Big ice storms that knock down branches and destroy power lines are really terrible … unless, y’know, you happen to own a woodstove, a chainsaw, and a pickup truck:
We’ll have to rent a splitter to bust up some of the really huge pieces, but we’re not crying about it. Four ricks of free firewood, all laid in for next year, and all Ron had to do was spend a couple of afternoons driving around the neighborhood, gathering it off the curbs. It’s all too green to burn right now, but by next winter, it will be seasoned and ready to go.
If you have access to a truck and a saw, you can be a big help to your neighbors (and every taxpayer in your community) by removing branches from curbs in exchange for the firewood after a storm. Most people don’t have a fireplace or woodstove … so if you do, they’ll be happy for you to come and haul away their storm debris in exchange for the wood.
Emily
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February 6, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Solar Energy
What a great story! that is the perfect example of why people who are building new homes to be off the grid should be on the grid if they can be. have they ever sent you a check for the energy you have created for them?
February 7, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Ron
No, Oklahoma doesn’t have feed-in tariffs, and we’ve never quite generated enough electricity for them to pay us.
We’ve come close, though. One month, we used just 12 KWH of electricity from the power company, and just last month we used just 10. We’re talking about our system providing 90 to 95 percent of our power.