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January 2015

Community

How about a shed for a cabin?

shed-cabin

There is a big movement, well maybe it’s a “small” movement :) using sheds for cabins or even your full on home, it’s a good way to have a ready made structure without having to build it yourself from scratch.

LaMar Alexander takes us on a tour of various sized sheds, he explains the pros and cons of each type, and how to improve these simple structures to convert them into something you can live in.

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Community

Snow on the Sky Castle

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One of the things I enjoy about the area where we live is we get all kinds of weather, even some extremes, but none of it lasts very long, our winters are mild compared to the rest of the country. We get snow a few times a winter, it’s usually a few inches and doesn’t last very long, it’s just enough to turn all of us into children again.

Last week we had such an event, fortunately I didn’t have to venture out in my vehicle and was able to stay home and enjoy the snow while it lasted. Our biggest “problem” during such times is making sure we have enough wood to burn in the woodstove to keep warm. PB kept us well stocked and kept the Sky Castle toasty warm.

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Community

Vince’s not so tiny home

My not-so-tiny house
Vince took a page from LaMar Alexander’s book and videos and built his own semi-small house, by most standards this is a small home,  measuring in at: 640 sq ft, 2 floors 16X16, attic 8X16 at a total cost of around $3500. His property, 7 acres was $5500, he was able to pay that off over the winter and spent the following summer saving his money to put into building his cabin. Much like we did, he was able to find sources of free materials. With the help of his family and friends he was able to get his cabin in the dry in about 2 months, he still has the inside and finish work to do, but I’d say he has done a very good job and will have a wonderful and debt free place to live when it’s completed.
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Off-Grid Undertaker Don Byrne works on a hand-made pine coffin in his outdoor studio on a 32-acre homestead in Bear Creek, N.C. Byrne lives off the grid, with no electricity and running water. In the background is his son, Niko, 4. He builds the coffins with antique hand tools, selling them for about $875 to $1,000 to people who want a simple, ``green'' burial.
People

Off-Grid Undertaker

Anti-consumerist pioneer, Duke University grad, walks away from middle class life to live the simple life in a 12×12 cabin

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Motely Fool says its time to make money from off-grid energy
Energy

Motley Fool says bet on off-grid energy

Investor’s tip sheet, The Motley Fool – advises readers to “Keep an eye on [the off-gird] space, you might be “cutting the cord” sooner than you think. Which could turn the power industry on its head.”

There’s something going on in Kwigillingok, Alaska, says the Fool, It runs a microgrid, defined as a small closed power system that can operate independently, or in conjunction with, the larger power grid. Such small systems could be the future of power.

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Community

Flower pot heater, does it work?

flower pot heater

The last couple of winters have been very hard for those of us living in the USA, the so called “polar vortexes” have come down from above, of course when I was growing up, these were referred to as a cold front, I suppose now they have to make it sound more newsworthy… at any rate, the winters are cold cold cold, many rely on grid power to keep their homes warm, even those who have natural gas, their heating units still rely on electricity to run and circulate the heat. It’s always a good idea to have at least one alternative means of heating your home should the power go out, ideally you should have multiple backup means of heating your home, or at least one room to get you through in the worst case scenario.

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Mobile Nuclear inevitable

Mobile nuclear power generators could become a viable energy source in the future.

Earlier this week Mississauga, Canada-based Terrestrial Energy signed a collaboration agreement with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which successfully ran a 7.4MW molten salt reactor experiment from 1965 to 1969 in the US.
Terrestrial Energy plans to advance the molten salt reactor to the engineering blueprint stage by late 2016.

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Rob Greenfield from San Diego purchases 'house' measuring 5ft by 10ft
People

Campaigner moves to tiny home

* Rob Greenfield from San Diego purchases ‘house’ measuring 5ft by 10ft

* The environmental activist will live in the 50sq foot box for the next year

* 28-year-old moves out of £1,000-a-month flat and paid £625 for new home

* Plans to avoid modern trappings including internet and will go without a plumbed toilet

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Community

500 square feet

500sqft

500 square feet, for some, that’s a decent walk in closet, but not for this couple, Robert Cole and his partner Kelly Casthena, they live there with their black lab, happy as clams. They would have to be, living in such close quarters, any unhappiness would not stay hidden for long.

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Water and Energy shedding

We know all about load shedding and we’ve been warned about water shedding. So what do we do about it?

According to rainwater harvesting specialist Patrick Rosslee, a good idea is to have your own tank – the biggest your space can afford.

Your roof must have gutters. A sloping metal or concrete tile roof is best and a thatch roof – which rarely has gutters, anyway – is the worst. An asbestos roof is a no-no unless the water is used only to irrigate the garden. Be aware of the danger of toxins posed by a painted roof and those spayed with herbicides and insecticides.

“Get a rough idea of how much rain water you can capture. On every square metre of roof, a millimetre of rain will give you one litre,” he said

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Community

Kicked my freezer-fridge conversion out

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Not away, but outside, I’m still using it, but with the colder temps and the more overcast days, I decided to let nature work for me instead of against me. A couple of weeks ago, PB moved the chest freezer to fridge conversion out on the front porch, it’s right next to the grill, it seems my front porch is really turning into an outdoor kitchen minus the plumbing.

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Chinese model poses nbext to BYD Hybrid - the Prius-killer
Energy

BYD gets into V2G

The name tells you everything – Chinese vehicle company BYD – it stands for Build Your Dreams – has embraced V2G – Vehicle to Grid – the auto makers’ vision of a future where you drive your car into the garage and then plug it into your house to power the heating and cooking.

A patent application by BYD inventors aims to facilitate the process by making sure the macihnes can charge super-fast at public charge-points.

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