In real terms unless you have chosen to live in a place never previously touched by civilisation, most places will have access to some sort of energy resource, the question then becomes do you want to use it and subsequently pay for it.
The next consideration for powering your dream is how do you want to live? are you leaving the norm behind and so the prospect of hooking up to any kind of grid dismays you, or are you not ready to become Grisly Adams just yet so power lines and water supply are right up your one track road.
In our case we had an existing electricity supply attached to the old house and the water had been provided by a dried up well. The rural nature of the location meant that a gas supply had never been nor never would be an option so whilst our ethos had already lead us down the off grid route the land supported our ideas so it seemed like serendipity.
We spent a long time deciding on the sorts of systems we would use to power and fuel our home and in real terms are still working on the perfect solution 5 years later. One thing I would say though is that this is Simons mission he has been researching and learning about alternative power for 8 years – not because he wants to save the planet per say more because he really hates to pay for anything and so questions everything we do to see if there is a alternative way to do things, be it recycling, rebuilding and ultimately generating.
If Simon had his own way I would be pedalling the rusty old bicycle out back hooked up to dc motor to power the house. Two birds with one stone Steph, electricity and fitness all in one.
Words were said about that comment I can tell you and they were not polite.
More about the choices we made coming soon.
in the meantime
Just Breathe
If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.
Nikola Tesla