Posts from — November 2004

Shake off your prejudice and start looking for your tow bar; the chicest (and easiest) way to be independent comes in the form of the good, old-fashioned caravan.

Cool Caravans for sale or hire

Always strong on the conceptual front, (a house on wheels that you can take anywhere? Keep changing the view? Genius.) it was let down badly by unchic design. Now, finally, the cool caravan has arrived. And you can hire it for a weekend.
(more…)

Sleep, it seems, has become a luxury.

A report published earlier this month by po-faced think tank Demos found that 39% of adults suffer from a lack of sleep. That figure rises to 50% among managers and those with children.

Relax! Take a nap

So great is the problem, the report suggests that if you feel sleepy you should take afternoon naps. We at Off-grid say why restrict yourself to afternoon naps? Take a nap whenever you feel tired? We eat when we are hungry and drink when we are thirsty, so why are people not sleeping when they are tired?

(more…)

Inspired by our story about the island off Norway, Utsira, adopting hydrogen power? ( Island switches to wind and hydrogen posted 5th of August 2004). Consider a trip to the International Hydrogen Energy Congress & Exhibition, being held in Turkey from the 13th to 15th of July 2005. (more…)

A holiday is in the eye of the beholder. No Swimming pool, no tv, no minbars For those who want to truly off-grid when they take off, Petit Byahaut, located on St.Vincent in the West Indies, would be far from the madding crowd, rather than just maddening.

Tranquility is a human right

So what do you get? An Eco-resort that offers five Frangipani surrounded guesthouses with corrugated-roofed open-air bedrooms, natural beauty products, and fresh seafood hauled daily form the sea. But the most appealing aspect for the vacationing off-grider, is that whilst you let your body gradually unwind, your conscience can take a break too. (more…)

What’s the most effective way generating enough off grid energy? Try not needing quite so much in the first place. According to the National Energy Foundation, in a typical UK home a third of the heat produced by a central heating system is unnecessarily and rapidly lost. As winter makes its hasty approach, try taking a few of these heat saving techniques to make sure you will be like the proverbial bug in the rug (more…)

Imagine this. In the future, you get in from a long, hard day. You open fridge a take out a slab of pasta and pop it into the microwave. Soon it goes ping, and you happily enjoy it with a nice glass of wine. If that doesn’t seem remotely high tech; think about that scenario again. What’s missing from that equation is the guilt inducing mass of packaging a ready meal normally produces. That’s because if WRAP, the Waste & Resources Action Program have their way, soon that packaging will be a thing of the past. And as they have just received 8 million from the government with the aim of reducing household waste by 310,000 tonnes by March 2006, it might happen sooner that you think. (more…)

Off-Grid loves any excuse to kick back and enjoy the view, and design team The Collaborators have made it possible to do that just about anywhere. Their Pods come in all shapes and sizes, and they allow you to create your own space and relax, wherever you can find a place to hang your pod.

Life’s a Pod

Transported in its own flat carrying case and coined “The seat to watch the apocalypse by”, all you have to do is find a nice tree or girder and swing whenever you feel inspired. (more…)

Know (or running?) a sustainable energy scheme that deserves recognition? Act fast; the Ashden Awards closing dates are looming.
The Ashden Awards celebrate the achievements of local energy solutions, which, by encouraging these schemes can radically transform the lives of those faced with challenges such as poverty, resource shortages and climate change.
(more…)

Wouldn’t it be lovely if someone offered you between 400 to 5000 to cut your bills, help the environment and get off-grid?

Following the success of the Clear Skies scheme, aimed to provide householders and communities with grants and advice to help reduce the amount of fossil fuels used and realize the benefits of renewable energy, the Department of Trade and Industry(DTI) has announced additional funding of  2.5m, and extended the scheme until March 2006.
(more…)