Unplugged and Loving it Living off the Grid
The Daily Observer (Pembroke)
Saturday, July 10, 2004
Section: In The Spotlight
Byline: Valerie Mclaughlin
Source: The Observer
Peering out from a window inside the home of Frank Tettemer and Cheryl
Keetch you can see a succession of electricity poles lining the edge of the
couple's property in the distance.
The poles and wires are part of the province-wide electricity grid carrying
power to homes tucked deep in the Wilno hills near Killaloe. This view is
somewhat ironic for Ms. Keetch and Mr. Tettemer, since they live off the
electricity grid in a renewable energy home.
The couple and Ms. Keetch's two teenaged children live comfortably in their
home designed specifically to conserve energy and generate its own power.
They have all the amenities of any other home in the Ottawa Valley - a
microwave, a refrigerator, a dryer and washer, a television, a computer and
a sound system.
"We aren't missing anything but the electricity bill," said Mr. Tettemer.
The refrigerator, which is built into the wall, is twice as efficient and
twice as expensive as appliances with an energy star rating, said Mr.
Tettemer. Although the highly insulated refrigerator appears to be huge, in
reality it is an average size. Because it is built into the wall the ambient
air surrounding it from the outside cools the appliance during the winter.
In the winter, the family generates its heat from an airtight wood stove
located in the kitchen. In the summer they cook using a propane stove.
Four years ago Mr. Tettemer renovated the home to accommodate Ms. Keetch and
her two teenaged children.
"At first they weren't exactly comfortable with the idea," recalled Mrs.
Keetch, explaining the children were told that they could no longer watch
television listlessly for hours.
"So it meant a little adjustment initially, but it became an novelty," she
said.
"Now they are both proponents of it, they are proud to live off grid," added
Mr. Tettemer.
Generating your own electricity doesn't mean you can turn operate appliances
arbitrarily, explained the couple. After a series of cloudy days, the family
postpones chores that take a significant amount of energy to do, like
washing clothes.
The north side of the couple's home looks typical enough. There is a walkway
leading to a small enclosed porch and two tiny windows peer out from the
wooden facade. Turn left and walk around the home you'll find solar panels
attached to the home as well as to a garden shed, all facing upwards. A
windmill attached a 24-foot pole, positioned strategically facing a
clearing, whirls in the wind.
People have gotten used to cheap power, insisted Mr. Tettemer, adding since
the government subsidizes rates consumers are naive about the actual cost of
electricity.
"We have become so reliant on (electricity) that our lifestyles don't go
well without it," he said.
Mr. Tettemer began construction on the home designed specifically to be as
energy efficient as possible eight years ago. Since the north side of the
home is the coldest, there are only two tiny windows for light. The south
side of the home has several windows. Outside there are overhangs above the
windows, allowing light in during the winter and providing shade in the
summer.
The windmill, is situated to generate energy from west wind, the prevailing
wind. The 1,000 watt windmill typically generates half of that amount. The
28 solar panels tacked onto the south side of the home and a garden shed
generates another 1,800 watts of power. All of the power generated is
transferred into the battery room and meters assist the family to determine
how much power they use.
If the batteries are depleted of their energy, Mr. Tettemer and Ms. Keetch
rely on a gas generator that starts automatically when there is not enough
power in the home.
"Even through the worst of the winter we only heard it twice," recalled Mr.
Tettemer. "I don't think the house used more than $20 in gas."
Mr. Tettemer has lived on and off the grid since the 1970s, mostly in a
primitive fashion, using a cooler instead of a refrigerator as well as coal
lanterns and slop buckets. When he began construction on the home he had no
intention on building it off the grid. However, a sense of urgency took over
once he determined it would cost at least $7,000 to get Ontario Hydro to
connect his home with the electricity grid. Running out of money, living
temporarily in the woodshed and with winter approaching, Mr. Tettemer
decided to opt for a cheaper option - purchasing a solar panel.
Covering the window openings with heavy plastic, he moved into the home. The
solar panel provided enough energy for hot water, lighting and music.
Despite purchasing a solar panel, he still believed it would be temporary.
Another year rolled around and he still didn't have $7,000, so instead he
bought another solar panel. By the third year Mr. Tettemer installed some
windows and bought more solar panels and an inverter to watch television and
do laundry.
"Suddenly it was luxurious," he said.
And still he didn't have the money to get the power company to connect him
to the grid. He soon came to the realization that there was no incentive for
him to connect to the electricity grid since he was generating his own
power.
"Imagine the savings (if) you would have paid Ontario Hydro in those eight
years," he noted.
Although the couple isn't getting an electricity bill, it would have been
cheaper if they had spent the money for the electricity hook up, noted Ms.
Keetch.
"Buying the panels or connecting to hydro, clearly hydro was cheaper," she
said.
"The emotional payoff is more of the reason for doing this," explained Mr.
Tettemer. "For me it is a sense of independence, taking control of my life."
That sense of independence is certainly felt during power outages. During
last August's massive blackout that plunged parts of Canada and the U.S.
into complete darkness for several hours, the couple were at home with
power.
"What it is like for me emotionally is when there is a power outage. . . I
don't gloat. It makes me realize how vulnerable we are," said Mr. Tettemer.
During a recent power failure, he and Ms. Keetch assisted a friend who was
at risk of losing her business. With no power to keep the food cold in her
freezers, the woman called the couple for help. She immediately transferred
her food into the couple's freezers.
"It reiterates the importance of thinking about alternative energy sources,"
he said.
After every power outage the couple receives calls from individuals
considering going off the electricity grid to avoid dealing with power
outages and to conserve energy. Mr. Tettemer's first piece of advice is not
to run out and purchase solar panels, but to find ways to conserve energy.
That includes buying more energy efficient appliances and light bulbs that
use less energy than conventional bulbs.
"It is better to buy a high efficiency refrigerator than to buy another
solar panel," he said.
"Conservation is really the first step and then (the next step) is to watch
your daily consumption."
But conservation can only work so far. Realistically, people who are serious
about conserving and producing their own energy need to design their home to
use as little energy as possible, he explained. The couple operate their own
company, Living Sol, that designs and builds energy efficient homes and
cottages. In today's world of blackouts and rising energy costs, Ms. Keetch
believes it is a mistake for people who are building their own homes not to
consider alternative energy sources.
"When a person is starting from scratch they have a great opportunity to
design a home that is energy efficient," added Mr. Tettemer.
