Friday, October 31, 2008

How To Live Off The Grid Today Starting From Scratch

By Robert H Nowlan

Did you realize that it is now possible to live off the grid these days without it costing you earth.

In this article, we are going to look into 2 methods that will enable you to live off the grid. These methods will save you thousands of dollars, as well as help save our environment.

First method is, to learn how to make a wind turbine.

The two ways to approach this are, to have a wind turbine system installed by a professional company. Whilst this is obviously the easy way to go about getting one, you will also find it the most expensive way. Professional installations can cost up to $20,000, and in turn take you maybe up to 15 years to get a real return of investment. The other way is to build your own.

A wind turbine can be built for under $200. All the parts needed can be bought from your local hardware store. Even old auto parts can be used on this project. Take this approach and you will find yourself in profit very quickly.

The second method you can use is, to learn how to build a solar panel.

You will find that solar panels are just as expensive to get installed as a wind turbine, if you go the professional route. However, just like the turbines, solar panel panels can me made at home very easily and cheaply. They're not as difficult to build as you might think. All the parts can be found at your local hardware store. The main components are:

- A car battery

- Some copper sheets

- Metal tubing

- Electric power cable

Some other small parts will be required, but are easy to get hold of.

You may choose one method, or choose the other. You could even combine both methods and really start saving money. You just need to take action and give it a go.

The magic ingredient to making all this work is to find a really good, no fluff guide. The instructions need to be clear and easy to follow. There are different quality levels of guides out there, so be careful.

So if you want to learn how to live off the grid, then building your own generators is by far the best approach. All the parts are cheap and easy to get hold of. All you then need is some space in your workshop. Each of these projects can be easily completed within a weekend. Try for yourself. You will have fun building them, and you will be doing your bit for the environment as well. - 15485

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