Now my wife seems to be pretty insistent that we absolutely cannot survive without electricity (for long periods)...
We are avid campers, so 2-3 days is good enough for her (until the ice in the chest melts ;
) ).
Recently the main breaker on our house went out on a Saturday evening, and the landlord opted for an electrician that was not able to fix it until Monday morning, so we lived for about 36 hours without electricity. It was cold, we lit a fire in our fire pit and built some 'reflectors' to direct the heat to our sitting area, and I busted out the camping gear and candles. Granted the only thing we lost was a 6 year old angelfish in a tank. Our water heater is gas so we had hot water, and we're on municipal, so we had running water still. We smelled of smoke, but all was well. I liked the experience (personally), and it made me desire to go a weekend a month without electricity, for the experience.
Now we plan to move to a remote area of the forest, pack tools in, build a cabin by hand, and live from there (ever seen 'alone in the wilderness'?). I plan to do it colonial style, she plans to do it slightly more modern style.
We simply don't have the fundage for modern electrical production (panels, hydro, wind, generator, etc).
IF any, I would like the ability to run one fluorescent light and/or a laptop computer. That's about it.
She likes microwaves, refrigerators, lighting and fans, ac and tv... BUT says she can opt out for a freezer, computer, pump for a well, and a light would be nice.
We both agree on a computer and internet access for the vast amount of instantaneous knowledge, communication, and entertainment... But that's not only going to require electric, but it will also require a monthly internet fee, possible wiring out to the location, and replacement computers... And that sucks.
so... that's the beginning of this discussion.