ABOUT US
In 2001, Blaine & Jodie Benson, founders of AZ Off-Grid Living LLC, purchased a small plot of land in northern Arizona near Ash Fork. They soon embarked on a new journey of being proud owners of an off-grid cabin, needing to figure out how to maintain power and water without constantly running a generator. Being a do it yourselfer, Blaine decided to do the research himself. Coming from an electronics background in college and having over 30 years of experience in working with pumps and electricity in the swimming pool industry in Phoenix, Blaine quickly learned how to design, build, and install his own solar system with battery backup.
During this time, they found that there were very few companies willing to part with information or sell individual supplies. Most wanted to design and sell complete systems only, and few were willing to provide even simple information without a consulting fee. Coming from the service industry, they decided to start their own business where people could get information on complete systems or just parts. They wanted to provide a place where people would get good, old-fashioned customer service for questions and could buy any supplies (from simple to complex) or complete systems while being treated as a valued customer.
In the interest of providing solid and accurate information, Blaine attended Solar Energy International and was top of his class. He also passed NABCEP solar installer certification tests as well as attending and passing multiple generator warranty certification classes, just to name a few. Then, in December of 2009, AZ Off-Grid Living LLC was formed and licensed. Many system overhauls later, it was apparent that education was a commodity not easily found in Northern AZ. No one wants to see their hard-earned money go up in smoke (quite literally), and incorrect system grounding was found to be large-scale problem. So, the company expanded to provide quality training to homeowners.
Skip forward to today, and AZ Off-Grid Living has multiple certified installers and repair technicians. But most of all, there is still one goal in mind: to help the off-grid pioneer design a safe and manageable system and give them a place to purchase the products needed at a fair and competitive price.
WHAT CLIENTS SAY
AZ Off-Grid Living is a true family run company with outstanding customer service that sadly is very
rarely found these days. Initially all of our contact was done remotely via phone and email with Blaine as we were living out of state. He guided us through the entire process and they installed a complete solar system with back up generator for us. We also have their quarterly maintenance contract. Since moving to AZ we have got to know all of their work force and have found them to be extremely professional, knowledgable and friendly. We would absolutely recommend their services to anyone interested in solar.
Joe G
While in the midst of having an off-grid solar system designed for a proposed guest house, my solar contractor informed me he was retiring and recommended AZ Off-Grid Living, LLC. Blaine and Jodie met with me to discuss alternative designs and equipment which were more practical than the original design. Blaine and Jodie and their staff had everything designed, equipment procured, and constructed so that there were no delays in getting things up and running at the completion of the guest house construction. They handled some difficult coordination with my builder and electrical contractor, as well as, APS and the County. Glitches with manufacturer’s software were handled in a timely and
professional manner. Blaine has been very responsive to my questions and concerns. The system is functioning as designed and AZ Off-Grid Living now does my preventative maintenance. I highly recommend them.
Steve S
We highly recommend this company! They were professional, knowledgeable,
respectful and did an Awesome job. They were a pleasure to do business with. We are satisfied and grateful.
Dave & Joy F
I recently purchased a property in Ash Fork. During escrow someone cut all the wiring from my solar to the house. Blaine's guys came out and had it fixed in no time. Elliot and Lawrence are very knowledgeable and will answer all your questions. They inspected my solar set up and gave me lots of information. In the spring they are doing a water supply pump and tank for me. Great company, great people!
Mike F
AZ-OFF GRID LIVING IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO. They created a plan for solar on our home and installed the solar system on our new house. We have been in the house for over a year, and we have not had any issues. We love how seamless everything runs. We even have them come back regularly to test the system and add on. Despite the changes in the economy all this was completed at a reasonable cost. Service is awesome, Communication of changes and time frames is great. We highly recommend the AZ-Off Grid Team.
Ron & Mavis B., Ash Fork, AZ
"We used Blaine Benson - AZ Off-Grid Living - to install our solar system. We could not have made a better choice or been more pleased. EVERYTHING about this transaction was even better than we hoped for! Blaine is not only professional, thorough, and extremely knowledgeable but he is very friendly, personable and easy to work with. When we first contacted Blaine he completed a worksheet to determine exactly what we needed for a solar system to meet all our needs (present and allowing for some additional future needs) without giving us more system than we needed. We couldn't believe the incredible quality of the work! Everything exceeds our expectations. In addition, we had a minor hiccup or two (not related to installation but to the system itself) and Blaine was able to walk us through what needed to be done (even though it was after hours). He or his crew were here when they said they would be, cleaned up after themselves, did a great job of communicating and didn't use foul language. We were so impressed by Blaine, his crew and the quality of his work that we recommended him to friends. One couple had Blaine install their solar system and have told us how pleased they are (for all the same reasons mentioned above). The other couple already had a solar system (installed prior to when they purchased their house) and it wasn't functioning well. Blaine was able to make their current system work better/more efficiently and gave them excellent suggestions for improvements. They were also extremely pleased with Blaine and his work - again, for the same reasons we were. We could not have been more pleased or made a better choice and would highly recommend Blaine Benson and AZ Off-Grid Living.
Mona & Joel - Seligman
DISASTER AVERTED – An evaluation of our system showed that we had a serious fire hazard on our hands. They were able to fix and upgrade our system while still working within a reasonable price. You will not find a more trustworthy company!
Dave & Carol - Ash Fork
EXCELLENT SERVICE – I am a very satisfied customer! The service provided was excellent, and they got my solar system running like a top! I am so happy I chose AZ Off-Grid Living.
Irma - Ash Fork