How to Live off the Grid in in the Alaskan Wilderness

Maybe, like a growing number of people, you dream of a life with no utility bills. Maybe you want to live your life in such a way that you leave a very small footprint on the Earth. Or maybe you want to live in the Alaskan wilderness and it would cost a fortune to pay the utility companies to connect you to the grid. In any of these cases, it is possible to live a comfortable life without being hooked up to the local electric, water and gas companies. Living in the Alaskan wilderness does present special challenges, but this article will tell you how you can go about achieving an off grid life for yourself, even in Alaska.

Things You'll Need

• Log home
• Solar panels
• Solar battery bank
• Composting toilet
• Rain barrels
• Well
• Wood stove or fireplace

Instructions

1. Install an array of solar panels. This is how you will generate electricity to run your television, microwave and computer. The solar panels will capture the energy from the sun and convert it into electricity that you can use through a component called an inverter.

2. Build a solar battery bank. The batteries will be connected to your solar panel array. Ideally your battery bank should be large enough to store enough energy to power your home for at least five days. This is very important in the Alaskan wilderness, because you will depend on the batteries for power on cloudy or rainy days, when there is not a lot of sunshine to capture.

3. Use a composting toilet. These special toilets are not connected to the sewer line and instead are self-contained. Each time you use the bathroom, you open the drawer in the base and cover the waste up with a fresh layer of sawdust. The sawdust will control the odor and also start the composting process. Every so often you will need to empty the drawer outside on your compost pile and start again with new sawdust. You can purchase a composting toilet that looks very much like a regular toilet, or a handy person could even build their own out of wood if they wanted to save some money.

4. Collect rainwater to use in your home. This can be done with rain barrels or a more complicated system of rain gutters and water collection tanks.

5. Drill a well if there is water under your property. A well will provide a good clean water source for your home.

6. Heat your home with a fireplace or a wood stove. If your home is well insulated a fireplace or wood stove can put out enough heat to keep your whole family cozy in the cold Alaskan winter.

Tips & Warnings

• The key to living off the grid successfully is that you must use less energy than you produce. Conserve energy as much as you can.

• Invest in high quality deep-cycle batteries for your solar battery bank. They are more expensive, but they will store more energy and will last years longer than cheaper batteries.

• Wear gloves and protective eyewear when working with the battery bank. Battery acid is very caustic and you should avoid coming into contact with it.

Resources

• Click here and learn how to live off the grid
• Living off the grid