Jay Flanders meets all the new meter readers. They always make trips up his long, winding driveway their first time through the neighborhood. And Flanders never tires of chasing them away.

"They walk around the house going, 'Where's the meter?' " he said.

But Flanders's house in Newbury is 700 feet from the nearest utility pole, and it would have cost him $5,000 to pay for the wires and poles to connect his house to the electric power grid when he built it 10 years ago. Instead, Flanders spent $1,000 more on a solar energy system and panels that would provide enough electricity for his 1,500-square-foot saltbox house.

Today, the Flanders live a normal family life in a house where the kids are always on the computer and the morning doesn't start without the slurping and gurgling of the electric coffeemaker. They are among dozens of New Hampshire families that do not rely on municipal utilities, such as sewer, water, electricity or natural gas, and they are changing the stereotypes about living off the grid.

Lydia Hawkes, a nurse at Valley Regional Hospital, has dreamed about living off the grid since the energy crisis of the 1970s. She was 18, and President Jimmy Carter was the first president she voted for. Hawkes said she was inspired by Carter's efforts to promote energy efficiency and independence.

"You kind of have to ask yourself: What do you surround yourself with? Then, you have to ask yourself what you need," Hawkes said. "It's like living with conservation instead of excess."

She started the plans for her off-the-grid home in January and consulted with Flanders about how to design the house and how to build a solar system that could power the home. They chose a spot on her Goshen property and positioned the house facing south so it would receive the maximum amount of sunlight during the day.

Flanders used a solar pathfinder to track the

sun's path and make sure no trees or branches would block the solar panels, which will be built onto the front of the house. Floor-to-ceiling windows will allow natural sunlight into the house, and concrete floors will absorb heat from the sun. A woodstove will keep it warm during the winter, at night and on cloudy days.

Solar panels can also help power water heaters and heating systems, but Hawkes kept it simple. She is spending about $10,000 on her solar system and about $120,000 on the rest of the two-bedroom house.

"This is just kind of on a shoestring," she said.

Hawkes said she spends much of her time outdoors hiking, biking and skiing.

Her 1,300-square-foot house is all she needs, she said. She won't be able to use certain high-powered appliances - an electric clothes dryer would drain most of her energy - but the house will still have modern amenities.

"As far as conventional, I'll have a TV, stereo, microwave, toaster," she said. "It's just that I'm not hooked up to the grid."

The photovoltaic panels on the front of Hawkes's house will absorb sunlight and store the energy in batteries salvaged from golf carts. Flanders said Hawkes could stretch the battery power as many as 10 days during a period of stormy or cloudy weather. The reused batteries - Flanders used the same method in his house - will lower the cost of equipment that comes with a high price tag.

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