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)
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 $$$ to spend, but even if all I get is "peace of mind" along with no bills in the future...it will be well worth every penny I spent. :)
That's fabulous Dave! Your house sounds exactly like what I aspire to have in the future.
Well ....my new house here near Woodstock is for the most part "off the grid"... I have solar hot water and solar "supplemental" electric to power much of my house. I also have a geothermal heat/air conditioning system that's been working well. Between that system and my soapstone stoves (one in kitchen and an insert in my fireplace), I've yet to use any propane heat this winter. :) I can also cook in the one in the kitchen (though I'm learning it takes practice to control the temperature). It's not my sole source of cooking as I use a convection oven and propane for the range's stove top. With regards to heating the house....3-4 hours of high heat burning will give off heat for nearly 24 hours, and the stoves give off nearly zero emissions as well. It will take years for everything to pay itself off, but I can say that I honestly feel so much better living this way. With regards to cable/phone. I only use a cell phone, a satellite dish for TV, and a wireless broadband card for my internet connection...so I have no wired cable or phone running to my house either. Within the next few years I'd like to upgrade my solar system to be able to power my house 100% and actually then sell power back to the local power company. More $$$ 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. :)
That's fabulous Dave! Your house sounds exactly like what I aspire to have in the future.
I agree......absolutely fabulous. This, too, is one of my goals for the near future.
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