Posts from — April 2007

Me and my diesel Jetta

“My car doesn’t use gas, it runs on vegetable oil,” I said to the chirpy woman on the phone. She had called to tell me that I was lucky –she was giving me gift certificates for gasoline with the purchase of a subscription to the Calgary Herald! Unfazed by my response, she suggested that I could give away the toxic certificates as Christmas gifts. “Sorry lady, but I don’t celebrate Christmas and I don’t read the Herald.”

Maybe I was a tad rude she was right, after all. But I had started working toward converting my car to run on vegetable oil a long time ago. I didn’t do it by accident; I heard about it, thought about it, and looked for others who had done it before. (more…)

gadget-lover with hi-fi

When it comes to renewables, you’ve got to be realistic. Trying to power the whole house with solar if you live in less-than-sunny climes probably isn’t going to work but you can start small. Take one solar panel and think: what can I power with this?

That’s the question Richard Rogers asked himself, and his answer a home-power hi-fi. Music-lovers anywhere can re-create his design using some basic equipment and a little electronics know-how. (more…)

Greywater to green water

Greywater consists of the used water produced at a site, except for water coming from the toilet, which is known as blackwater. When building a greywater system you separate the greywater from the blackwater and send it through a separate treatment system. Ideally, after the greywater passes through a purification process it will then be able to be reused. Greywater systems are particularly appropriate in off-grid locations. They reduce use of fresh water, place less stress on existing conventional septic tanks, have a highly effective purification process, and there is less chemical and energy use.

This article discusses the basics of a greywater system that could be used off-grid. (more…)

Indoor pool included

If you aren’t scared of enclosed spaces and you are looking for an off-grid hidey-hole in Northern England, you couldn’t do better than a cave. There are hundreds to choose from, all empty, and a new report lists them all with notes about what makes the most attractive living conditions.

With the coming summer expected to be the hottest for hundreds of years, even hotter than last year which was itself a record breaker, a nice cool cave might be just the thing. But hurry to nab your place before someone else does.

The new report, a special three-year study of more than 400 caves in (more…)

well, maybe $600

With all the stories about celebrities building multi-million pound off-grid mansions, its easy to think off-grid living is expensive and out of reach – but that’s just not so! Using off the shelf materials and an open source design guide, the hexayurt – pictured – is an affordable off-grid shelter system using an approach based on “autonomous building,” to provide not just a shelter, but a comprehensive family support unit which includes drinking water purification, composting toilets, fuel-efficient stoves and solar electric lighting. (more…)

Yeah, but…

Al Gore has been under attack ever since the release of his documentary An Inconvenient Truth for allegedly not practicing what he preaches. Most notably, his frequent flying and lavish energy-guzzling home were revealed to be causing the environment a whole lot of damage.

But, Gore has had some vindication lately. It seems that zoning laws have prevented the former presidential candidate (and some suspect potential candidate for 2008 despite his denials) from installing solar panels on his roof. (more…)

Proud owners

This time last year we revealed Colorado’s plans to make solar a real option for residents — (Prez PV-Nuts for Colorado) — and now they’re starting to reap the benefits. Residents in Colorado are getting around 50% back on their solar installations thanks to renewables incentives offered by utility companies.

Mike Harvey’s home in Chaffee County has 16 brand-new solar panels, producing around 3,500W on a sunny day energy that he funnels into the Xcel power grid. In return, Xcel is rebating him $13,900 – about 50% of the cost to install the system. Plus, the company buys power from the panels at $2.50 per watt, reducing Harvey’s monthly energy bill by more than 80%. The system also entitles Harvey to a $2,000 federal tax credit. (more…)