Living off the grid and driving an electric car is this former farmer's idea of heaven
ABC CAPRICORNIA ERIN SEMMLERUPDATED ABOUT 10 HOURS AGOVIDEO 1:57Sylvia Wilson lives off grid and drives an electric car
ABC NEWSSylvia Wilson and her now late husband Rod wanted to prove a point when they decided to live off the grid and convert their property to solar power.
Within a few years, Ms Wilson had undertaken a 20,000-kilometre journey around Australia in her electric car with charging costs of $150.
The former farmer said her passion for looking after the environment and Rod's interest in technology led them to pursue a more sustainable lifestyle at their property near Calliope in central Queensland.
They started by installing 32 solar panels, but after adding air conditioning and an electric car into the mix, they ended up needing 12 more.
"We've got 44 altogether now — except if there's a long wet week, I'm fine," Ms Wilson said.
PHOTO Sylvia Wilson says she lives very comfortably off the grid.
ABC CAPRICORNIA: ERIN SEMMLERBefore Mr Wilson's death in 2017, curiosity also drove the couple to buy an electric car online.
"One night at nine o'clock I said [to my husband] 'this company is interesting, these cars are looking pretty good'," she said.
"He came and sat beside me and we bought it within an hour through the internet.
"And of course we'd never sat in one and never drove one, and 10 weeks later it turned up on the back of the truck.
"We were both very excited but a bit apprehensive because I'd never driven an electric car."
PHOTO Sylvia Wilson drove her electric car around Australia for $150.90.
ABC CAPRICORNIA: ERIN SEMMLERIn 2018, Ms Wilson embarked on a 20,396-kilometre road trip around Australia — a journey she had wanted to do since buying the car.
"It was 110 days and most of the places we stayed were very happy for us to charge the car there."
In total, she spent $150.90 on electricity for the car during her three-and-a-half-month trip.
The costs
Ms Wilson said the expense of installing solar panels and buying an electric car had been worth the benefits and lack of maintenance costs.
