Tina and Rex East at their Silverpeaks home.
Wind and sun power these computers - not to mention the fridge, washing machine and television - at the East's bush-clad, off-the-grid paradise.
Rex and Tina East bought Mistyvale in 2005.
The property is 30ha of mostly native bush up a sidevalley off Silverpeaks Valley Rd.
It is half an hour from the Octagon but a world away from the city's hustle and bustle. Mr East had heard about the property from friends.
‘‘Rex and I had walked up here and he asked what I thought of it,'' Mrs East said.
‘‘I said I loved it and he said, ‘well, shall we buy it?'''
At first, the Easts, who run a wedding video and photography business, lived and worked from two caravans on the site.
Appliances are powered by three banks of batteries.
The decision not to hook up to the power grid was made early on.
‘‘It would have cost about $40,000 to get power poles and lines to the house,'' Mr East said.
After years of living aboard boats, he was quite happy to stay off the grid.
Two solar panels and two wind generators feed about 600W a day of electricity into three banks of batteries, which can store up to 3600W.
When required, the batteries are automatically supplemented by a diesel generator.
‘‘The generator goes about once every two days. But when we get a couple more solar panels it might run once a week,'' Mr East said.
Gas is used to heat water and cook food.
A wood burner, fuelled by their own plentiful supply of firewood, takes care of the heating.
A 30,000-litre water tank ensures they never run short in the shower.
Two power-hungry appliances at a time was the limit, but ‘‘how often do you want the washing machine, the vacuum and the microwave on at the same time?'', Mrs East said.
They estimate they will recoup the $20,000 cost of the solar and wind generators in eight years.
‘‘From the moment we moved up here our lives changed,'' Mrs East said.
‘‘It's just so peaceful.''
