how she did just that for a few years when she was a child. Initially it sounded frightening. The beginning of a bad horror movie- out in the middle of nowhere without any means of connecting with the rest of the world, no electricity- all ripe opportunities for a man with mask a chain saw.

A year later I can see the appeal to living off the grid. Not only would it vastly reduce your carbon footprint, but can also bring an element of appreciation for filling one's needs in a simplistic way. I don't know when or if I'll ever get a chance to live off the grid but for now I'll live vicariously through Craig Lasher's installments in the NYT's Green blog about how he and his family doing just that for the next year in Maine.

Interestingly enough many homeowners think that if they install a solar PV system for their house they too can be off the grid. Not quite. Most homeowners will always be tied to the grid for a few primary reasons.

The first is that a home would need a large solar power system to accommodate all the household's electricity needs. Unless the house has a very large roof that would probably mean there would need to be a ground mount system.

Secondly, it would take very large batteries to store all the electricity generated by the solar panels. When a house's solar power system is tied to the grid the electricity generated from the solar panels feeds back into the system and gets stored there to use. Whatever electricity isn't used will be utilized by other utility customers.
A third consideration is, if you're relying entirely on a solar pv system, what will happen when there are several cloudy days solar electricity is not generated? There would have to be a back up generator. The size of the generator will depend upon how many "modern comforts" you feel comfortable living without.

So that's the deal.

If going off the grid is still calling your name check out how others have been successful doing so on the site Living Off The Grid. It is totally possible especially when a homeowner understands the costs and possible energy sacrifices that must be made, as there are some wonderful benefits. For instance if you're off the grid and utility power goes out, you're still in business and of course the amazing environmental savings.

Instead of going off the grid you can modify many of your behaviors and strike a fine balance. Think using less, buying less, slowing things down, etc and of course installing a solar PV system to offset some to most of your electricity needs.