On 13 April 2006,ÿUSA Todayÿreported that there were “some 180,000 families living off-grid, a figure that has jumped 33% a year for a decade,” and cited Richard Perez, publisher ofÿHome Power Magazine,[6]ÿas the source.[7]ÿAssuming the same rate of growth, there would be a quarter million off-grid households in the United States by late 2007. Because manyÿThird Worldÿcitizens have never had the chance to go on the grid, current estimates are that 1.7 billion people live off-grid worldwide.[8]ÿA wave of TV shows and articles came out after the publication of “Off the Grid, Inside the Movement for More Space, Less Government and True Independence in Modern America” by Nick Rosen in 2010.[9]Off-the-grid homes areÿautonomous; they do not rely on municipalÿwater supply,ÿsewer,ÿnatural gas, electrical power grid, or similar utility services. A true off-grid house is able to operate completely independently of all traditionalÿpublic utilityÿservices. The idea has been recently popularized by certain celebrities includingÿEd Begley, Jr.[1]ÿwho stars inÿLiving with Ed[2]ÿtelevision show on theÿHome & Garden Televisionÿ(HGTV) network. ActressÿDaryl Hannahpromotes off-grid living and constructed her home in Colorado according to those principles, as does survival expert andÿDual Survivalÿco-starÿCody Lundin,[3]who lives in a self-designed,ÿpassive solarÿearth houseÿin the high-desert wilderness ofÿNorthern Arizona, collecting rainwater, composting waste, and paying nothing for utilities.[4][5]