Some trailblazers are even choosing to live off the grid, but is this new trend legal? A handful of enthusiasts are coming head-to-head with zoning and housing code regulators who say no.

Robin Speronis became the poster child for off-the-grid living when her makeshift home ran afoul of local courts in Cape Coral, Florida. The city claimed that the house did not meet code.

Speronis' strategies for unplugging included an indoor propane lantern and stove deemed a fire hazard by the city. "If she ends up blowing herself up or catching fire in that house," the compliance manager reasoned, "then it's not, 'why are you picking on this woman?' It's 'why didn't you do something about it?'" Though expensive, the city insisted that alternative methods of going off the grid would comply. "There are an awful lot of alternatives out there that meet code. The problem is that she is not using those methods."