Our Solar Journey - Leoma Candle Studio
The idea of running your home or business from solar energy is appealing to most people - who does not want to power their lives using the free energy of the sun? Yet, relatively few actually do it. It may seem complicated, expensive and involve lifestyle changes that are not practical and unappealing to most people living in the modern would. These assumptions are mostly false.
After hearing many boiler-plate sales pitches and marketing hype trying to convince me of the value of solar, my return on investment and 'special' financing arrangements for the expensive and complicated solar system they wanted to sell me - it became clear to me that my goals and requirements to power my home and future business exclusively by solar energy were not getting through or understood by the solar company marketers. I did not need yet another sales pitch or be told how I could sell power back to the grid. It was this experience that drove me to learn all I could about solar and become the expert that I was wanting to consult with.
I decided to DIY, and I am so glad I did. Based on data, I proved to myself that our dream of living off-the-grid was indeed viable at a modest cost, DIY friendly, and we could actually live like modern human beings (read: we need air-conditioning, computers, television, coffee-makers, etc). Karin was in for the ride when I told her that going off-the-grid would not require lifestyle sacrifices that would quickly render us unrecognizable - as many of our friends and relatives feared (I guess too much reality TV).
I have a remarkable solar energy system that I specified and installed myself. It provides more power than we can use, even when running two air-conditioners during the summer. I did this at less than a third of the cost of what solar companies were quoting me. The 'off-the-grid' reality shows reflect lifestyle choices that have nothing to do with Solar Energy. You can be a doomsday prepper or Fortune 500 CEO (and look the part) when running your home from the sun's energy - your choice.
Visitors to our home and candle studio have no indication that we are off-the-grid as our home and studio looks and acts like a typical on-grid home and workshop. The most common question we get from visitors is: 'How did you do this?' In other words, they want to know how we live like a normal couple with all the modern conveniences while using solar energy for all our electricity requirements 24x7x365. They see and want the energy independence and self-reliance, priorities focused on life's wonderful things, sustainable green living and so much more. My response is that I truly believe anyone can do this. Yes, it takes hard work and a lot of DIY but it is so worth it.
I decided to DIY, and I am so glad I did. Based on data, I proved to myself that our dream of living off-the-grid was indeed viable at a modest cost, DIY friendly, and we could actually live like modern human beings (read: we need air-conditioning, computers, television, coffee-makers, etc). Karin was in for the ride when I told her that going off-the-grid would not require lifestyle sacrifices that would quickly render us unrecognizable - as many of our friends and relatives feared (I guess too much reality TV).
I have a remarkable solar energy system that I specified and installed myself. It provides more power than we can use, even when running two air-conditioners during the summer. I did this at less than a third of the cost of what solar companies were quoting me. The 'off-the-grid' reality shows reflect lifestyle choices that have nothing to do with Solar Energy. You can be a doomsday prepper or Fortune 500 CEO (and look the part) when running your home from the sun's energy - your choice.
Visitors to our home and candle studio have no indication that we are off-the-grid as our home and studio looks and acts like a typical on-grid home and workshop. The most common question we get from visitors is: 'How did you do this?' In other words, they want to know how we live like a normal couple with all the modern conveniences while using solar energy for all our electricity requirements 24x7x365. They see and want the energy independence and self-reliance, priorities focused on life's wonderful things, sustainable green living and so much more. My response is that I truly believe anyone can do this. Yes, it takes hard work and a lot of DIY but it is so worth it.
If you are interested in powering your life from the sun, I hope my solar journey inspires you. If I can answer any questions you may have, send me an email. I will be glad to help.
Best wishes - Joe