Gotta get off the grid on the way to freedom

Posted by melodieshouse on July 20, 2008

I’m exploring going solar now. A lot of people turn to solar or other renewable forms of energy primarily b/c they’re concerned about the environment. But me, I’m concerned primarily about the rising costs of power from the utilities and what it’s doing to the financial state of my household, bolstered by issues with the way the utilities here in VA (primarily Dominion Power) do business, which has been less than entirely ethical to say the least. Just take a look at these articles from the Virginia Pilot:

Virginia Natural Gas bills to shoot up by 35 percent

SCC approves Dominion Virginia Power’s 18% rate increase

Above ground, a golf course. Just beneath it, potential health risks.

Chesapeake takes steps toward Superfund designation for site

More work needed on use of fly ash

York panel urges OK of taller fly-ash landfill

Power plant is ground zero in battle of energy vs. environment

Our electric bill for 5/16-6/17 is almost $300 and we didn’t even start using A/C regularly during that period. I’m afraid to see what the next bill will be. Our gas bill for the month of June, which was for hot water only, was just under $70. Now we live in a 2-story house with at least 2000sf living space – I don’t know if that’s on par for VA residents, but I know it’s killing us. I’m very worried about what the gas bill will be for the coldest months (Jan-Feb). Back in early 2004 our gas bill for Feb was $360 to heat the home, our electric bill for same period was about $170. Electricity in the summer was around $275 peak month, no gas bill. We were buying a 2-story, 1600sf house at the time and ended up selling it by November 2004 b/c we could not afford it. Our income now is almost double what we were making then and yet our cost of living (rent, utilities, food, gasoline) exceeds our net income.

As we’re working our way thru this, and as we travel the road to financial freedom, aka financial independence (click here for a good explanation of what that means) I have come to the conclusion that we need to take steps toward sustainable living as part of the means toward achieving that goal. I discussed with my husband that I feel we should go solar. Why? B/c solar is sustainable, it frees us from part of “the system” in that we won’t be supporting utility companies with our hard-earned money on a monthly basis, and we’ll save a ton of money in the long run that we can apply toward other needs. We can’t make a total conversion yet b/c we’re still renting the house we live in, but we can start with a water heater and work our way up.