NVR off grid housing
Okay...I know there are few of you out there who are either on your way to off grid or already are...
I might be moving back to Connecticut. Plopping a 600 sq ft mobile home on a piece of land and living in it! :D My old college roomie, Zoe- is going to live there with me. and thankfully she is just like me and doesn't care for/ want the "convinces" of modern society (she's even considering going veg, but thats beside the point.) But there are SOME things that electricity would be mighty useful for. I'm thinking refridgetar (when its not winter) and some electricity for things like the crock pot and some lighting (battery powered lighting is not hard to come by.) We are thinking we will put straw bales all around the trailer for added insulation.
Considering a wood burning stove for heat/cooking place (will our trailer burn to the ground?) :o
We can heat water on the stove...we are also looking into some passive solar heating things.
But what I'm mainly curious about is generators...is there any such thing as a biodiesle. solar hybrid for these bad boys? Generators are really polluting, I thought. Also, I have tried looking around on the web and it seems some people charge car batteries and run things like the refrigerator off of that. And they can be charged with windmills? How?
I know very little about this sort of thing but I desperately want to learn. I'm finding its hard to find a good starting place. Ive looked on-line but a lot of it is over my head. If you guys can point me in the direction to start learning or tell me what you know, I'd be so grateful!
THANKS GUYS!!!
(oh, its not final yet...just in the planning/contemplation stage)
Surely you'll want to hook that computer up somewhere...or are we to see the last of Zealy? :'(
Ill probally keep doing what I do now...Check at the library, school, work if i have time (I dont plan on working a night shift any more so there will be less "at work time")
No--- you guys cant get rid of me so easily ;)
You know how I'm always on about Humboldt. Wellllll... Humboldt State has the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology (http://www.humboldt.edu/~ccat/). The wintertime low there is 55 degrees and the heatwave summertime high is 75 degrees. CCAT used to be completely off the grid, but they went 5% on because they wanted warmer showers. They have a lot of resources on their own page under Appropriate Technology Projects and links to other resources.
I was once considering living off the grid. What I've read about mobile homes is that they're bloody cold in the winter and you risk frozen pipes. I'm not entirely familiar with Connecticut winters, but considering the latitude I'm sure it gets cold.
Survivng Winter: http://www.mygreathome.com/fix-it_guide/winterize.htm
Fireplace Insert: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/fireplaceinsertmobil
I second CCAT!!! 8)
When I was an undergrad at Humboldt State I did a brochure for CCAT about a solar fridge. I don't remember any of the details, but I bet you could still get info from CCAT.
If you love TV, CCAT had an exercise bike that powered a TV. Not exactly couch potato is it? :D
off grid houseing - that's awesome!!!
Ill check it out ;)
That sounds really rough. You may consider starting slowly -- being on the grid but being very conservative with your energy consumption.
I've read about folks that put their money together to buy a home. You could do that, then customize it with solar panels and cisterns. OR you could live on a commune -- most of those are (mostly) off the grid.
http://www.twinoaks.org/FAQ.html#ecol
Two summers ago when I was on the Appalachain Trail, I met a 60-something year old man who was on his FOURTH through hike of the trail. He lived outside of Columbia, Missouri with his wife, completely off the grid...wind generator, geo-thermal heating/cooling, composting toilet. He was probably the coolest person I've ever met.
Zoe did the appalachien this summer..I stayed at home and work pouting cause I am the one who alwasy wanted to do it.... :-[
oh...yeah...thats cool though that they did that...
VHZ - you would be so freakin' cool if you were off the grid! That guy Ed who has a show on HGTV...where is he? http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/shows_hlwed Aha - Ed Begley visited Jackson Browne, who has freakloads of money btw, and is house made from a barn, and is totally off the grid, was awesome! My point though, is that he did over maaaany years. I suggest you hit the library as well as the internet.
Also cool would be to go off the food grid! I would imagine that for a small garden in the right latitude (you'd need to grow legumes), some home-made compost could keep you off the food grid to a large extent. I'm taking a whack at it next summer, I'll let you know how it goes - but just think! You can't get more local than your own backyard!
Stacking hay bales along the trailer (especially coupled with a wood burner) sounds dangerous to me :o -and once they get wet they won't be good insulators. The reason straw bales insulate well in construction, without being a fire hazard, is because they're encased in cement or stucco.
That's how solar rigs work (as well as wind). Once you generate the energy, it has to be stored until you want to use it -that's what the batteries are for. Try to find some used equipment in your area.
