Preppers Total Grid Failure Handbook
It was a dark and stormy night…
Well, maybe not stormy, but I’ve always wanted to start a book that way! And it
was dark…
We had big delays in closing on our off-grid mountain property because of an
error in the deed’s legal description. Had it not been corrected, we would have
wound up with an unknown piece of property miles from the land we were
actually trying to buy.
After a few more bumps and delays, the actual closing
process was quick and painless. With the deed in hand, we drove into the
mountains to the property and did not arrive until it was already dark.
But we knew these power sources would not last. We needed a renewable, selfreliant, alternative energy solution. So the next morning, we set up a 15-watt
solar panel in the cabin’s only south-facing window and connected it to a very
simple charge controller and a small battery.
It wasn’t much, but we now had a
means to produce power—power that would replenish itself. That’s how it all
started for us: with one solar panel. Over the next four years, we learned a lot
about self-sustaining power and built our own off-grid system. This book will
explain how we were able to forgo commercial grid power and instead create a
self-reliant, renewable alternative in a remote location in the Ozark Mountains.
An off-grid home is not connected to any public utilities. All the modern
conveniences of society that are generally supplied by a municipality are either
deemed unnecessary by the homeowner or are otherwise provided without
connecting to an outside source.
The term “off-grid” is derived from the fact that
you are not connected to the electrical power grid in your community, though an
off-grid life can also mean being disconnected from all other public utilities
including water, sewage, natural gas, and landline telephone. Any conduit that
brings one of these public services onto your property connects you into the grid;
to be fully off-grid, you must break all these connections.
In our case, we chose to break virtual grid connections as well as physical ones.
We disconnected with services such as trash collection, package delivery,
newspaper delivery, and mail service. Going off-grid is different for everyone,
and can be done in baby steps or by going cold turkey, which is what we did.
Whether you are new to prepping or have always lived a lifestyle where
preparing for emergencies and possible disasters was a part of your day-to-day
life, you probably soon realized just how many different types of prepping you
can do. There are seemingly endless avenues you can travel down when it comes
to prepping, and you need to prioritize which are most important for you and
your family.
