Folks dreaming of the off-grid life got more fuel for their envy after someone posted pictures of their southern Colorado home.
The property, which appears to be still under construction, comprises two floors, is clad in wood, and sits in a stunning expanse of land featuring mountains in the distance.
Pictures of the homestead — made all the more dreamy in one picture by a rainbow and some beautiful sunflowers — were uploaded to the r/OffGrid Reddit community, and it didn't take long for commenters to detail their admiration.
"It's beautiful," one user said, with another adding: "Oh, it's lovely! Love all your sunflowers, too!"
One of the draws of off-grid living is finding an undeveloped patch of land to build your property on. This person chose well, it seems.
Those mountains in the background cannot be bought, but saving money is perhaps another reason why this person made the lifestyle switch.
Truly living off-grid means not being connected to local utility services. Therefore, you'll need to access an alternative power source, and that typically involves investing in solar panels. While they do require an upfront cost, the technology pays for itself after a few years, thanks to the access to free energy you'll receive and the electricity bills you'll be avoiding.
What's more, you'll also be more mindful about the power you consume. Instead of thoughtlessly keeping appliances plugged in, you'll need to unplug things you aren't using in order to conserve energy.
While panels work great in daylight hours, they are less efficient on cloudy days and produce no power at night. That's where battery storage comes into play, but if you're off-grid, that's still a finite resource.
🗣️ If you were to install home solar panels, which of these factors would be your primary motivation?
🔘 Energy independence ⚡
🔘 Lower power bills 💰
🔘 Helping the planet 🌎
🔘 No chance I ever go solar 🚫
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
But all that energy saving means a reduced polluting output. Power from the grid is typically generated by burning dirty fuels, which releases harmful, planet-warming gases that trap heat in our atmosphere and cause thermometer readings to creep up. This exacerbates extreme weather conditions, such as droughts, floods, and deadly storms.
Solar power, on the other hand, produces no such pollution. What's more, in those extreme weather events, you'll still be able to access power, while others connected to the wider grid might not be so lucky.
With all those benefits in mind, it's not hard to see why going off-grid is becoming a more attractive option for many. Those views don't hurt, either.
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