2020
a big year for us!
We were going to have underground electric installed, but after looking into it, we decided to go 100% off-grid.
​We also purchased a tractor (zero percent financing with nothing down!) and put our house up for sale!
Decision Made to be 100% OFF-Grid
We reached out to National Grid and began the process to apply for underground electric installation, but in doing so we learned a few REALLY IMPORTANT FACTS! ​ Here is what we learned (and why we decided NOT to be 'on the grid': 
  • Fill out the initial application yourself and DO NOT put any electrical company on it. Fill it out as though you are doing the work yourselves (self contracting). This will save you money and will make it so National Grid has to work through you rather than your contractor. 
  • If you have three out of four requirements in place, National Grid will pay for a portion of the underground installation! This is a savings of about $5,000!!! If you have three of these four things: house foundation, driveway, septic, and/or well, then National Grid will pay the equivalent of 100' of overhead power. They will also cover the cost of the transformer and connection to the pole at the road. This is because with three of those four things the service is considered permanent electric instead of temporary. This also saves you the $800 fee for temporary service installation! 
  • We also learned that National Grid will install the wire in the ground beyond what they cover as stated above. Right now it is a little more than $18 per foot and we don't know if that is reasonable or not but it is an awful lot of money when you have a 700' driveway. However, whatever portion they put in the ground they will be responsible for maintaining. Beyond that point (and the connection with the meter) is our responsibility. We are also responsible for having the 18" ditch dug and backfilled with sand (extra money).
  • If we have National Grid do the installation we have to sign a right of way that is 10' on each side of the buried cable (so a total of 20' wide) the entire length. That would mean they could cut as many trees etc. down as they want or need and we can't do anything about it. It also gives them the right to come onto our land anytime they want.
  • We could have a private company connect us from the pole to the house, and it might or might not be cheaper. If we do that, then all repairs etc. will be our responsibility.​
  • It would be a much cheaper option to have poles and a wire put in, but again, either they own the poles and we sign a right of way to them or we own the poles and assume all responsibility.
  • For all the money it was going to cost for underground electric (above ground poles makes no sense with the amount of trees that fall around here) and the fact that we are considered the 'end of the line' for being repaired when power goes out, we decided to go 100% off grid!
Long Island House up for Sale!​
This was bittersweet - we had lived in this home for 20 years and we absolutely loved it!
We were under pressure to get the house ready to show, so we hired some help and well, we were reminded as to why we always prefer to DIY!
We are planning to build an Earth Sheltered house and can't wait to get started! Learn more about earth sheltered houses here!
ALSO having the perfect spot on our land is a good thing! Read about Choosing Our Homesite here!

We decided to buy a tractor!

This has actually turned out to be one of our best decisions yet! 
We also purchased and constructed a shelter logic to store the tractor in - we need to protect our investment!
Check out all our tractor videos here!