If you build a new home in a rural area you can look at between $10,000 and $100,000 for electrical hookup to the power utility depending how far your house is from the power source. Each pole costs as much as $2500 to put in place so the costs add up quickly. 

Rural Power Choices

In the past a rural homeowner did not have a choice to be on or off the power grid. There were simply no power utilities operating very far from urban centers. In most cases country folk used diesel generators that were started when the sun went down and provided power for the lights and radio. Food was cooked on wood stoves back then so the power requirements were low.  As time marched on the stoves became ranges and televisions became popular so the demands on power began to overload the old generating systems.

In the 1950's and 1960's rural America began hooking up to the convenience of instant power just like their city cousins. In some areas this was costly but the advantages were worth it. This was especially true of farmers who needed more power to run lights and heat in barns and to run specialized machinery like milking machines. 

The Off Grid Option

So what if the utilities won't come to you? What if you live on an island or up in the mountains where it would cost millions to bring one line to your home? And what if you just don't want to pay the prices that the utilities demand? 

1) Economics: More and more people are becoming attuned to the option of living off the power grid. With the increase in technology of generating electricity by solar and wind, as well as battery storage, thousands of Americans are building new homes which will never connect to a power pole.  This is because rising electricity prices, not only isolation, is a driving force. This also means that a growing number of  homeowners on the grid are choosing to add solar and wind systems to their home to supplement their power bill..

2) Environmental Reasons: Those who choose to live off the grid also do it for environmental or political reasons. They feel that they are personally doing their bit to alleviate the Green House Gas problem. Such equipment used to be bought almost exclusively by off-the-gridders in remote rural reaches who couldn't afford fees of $30,000 or more to tie in to electric lines.

3) Tax Breaks: As of this writing homeowners on the grid in almost 30 states can get rebates or tax breaks that can make up to over 50% of the start-up costs of a clean, off-grid system.

4) Income and Equipment Breaks: Many homeowners are finding out that power companies readily buy the excess power that may be generated but not used for the house. This is called “Net Metering.”In fact, seventeen states and a few power utilities now give rebates for homeowners setting up solar collectors and wind generators while net metering is an option in over 3/4 of all the states.

What Do They Buy?

There are many types of self-powering a house but a total off-grid home takes advantage of both solar and wind power. Your home uses solar energy first, and draws whatever else it needs from your utility. The solar power can run the needs of the home until sun's intensity ceases and that's where the wind comes in. Now, if there is a calm night where both real-time activities are neutralized a battery pack kicks in and carries the load. Here is a DC/AC System with an AC powered charger and an AC transfer switch.  

Thanks to http://www.alpinesurvival.com

MooDoo

During the energy crisis of the late 1970's, Foster Brothers Farm, Inc. in Vermont started producing electricity from cow manure. The soupy manure from the milking stalls goes into a drain  and augered out to an anaerobic digester where the fermentation produces methane gas, which is also a detriment to the Green House Gas crisis. The methane gas is used as a clean burning, environmentally safe source of fuel for electrical generation to provide power for the farm and the excess is sold to the local utility.

Vermont Natural Ag Products, Inc. has taken over where the Fosters left off and is now a leader in the production of soils, composts, and growing mixes in the Northeastern United States. Using the digested manure, we have been able to develop an organic product line that make growing a little bit more productive and, of course, a little bit more natural.