Absolutely. My wife and I lived for a year in an off-the-grid cabin in some mountains in Mexico.
We had solar panels and a generator we used only when absolutely necessary. We were never without power, but we lived with the constant anxiety of optimizing our energy consumption. Some stuff we could only do during the day and at night we only used devices with batteries.
For a couple of weeks we didn't have running water in the cabin because we were rebuilding our water deposit tower. We used buckets for everything.
That was almost a decade ago and I still feel grateful at having unlimited energy or running water on demand.
I also feel guilty at times when doing power hungry stuff like playing video games, knowing electricity production is by far the biggest driver of climate change.
Absolutely. My wife and I lived for a year in an off-the-grid cabin in some mountains in Mexico.
I think everyone ought to do a week in an RV with no connections to utilities. Not to take away from your story, but a similar scenario comes up when we "dry camp" (no water or electrical connections): resources are not unlimited. We have solar panels, big-ass inverter and big-ass battery to go with it. But if we want lights at night, best not run that 1100W microwave for too long, because the panels won't keep up and the battery isn't that big. We have a built-in generator, but unlike most RV owners, we are loathe to use it. It's almost like a game, and if that generator fires up then we've lost.
You want to let the water run while you brush your teeth? Go right ahead, our water tank is plenty big...oh, wait, but the holding tanks aren't. Shut that tap off before there's dirty water coming up through the shower. Speaking of showers, use the outside shower, as the holding tanks won't hold enough for your 30 minute, piping-hot shower.
Point of it all is that it one quickly learns that it all has to come from somewhere, and it has to go somewhere after you've dirtied it. I'd like to think that it has made the both of us more conscious of our usage.
There's nothing like being at sea, 100+ miles from civilization, reliant on the limited capacity systems on your vessel. You manage your food, you manage your water consumption, fuel, electrical usage, you're closely attuned to the weather, the sea state, the charts. There are no other visible people or people-made objects out to the horizon in all directions. If something breaks, you'd better know how it works and be able to fix it, or go without. It feels very freeing, but also provides a "back to basics" accountability.
Standing under a hot water shower with unlimited water in a spacious home shower afterward feels luxurious.
Or even better, go backpacking in the wilderness. Slightly different set of constraints: you can usually find water (at least where I hike), but carrying all your equipment and food on your back gives you a new perspective on what's "essential".
We had solar panels and a generator we used only when absolutely necessary. We were never without power, but we lived with the constant anxiety of optimizing our energy consumption. Some stuff we could only do during the day and at night we only used devices with batteries.
For a couple of weeks we didn't have running water in the cabin because we were rebuilding our water deposit tower. We used buckets for everything.
That was almost a decade ago and I still feel grateful at having unlimited energy or running water on demand.
I also feel guilty at times when doing power hungry stuff like playing video games, knowing electricity production is by far the biggest driver of climate change.