Margaret Gallagher, an 83-year-old woman living in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, has never had electricity or running water in her 200-year-old thatched cottage. She uses an open fireplace for heating, cooking, and boiling water. Gallagher has survived many storms, but said she was “absolutely petrified” during Storm Éowyn, which caused widespread power cuts across the region. However, she was the only one who could cope because she was “totally off the grid.”
Gallagher’s daily routine involves fetching buckets of drinking water from a nearby well, using candles and paraffin lamps for light, and keeping herself entertained with her battery-powered radio and library of books. She said she doesn’t miss the basic household services that most people take for granted. She believes that quality of life is more important than standards of living, and that her cottage, Mullylusty, which was built in the 1820s by her grandparents, is on “hallowed ground”.
Meanwhile, Michael Wilkinson, a 41-year-old mechanic from County Kilkenny, Ireland, built an energy system using 36 solar panels on his roof and around his garden and a wind turbine that he built himself, to wean his home off its reliance on Ireland’s national grid. With his setup, he just needs a change-over switch, which can either isolate or reconnect his home to the grid whenever necessary. Wilkinson estimates that he spent about €6,000 (£5,030) installing the system.
Wilkinson’s electricity bills have plummeted, and he uses a petrol generator for emergencies because the fuel he uses is more expensive than using mains electricity. The family’s home is also not connected to a mains water supply, so they use self-generated power to pump water in from a well. They use an open fireplace with a back boiler to heat their radiators and provide hot water for showers. The couple documents their DIY efforts on YouTube and grows their vegetables and keeps chickens for eggs and meat. Wilkinson feels that it is almost no different from a modern on-grid life.
It might not be possible to be 100% self-sufficient without making some hard sacrifices, according to Wilkinson. It is challenging to grow bananas in Ireland’s climate, and some goods are still unavailable despite efforts to grow their own food. In conclusion, there are a few hardy individuals who opt to live off the grid, getting by
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