You probably won't be interested in a windmill, for a variety of reasons. http://www.awea.org/faq/rsdntqa.html#Whoshouldbuyaturbine
Not all bad news, generators can be rigged to run on bio-diesel.
I don't know much, but I'm actively looking into this sort of thing. See if your library has The Renewable Energy Handbook by William Kemp. I recently bought a copy and it's a comprehensive overview. Here are a few more links:
http://www.greenhomebuilding.com
http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_systems.html
I'll give this some thought... Is this a rural area? How big is the property? Are you renting or does one of you own the trailer? Will you have water?
I'm not saying it's impossible, but it would be tough. Just be prepared if you decide to do it.
turns out we are not gonna do it...I guess were both relapsing into our past "issues" and i don't want to be around that crap.....
but one day, I DO really, really want to be off grid... and once we stop self destructing, I'd like to be off grid with ZOE!!!!!!!!! :D I'll check those books out. Thanks!
I agree with the others that the "off grid housing" sounds like a really cool idea but I don't know if I could do it. I'll admit to being spoiled about having modern conveniences (sp?). But I admire people who have the willpower to do it.
I agree with the others that the "off grid housing" sounds like a really cool idea but I don't know if I could do it. I'll admit to being spoiled about having modern conveniences (sp?). But I admire people who have the willpower to do it.
Haha. That sounds like what people say when you tell them you're veg*n! ;D ;) Seriously, no offense...I don't know if I could live completely off the grid either.
I've done lots research on off the grid houseing. The only kind that comes remotely close to practical is a wind turbine. It wil still cost MUCH more than living on the grid, but it's the best of all options. The sysem requires a wind turbine, power converter-ac/dc, wiring, batteries which need regular replacing, and it all gets worn out over time. Solar is an incredible rip off! Only the giant wind turbines make a profit.
It's not as romantic but you're better off thinking of power consumption efficiency. Super insulate and hermatially seal your home (which mobile homes are the easiest and cheapest to do with), all dc lighting, all super efficient appliances, a laptop for all tv and movie viewing because they use a tenth of the power of most tv's.
A mobile home in Conn will need an electric tape to keep outside piping warm when the outside temps go below like 20 degrees.
It's funny and they won't ever tell you this, but the biggest single energy savings is to simply hermatically seal your home. Costs like 30 bucks for the plastic for a mobile home and no other houseing type is easier. The harder part is keeping the interior air clean. I'm on the road and don't have time to write that book now lol.
Arizonabound
Two summers ago when I was on the Appalachain Trail, I met a 60-something year old man who was on his FOURTH through hike of the trail. He lived outside of Columbia, Missouri with his wife, completely off the grid...wind generator, geo-thermal heating/cooling, composting toilet. He was probably the coolest person I've ever met.
that's my goal. being some freak off grid creep hippy that people go 'wow, she was the coolest person i've ever met.'
I use to have OTG aspirations and read a lot about it. Sometimes people spend their first winter in a super-insulated trailer and then build their cabin the following spring/summer. Their stories about winter in a trailer sound like hard living.
One thing I remember reading is a family built a lean-to type structure for their trailer and put the stove in the lean-to. I think they got the temperature in the trailer up to 50 F (10 C) by doing that. The bathroom was below freezing, so they urinated in one pail and pooped in another and then had to go outside to dump their urine popsicle. Good times...
God(dess) I love this website! Yeah for vegans, vegetarians and people who give a shit!
Well ....my new house here near Woodstock is for the most part "off the grid"... I have solar hot water and solar "supplemental" electric to power much of my house. I also have a geothermal heat/air conditioning system that's been working well. Between that system and my soapstone stoves (one in kitchen and an insert in my fireplace), I've yet to use any propane heat this winter. :) I can also cook in the one in the kitchen (though I'm learning it takes practice to control the temperature). It's not my sole source of cooking as I use a convection oven and propane for the range's stove top. With regards to heating the house....3-4 hours of high heat burning will give off heat for nearly 24 hours, and the stoves give off nearly zero emissions as well. It will take years for everything to pay itself off, but I can say that I honestly feel so much better living this way. With regards to cable/phone. I only use a cell phone, a satellite dish for TV, and a wireless broadband card for my internet connection...so I have no wired cable or phone running to my house either. Within the next few years I'd like to upgrade my solar system to be able to power my house 100% and actually then sell power back to the local power company. More $$$ to spend, but even if all I get is "peace of mind" along with no bills in the future...it will be well worth every penny I spent. :)
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