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See more of the house and what life is like for the couple.
Barb Ettleson, left, and Pat Brocket, right, at their Off-Grid home outside Decorah.
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Off the grid: NE Iowans becoming energy independent
By JOHN MOLSEED, Courier Staff Writer
DECORAH --- Three years ago, Barb Ettleson and Pat Brockett said good-bye to energy bills when they bought a home in rural Decorah that generates its own electricity.
What they didn't realize then was they didn't have to say good-bye to all their appliances, as well.
"When we moved up here, we didn't know what we were getting into," Brockett said. "We got rid of our toaster, our waffle iron."
Two solar panels and a wind turbine generate 2,500 watts of power for their home, which is plenty to run regular household appliances. After a few months of living "off the grid," the couple bought back their appliances.
Given their own prejudices about living in a home not connected to a utility company, Ettleson and Brockett are more than willing to show that while they may live in an abnormal house, they lead normal lives.
"We're not hippies, we're not militia, we're just regular folks," Brockett said.
The 1,800-square-foot home is wired with standard 110-volt outlets and lights. They also have standard appliances including a washer and dryer, refrigerator, a stove and two water heaters. The home doesn't have a furnace but is heatedby a fireplace and warm-water pipes under the floor. The south facing windows also warm the house when the sun tracks low on the horizon during winter months.
Living off the grid, Ettleson said she feels a sense of ownership of their electricity. Instead of drawing their power from an anonymous and seemingly infinite source, the two regularly check their meter that shows how much power they are using, what percentage of charge their batteries have and how much power is being generated. A small, red light on the meter indicates when the wind and sun are giving the home more power than is being used.
As the two used lights and kitchen appliances to prepare lunch, the light blinked on and off as the wind gusts picked up on an overcast October day.
"If it were a sunny day, that red light would stay on," Ettleson said.
The two say they are always aware of what is plugged in or turned on at all times. On cloudy, still days, they conserve. When the sun is shining and wind is blowing, they harness more energy than they can use.
"You kind of wish there were more things you could do electrically," Ettleson said.
The 1,000-watt wind turbine and 1,500-watt solar panels harness energy, which is then stored in batteries and converted to standard 110-volt household electricity. At night and on cloudy, still days, they draw their power from the batteries. The two watch their energy use on the panel and try to keep their batteries to at least 80 percent capacity.
The house is one of 10 homes in an area east of Decorah that are "off the grid." Most also use a combination of solar and wind power.
Dale Kittleson, who also lives in the area off the grid, helped build Ettleson's and Brockett's house. He and three families were looking for rural property on which to build new homes. Going off the grid was not a part of their initial plans.
At the time, the area didn't have roads or driveways into the properties and all four families knew they would have to pay for infrastructure, including power lines to the planned houses. When the utility company said the bill would be more than $10,000 to build lines to each home, the group decided to instead invest that money into their own power source.
"It's not like we said, 'Let's find property and live off the grid,'" Kittleson said.
While each home harnesses energy from wind and the sun, the key to energy independence is efficient living, Kittleson said.
Ettleson's and Brockett's home has eight inches of insulation, energy-efficient windows and energy saving appliances.
"We couldn't do this if we didn't look at building efficiently and using the energy efficiently," Kittleson said.
The residents save energy through efficient design, energy saving appliances, trading incandescent light bulbs for compact florescent ones and watching energy use, Kittleson said.
"All that boring stuff has to happen first," he said. "In the end, the reason this works is because you have a house designed like this."
Since living off the grid isn't possible for everyone, those "boring" energy saving tips would probably save more energy than installing a solar panel Kittleson said.
Anyone can cut their energy bill and they have to do it in a grandiose way," he said.
Contact John Molseed at (319) 291-1418 or john.molseed@wcfcourier.com
What they didn't realize then was they didn't have to say good-bye to all their appliances, as well.
"When we moved up here, we didn't know what we were getting into," Brockett said. "We got rid of our toaster, our waffle iron."
Two solar panels and a wind turbine generate 2,500 watts of power for their home, which is plenty to run regular household appliances. After a few months of living "off the grid," the couple bought back their appliances.
Given their own prejudices about living in a home not connected to a utility company, Ettleson and Brockett are more than willing to show that while they may live in an abnormal house, they lead normal lives.
"We're not hippies, we're not militia, we're just regular folks," Brockett said.
The 1,800-square-foot home is wired with standard 110-volt outlets and lights. They also have standard appliances including a washer and dryer, refrigerator, a stove and two water heaters. The home doesn't have a furnace but is heatedby a fireplace and warm-water pipes under the floor. The south facing windows also warm the house when the sun tracks low on the horizon during winter months.
Living off the grid, Ettleson said she feels a sense of ownership of their electricity. Instead of drawing their power from an anonymous and seemingly infinite source, the two regularly check their meter that shows how much power they are using, what percentage of charge their batteries have and how much power is being generated. A small, red light on the meter indicates when the wind and sun are giving the home more power than is being used.
As the two used lights and kitchen appliances to prepare lunch, the light blinked on and off as the wind gusts picked up on an overcast October day.
"If it were a sunny day, that red light would stay on," Ettleson said.
The two say they are always aware of what is plugged in or turned on at all times. On cloudy, still days, they conserve. When the sun is shining and wind is blowing, they harness more energy than they can use.
"You kind of wish there were more things you could do electrically," Ettleson said.
The 1,000-watt wind turbine and 1,500-watt solar panels harness energy, which is then stored in batteries and converted to standard 110-volt household electricity. At night and on cloudy, still days, they draw their power from the batteries. The two watch their energy use on the panel and try to keep their batteries to at least 80 percent capacity.
The house is one of 10 homes in an area east of Decorah that are "off the grid." Most also use a combination of solar and wind power.
Dale Kittleson, who also lives in the area off the grid, helped build Ettleson's and Brockett's house. He and three families were looking for rural property on which to build new homes. Going off the grid was not a part of their initial plans.
At the time, the area didn't have roads or driveways into the properties and all four families knew they would have to pay for infrastructure, including power lines to the planned houses. When the utility company said the bill would be more than $10,000 to build lines to each home, the group decided to instead invest that money into their own power source.
"It's not like we said, 'Let's find property and live off the grid,'" Kittleson said.
While each home harnesses energy from wind and the sun, the key to energy independence is efficient living, Kittleson said.
Ettleson's and Brockett's home has eight inches of insulation, energy-efficient windows and energy saving appliances.
"We couldn't do this if we didn't look at building efficiently and using the energy efficiently," Kittleson said.
The residents save energy through efficient design, energy saving appliances, trading incandescent light bulbs for compact florescent ones and watching energy use, Kittleson said.
"All that boring stuff has to happen first," he said. "In the end, the reason this works is because you have a house designed like this."
Since living off the grid isn't possible for everyone, those "boring" energy saving tips would probably save more energy than installing a solar panel Kittleson said.
Anyone can cut their energy bill and they have to do it in a grandiose way," he said.
Contact John Molseed at (319) 291-1418 or john.molseed@wcfcourier.com
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