Page 24 - OffGrid East Coast Special Edition 2016

About the Author
Rudi Fowler is self-employed and installs and services rural, high-speed Internet systems for Xplornet Communications.
He is also a partner at Epic Energy Solutions, providing renewable energy solutions to off-grid and grid-tied clients.
Living their dream
in an off-grid log home
By
A power bill was never something that really interested me. Who wants bills? A friend once said, “Rudi, you don’t need to make a lot of money to be rich, just don’t spend a lot.” That sounded like great advice. No power bills, no cable bills, no Internet bills, no phone bills. With these monthly burdens freed up, what could I do with the extra green?
This type of thinking, combined with my distaste for vinyl siding, subdivisions, and cookie-cutter existence, was the driving force behind the off-grid, remote, lifestyle that we live today.
My wife and I are both 29 years old. We have been living off-grid for more than seven years now. We have never had a power bill. Nestled in the backwoods of Tracy, New Brunswick, we raise three boys all under the age of five.
Perfect property
The concept of living independently was always an allure for us. Our dream was to build a log home completely off the grid, near water, and away from hustle and bustle. In 2009 we purchased a great piece of property with a river flowing through it. My plan: to power our home with a water turbine. I had carefully monitored water flow and recorded the data for three years prior to buying the land. We had 500 gpm of available flow and 26 feet of elevation drop over 500 feet of distance. “PERFECT”, I thought! It even included two beautiful waterfalls.
Meanwhile, my like-minded uncle (and now business partner) was hard at work
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