Posts from — December 2005

Pearson – here to help

Building an off-grid home can seem like a colossal task. But we are here to help and guide you through it.
David Pearson is an internationally renowned architect and planner. He has agreed to come on this site to answer questions from readers trying to build their own off-grid homes. Send your questions to news@off-grid.net, and we will run a live session to get his answers in January.

Pearson has been involved in inner city and community housing for most of his working life both in Britain and the USA. He has published books on eco-architecture and natural home design. (Click “more” for further details.)

Designing Your Natural Home – buy it from Amazon US
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Grid in crisis

Millions of UK homes came within hours of power supply cuts after the National Grid issued an emergency call for electricity providers to reduce demand on one of the coldest days of the year, reports The Times, 31st December

The companies were preparing to cut power or dim the lights last Thursday by lowering the voltage, after the grid issued a warning of a possible problem between 4.30pm and 6.30pm. Power generators were told to make more power available on the system, while distribution companies were informed that if no more power were made available they might have to cut power supply for some customers off temporarily. The highly unusual shortage comes as fears mount over the security of Britain’s energy supplies. There was also concern that there was insufficient capacity, even though most power distribution companies was still on a Christmas break.

The amount of electricity available this week has been lower than usual after some power generators temporarily shut down their gas-fired power stations because of the high price of gas and gas generators. Wholesale gas prices have been 50 per cent higher than last winter. Russia is trying to raise its gas prices by up to 400%.(Click �more� for further info)


Pint-sized Coleman� Powermate� generator puts out a whopping 1500 watts of power. Only $599.99 – Get one BEFORE the power outages start – As low as $46.99 per month with Fingerhut credit!
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$10,000 toilet design

Designing a sustainable, “off the grid” roadside rest stop could earn the designer as much as $10,000 in an international competition being sponsored by the California Department of Transportation and the Great Valley Center, with the support of the American Institute of Architects, California Council, and private organizations.

The sponsors contend the contest will help develop a concept which could be used throughout the state.

The site for purposes of the competition is the Tipton rest area site along Highway 99 in Tulare County. The site currently handles nearly three million travelers per year. (more…)

Zac Britain’s only Jewish pig farmer

The gloves come off today in a tough battle for control of Britain’s National Farmers Union. The fight matters to all who care about the politics of food in the UK, and also in the US, as one of the main targets is the Asda supermarket chain, owned by Wal-Mart.

The NFU is currently controlled by a coterie of farmers who routinely leave their posts in the NFU for fat Directorships of huge food companies (see below for details). They do little to represent the needs of the majority of farmers who are being decimated by a combination of supermarket efficiency savings, regulatory red tape and EU corruption.

The move to put up a rival candidate at next February’s election of the NFU President is the brainchild of environmentalist Zac Goldsmith, editor of The Ecologist magazine. . It comes the week after he was appointed to advise the Tory Party on green issues. The NFU have it in their power to challenge the big supermarkets but they choose not to. (more…)

Donald Sadoway, MIT

Computers double in power every year, but battery technology is stuck in the Victorian era. Why is that? Better batteries are the final frontier in untethering us from the grid.

Demand for portable power will climb 26% per year, according to the Boston Consulting Group, and the latest issue of Forbes Magazine explains why batteries have not been getting any more powerful. The article has pointers to the near-future of more powerful batteries which will affect the way you plan your off-grid existence. It concludes by quoting MIT battery guru Donald Sadoway, saying fuel cells are not the way to go.

The science behind the $48 billion (revenue) battery industry is little changed in the 200 years since Alessandro Volta first drew electricity off a stack of cardboard sheets soaked in a brine of zinc and silver. Today’s lithium ion rechargeables still use a voltaic stack of a positive cathode separated from a negative anode by a liquid or gel electrolyte. The electrolyte solution is especially sensitive to conducting ions between the cathode and the anode. The drawback is that these highly corrosive electrolytes force battery makers to use rigid protective enclosures and space-hogging microchips to enable the batteries to dole out the charges and keep from exploding during recharges. Maybe not, says Professor Donald Sadoway, one of a cluster of engineers who still see plenty of potential in lithium ion batteries. (more…)

Tracy takes a trip

Living in a honeyed stone house, in 52,000 acres of prime Gloucestershire countryside would seem like an excuse to enjoy life’s luxuries.

But Tracy Worcester is more likely to be seen in charity shops than Harvey Nicks, or protesting against new roads rather than at society gatherings. Her thoughts and speeches can be found on her web site.

ISEC’s Bringing the Food Economy Home - buy it from Amazon US for under $20
Buy it in the UK for under �10

The 45-year-old former actress, the wife of Harry Worcester, the future Duke of Beaufort, is passionate about the threat of globalisation to our environment, food and jobs. She is the enemy of corporate greed and consumerism. She is a trustee of the Gaia Foundation, a patron of the Soil Association, and associate director of the International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC). (more…)

Mesa del Sol’s CEO

CEOs have cottoned on to the off-grid concept as a way to make more money. So watch out – if you’ve been planning to buy that cabin in your local wood, then get in now before it’s snapped up by a computer programmer from Seattle. For the full story, see: Business Week, 12th December 2005:
“ON THE EDGE of Albuquerque, work has started on one of the largest and most technologically tricked out communities in the nation, offering 310 sunny days a year in a climate balmier than Colorado’s, cooler than Arizona’s, and cheaper than either. A place where you can hit the slopes in the morning, then jam in some collaboration with co-workers in India before David Letterman. A desert idyll for those who want to go off the grid but remain connected; keep their New Economy-size paychecks on a New Mexico-priced lifestyle.

Mesa del Sol, designed by New Urbanism guru Peter Calthorpe (buy his book on the next page – click more), (more…)

Nick Rosen, 50

Christmas, the time for peace, harmony, generosity….. oh, and stress over-eating and relentless retail mania. Adopting some trees for Christmas might be a way out of the seasonal gift dilemma.

Film-maker Barney Snow and photographer Bridget Smith just gave Off-Grid Editor, Nick Rosen, 50 trees in Honduras from www.oxfamunwrapped.com for his birthday present, and now he says he is re-gifting them to all his relatives, one tree at a time, “with enough left over for next year.” As he says: “Christmas tree sorted. Christmas sorted.”

We are not talking the non-drop, fir variety here, of course, but Rainforest hardwood. This is not an appeal to buy mahogany toilet seats for Christmas presents either. But wouldn�t all other presents pale in comparison if you gave someone a 60m high, ancient hardwood tree?

A tree costs all of �1, and purchased trees are protected from being chopped down forever (they claim) (more…)

Are you settled comfortably?

Photographer David Spero travelled round the UK, visiting and snapping communities that live in self-built, low-impact settlements for a new show in London.

Spero’s record of his journey is “Settlements” – glowing images showing the reality of life in the woods in the UK. This example (left) shows the communal kitchen, round house and chicken coop, Tinker’s Bubble, Somerset where a resident is working in the garden. (more…)