Don’t forget to turn off the breaker to the grid ahead of time
Off-grid: illegal in Florida?
- Thread starter zzrider
- Start date
MrM1
I'm Here, But I'm Not All There
So you're saying set up an off grid system, and then get connected to the grid, but don't pay your bill so they cut you off. Then you can live off grid and it won't be your fault. And the federal government May Rush In And pay your bill just like they give you free internet. That's what I saw on a YouTube video. ?
I like this plan.
" I was connected to the grid, but I couldn't afford it so they cut me off. It's not my fault"
We have AG land, the utility refused to do the netmetering with our contractor without permits. AG statutes exempted us from those permits, but the utility forced us. Utilities think they are ABOVE the law.
The permits are the path the tax collectors use to get $$$ out of you. If you are able to bypass permits, the tax man loses out.
So do what I do… research the laws and sue them
If one is not currently served by a utility due to a parcels remoteness I would expect costs to be involved in bringing grid power out to you. You should not be compelled to pay a utility for hookup that is out of your pocket. Now if you are at a serviceable parcel and you want to be off-grid in the end, pay for permits, get temp meter, build, get service and get disconnected for non-payment. Don't bother to pay for interconnect at this juncture. If at anytime you want the 'luxury' of the grid as your 'battery', just pay for contractor to do solar, pay permits, pay interconnect, etc. If you want your solar to be as 'your generator' do a transfer switch and build your own off-grid generation, aka solar array, hybrid inverter, batteries. The phrase 'sue someone' is not a solution to any path.
What county are you in? Zip? I am in 33523.
Off-grid is one of my trigger words, so rant headed your way. (the other two are tiny house and homesteading).
5th generation native Floridian here, though I currently live in VA (gotta go where the work is). Hope to retire back there one day. But, yes, I know a lot about Florida. Florida is a state which believe in numerous personal liberties, and smaller government, but make no mistake, there are laws and ordinances.
But to your point, yes, my grandpa in Escambia County was totally off-grid (until he passed away in 1959 and grandma got the Gulf Power). He had this cool thing they called the Delco plant, which was a one cylinder hit-and-miss engine driving a generator, charging monstrous FLA batteries, controlled by an electromechanical voltage regulator. Only the house's lighting was run off this system (why ancient people refer to the electric bill as the light bill). Heating and cooking were all wood. So at least in 1930, when he built the house after kerosene lanterns burnt his old one down, one absolutely could live totally off grid in Florida.
Can you currently live off-grid (no grid power connection as you define it) in Florida??? You do your research and post authoritative, verifiable references, and you tell us.
"Let's see what our masters have to say about it", is the correct and only answer.
As master #1, we have our county building department. Will they allow us to build a house (give you a certificate of occupancy) without an electrical grid connection? Only your county building department can tell you that for sure. There are great difference county to county and each zone type may have restrictions. Not relevant to Florida, but in a county I lived in MS, I could live in a cardboard box on my A3 zoned property, have no electricity whatsoever, dig my own well, and use either a pit toilet or dig my own septic system.
Master #2 is the health department. They tell you how you may and may not attain potable water and dispose of your grey water and human waste. They and the building department are complicit and you must obey each master's whims. Again, in MS, there were no codes or permits (in the 1980s). In the 1970s in Escambia county, I could hand drive a pitcher pump well (class IIIc I think it's officially called) up to 25 feet with no permit. I could also hand dig a grey water drain, and pour my own septic tank (it's actually not very hard) with no permit on our agriculturally zoned land.
Master # 3 is your bank if you will be borrowing any money to build this off-grid house. Will they let you do what you want, or force you to connect to the utilities? Oh, and if you borrow money, you meet master #4.
Master #4 is your insurance company, required my master #3. What will they allow?
Rant over.
In short, you pay taxes to pay the salaries of everyone in your building and health department. It is their jobs to assist you in your endeavor. I actually have a good bunch of people in my current county's building and health departments who have helped me determine there is a path to my being able to live off-grid totally legally. But that's A3 land, in a rural county in VA. Go talk to your gator boys and girls and find out for yourself.
ChillnGrill
Solar Enthusiast
Yes you can live off grid in Florida but it’s a pain in the ass. I’m going off grid in north Florida a it was very hard but is legal. I did permit everything and was approved.
Sure would help the OP and the community in general if you could articulate what the PITAs were and how you worked through them. Please?
Quattrohead
Solar Wizard
I have been going through this for the past 18 months, ground breaking this week
This is what YOU can do, on YOUR own land and YOU do it.
#1 Yes you can build your own house as long as it meets all building codes. Everything needs to be stamped by an engineer and all product approvals supplied.
