Read Online The Everything Guide to Living Off the Grid by Terri Reid - Free Book Online
Authors: Terri Reid
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legal documents that provide instruction on how your assets are to be distributed and who will become caregivers for any children, dying without one will take those choices away from your spouse and give them to the state or province in which you lived.
A power of attorney is a document that gives someone the right to act in your name, if you are unable to do so. The most common powers of attorney are for medical care and for financial matters. A medical or personal care power of attorney gives someone else the right to make decisions for you if you are unable to do so yourself. For example, if you are in a coma, the person holding the power of attorney would represent you and your wishes. Afinancial power of attorney allows someone to make financial decisions for you when you are unable to make those decisions for yourself. Financial powers of attorney often come into play as people age and can no longer handle the day-to-day duties of their finances. However, your power of attorney would also allow for your financial matters to be seen to if you were in a coma or in other ways incapacitated.
To search for a lien, get the correct address of the property and contact the county assessor or local tax board. These departments will have public records pertaining to ownership of the property, taxes paid or owed, and the last sale date of the property. They will also know if there is a lien on the property and can direct you to the lien holder.
There are places on the Internet where you can download a basic power of attorney form and fill it in yourself. Be sure that you and your witness sign these documents in the presence of a notary public, who witnesses and verifies the document signatures with her stamp.
You can receive all kinds of legal advice and information on the Internet. There are places where you can pay a minimal expense to have documents like wills, trusts, and powers of attorney created for you by people with a legal background. However, even if you decide to have these documents created online, it’s a good idea to have a relationship with a local lawyer you know and trust.
CHAPTER 6
Power Supplies
The basic idea of off-grid living is to be self-sustaining, so no matter what happens in the outside world, you and your family will be fine. One example of the importance of having your own power source is the ice storm that hit Canada in January 1998. Over the course of six days, freezing rain covered Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick with three to four inches of ice. The ice coating caused electric wires to become brittle and break. The power outages lasted for as long as a month. More than 3 million people were without power in Quebec, and over 1 million in eastern Ontario. About 100,000 people went into shelters in school gymnasiums and churches. If you were living in a self-sustaining house with your own power source and heat source, you would not be one of those forced to relocate. As a matter of fact, if the grid went down, it would not affect your life at all.
Geothermal Power
The word “geo” means earth, and “thermal” means heat. So, geothermal means heat from the earth. If you were to dig ten feet below ground level, almost anywhere in the world, you would find the temperature to be between 50° and 60°F (10° and 16°C). No matter what the temperature outside, the readings ten feet below the earth remain fairly constant. Geothermal heat pump systems use that constant temperature to either heat or cool your home. Using pipes that are buried in the ground near your home, fluid, like antifreeze, is circulated through the heat pump system. In winter, heat from the warmer ground travels through the heat exchanger of the pump and sends warm air into your home. In summer, the cooler temperatures travel through the heat exchanger and cool the air in your home.
To determine whether or not your location has enough sun or wind to supply energy, you can study maps at WindSolarEnergy.org (
A power of attorney is a document that gives someone the right to act in your name, if you are unable to do so. The most common powers of attorney are for medical care and for financial matters. A medical or personal care power of attorney gives someone else the right to make decisions for you if you are unable to do so yourself. For example, if you are in a coma, the person holding the power of attorney would represent you and your wishes. Afinancial power of attorney allows someone to make financial decisions for you when you are unable to make those decisions for yourself. Financial powers of attorney often come into play as people age and can no longer handle the day-to-day duties of their finances. However, your power of attorney would also allow for your financial matters to be seen to if you were in a coma or in other ways incapacitated.
To search for a lien, get the correct address of the property and contact the county assessor or local tax board. These departments will have public records pertaining to ownership of the property, taxes paid or owed, and the last sale date of the property. They will also know if there is a lien on the property and can direct you to the lien holder.
There are places on the Internet where you can download a basic power of attorney form and fill it in yourself. Be sure that you and your witness sign these documents in the presence of a notary public, who witnesses and verifies the document signatures with her stamp.
You can receive all kinds of legal advice and information on the Internet. There are places where you can pay a minimal expense to have documents like wills, trusts, and powers of attorney created for you by people with a legal background. However, even if you decide to have these documents created online, it’s a good idea to have a relationship with a local lawyer you know and trust.
CHAPTER 6
Power Supplies
The basic idea of off-grid living is to be self-sustaining, so no matter what happens in the outside world, you and your family will be fine. One example of the importance of having your own power source is the ice storm that hit Canada in January 1998. Over the course of six days, freezing rain covered Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick with three to four inches of ice. The ice coating caused electric wires to become brittle and break. The power outages lasted for as long as a month. More than 3 million people were without power in Quebec, and over 1 million in eastern Ontario. About 100,000 people went into shelters in school gymnasiums and churches. If you were living in a self-sustaining house with your own power source and heat source, you would not be one of those forced to relocate. As a matter of fact, if the grid went down, it would not affect your life at all.
Geothermal Power
The word “geo” means earth, and “thermal” means heat. So, geothermal means heat from the earth. If you were to dig ten feet below ground level, almost anywhere in the world, you would find the temperature to be between 50° and 60°F (10° and 16°C). No matter what the temperature outside, the readings ten feet below the earth remain fairly constant. Geothermal heat pump systems use that constant temperature to either heat or cool your home. Using pipes that are buried in the ground near your home, fluid, like antifreeze, is circulated through the heat pump system. In winter, heat from the warmer ground travels through the heat exchanger of the pump and sends warm air into your home. In summer, the cooler temperatures travel through the heat exchanger and cool the air in your home.
To determine whether or not your location has enough sun or wind to supply energy, you can study maps at WindSolarEnergy.org (
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