![]() “We did, at point in time, get a calculation on energy consumption as a family,” he said. To get around the chore of constantly unplugging items, the pair use power strips to cut all power to their outlets at the flick of a switch.Įach of these modest innovations, they explained, focuses not on efficiency but on limiting consumption, even if it means sacrificing convenience along the way.Įxplaining that their electrical system is deliberately designed to just meet their needs without producing excess energy, Russell said “there are days when it’s not enough,” but that, as a result, the family is able to be more aware of their usage. ![]() Where electricity is needed, McCrory and Russell avoid using any appliances that carry a “phantom load,” which draws power from even when not in use. (Herald / Dylan Kelley)Īnd where others might use a water heater, their home relies on the wood stove for hot water during wintertime and a simple outdoor solar exchanger during summertime, they said. Lisa McCrory and Carl Russell at their off-grid home in Bethel, where they’ve been living and operating Earthwise Farm and Forest together since the early 2000s. Rather than installing a toilet and septic system, Russell and McCrory opted for a composting toilet to recapture nutrients and limit water consumption. ![]() Instead of drilling a well nearby, the pair hired a dowser to find a well on the hillside above to provide gravity-fed water. “It was trying to come together with an idea of these different systems that we could try to control through conservation.” These systems, he explained, are embedded into nearly every aspect of the home. “When Lisa and I decided to build here, we wanted to try to incorporate conservation-not only in the way we ended up living in the home, but in the way that we harvested the material and developed a home,” said Russell, who spoke at length about different approaches to moderating energy consumption. Married in 2001, Russell and Mc- Crory quickly began the process of building their home using draft horses to harvest timbers from the surrounding forest to construct their unique, eight-sided house that would rely on little more than the woods nearby and a few solar panels to meet their energy needs. Here, Carl Russell and Lisa McCrory operate Earthwise Farm and Forest, an organic farm and lumber yard that has been running off-the-grid since its founding in 2000.ĭraft horses Mike and Tom greet visitors to Earthwise Farm and Forest, an off-grid organic farm where owner Carl Russell has been using draft animals to work the land since the 1980s. On the outskirts of Bethel, there’s a sloping driveway that wends its way upward from Macintosh Road and through the trees. ![]() While off-grid living is nothing new, the growing urgency of climate change and, more recently, fears of the COVID-19 pandemic have driven more people to consider a lifestyle disconnected from the energy grid-a change that brings plenty of hard work and, as the owners of two area homesteads assert, a greater degree of self-determination and connection with the land. (Herald / Dylan Kelley)Īs the ongoing pandemic continues to have profound effects on the way we live and work, some area residents have been digging further into a lifestyle that emphasizes self-sufficiency and resiliency. Sharon resident Nicole Antal, who has been living off-grid since 2015, clears off her home’s solar panels after a round of heavy snow last week.
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