#2 Septic as above, stamped plans and product approvals. I managed to get my plan accepted 1st time !!! Well pump and pressure tank product approvals. You are allowed to sink your own well up to 2" internal diameter.
#3 It is almost impossible to get a bank loan to do your own build no matter what. Cash is king.
#4 Haha, they make their own rules up. Will find out.
So are you saying your county will give you the magical certificate of occupancy without a grid electrical connection? Mine (in VA ) will let me call my place a camp, and as long as I have a septic or a sewage hauling permit, I can "camp" there permanantly with whatever I want for electricity. If I call it a house, then I need to spend the $25K to connect to the power grid.I have been going through this for the past 18 months, ground breaking this week
This is what YOU can do, on YOUR own land and YOU do it.
#1 Yes you can build your own house as long as it meets all building codes. Everything needs to be stamped by an engineer and all product approvals supplied.
#2 Septic as above, stamped plans and product approvals. I managed to get my plan accepted 1st time !!! Well pump and pressure tank product approvals. You are allowed to sink your own well up to 2" internal diameter.
#3 It is almost impossible to get a bank loan to do your own build no matter what. Cash is king.
#4 Haha, they make their own rules up. Will find out.
Quattrohead
Solar Wizard
There is no legal requirement to connect to utility grid.
As long as the electrical system is per code, that is all they care about.
However, as we all know these people can be on a power trip (no pun intended) and anything they are not familiar with will cause a furrowed brow and much rumbling about "the book"
I have already had several entertaining conversations with "professionals" about my requirements/building regulations and code requirements.
There is a lot of "we have always done it like that" and self protection of certain industries like well drilling and septic systems.
As long as the electrical system is per code, that is all they care about.
However, as we all know these people can be on a power trip (no pun intended) and anything they are not familiar with will cause a furrowed brow and much rumbling about "the book"
I have already had several entertaining conversations with "professionals" about my requirements/building regulations and code requirements.
There is a lot of "we have always done it like that" and self protection of certain industries like well drilling and septic systems.
ChillnGrill
Solar Enthusiast
I let the county know my intentions before pursuing. The county had me get an engineering foundation for my Gemma mobile home. When I went to sign my permit package they called me back and said I need to sign the electrical permit, I told them I was going solar because Duke energy wanted 60,000 to bring pole to my property. First thing out of their mouth was I can’t live on solely solar in Florida. Then they sent me an email stating that I had to show them a code or statute stating I could. I told them that was their job to find were it says I can’t. I sent them every statute I could find. We then called Ron Desantis office and they gave us a phone # inside the department of energy and departmen of agriculture. They also sent the building department the same statutes I sent them. They then back peddled and gave in. After that they required me to hire a solar contractor and get engineer drawings for my solar panel ground mount(10,530$). I also paid they solar contractor 1,000 just to fight the building department on my behalf. My permits are now now complete. I have to do all the other solar setup on my own. I have started all the work but will take time since it’s my wife and I doing all the other work. My setup consists of fema home, shed, shed insulation, and all prep work for the ground mount for my solar panels. I’m located in Sopchoppy fl and thought this would be a much smoother process.
Thanks for the clarification.
My dad once drove us from Pensacola to Sopchoppy just to do some fishing. 7 people in a VW Bug. No one can deny Florida has some of the coolest town names in the country.
Anyway, looking at your list (and certainly not to make light of your aggravations):
- Foundations, wells, and septic you'd have had regardless.
- The electrical connection sounds like the most aggravating, but as an attorney acquaintance has told me about living in our somewhat free society, "if it's not specifically illegal, then it's legal". Glad you won that one.
- We might disagree a bit on this one, but I do agree with the requirement of an engineer designed, and inspected ground mount. Being a 5th generation Floridian, I remember getting some affect of one or more hurricanes per year. Yeah, I want you to make sure your stuff isn't blowing into my stuff.
I do wish you have time one day to do up a Youtube video (if that's a thing for you) detailing your experience. You could be a pioneer.
I live in densely populated suburban Long Island NY where here in Suffolk County most of us use old fashioned cesspools. When a cheap Xss neighbor's failed, and started stinking up the whole neighborhood, and spewing human waste out into his backyard on rainy days, it was not good to live next door to this jerk. The health department now requires all new septic systems be permitted and designed by a professional engineer licensed by the state. And I think that is a good thing. It does raise the cost, but I prefer I don't have to smell your s..t or get sick from it. The one size fits all approach of all the codes can be frustrating, but you cant expect the folks at the building department to be able to follow every permutation of a design. They have their templates, and if you want to step outside of them, expect to pay.
Cesspools in Long Guyland? And from you sir, I shall hear no jokes about the south!
