Posts by — erne

Hide your light in a bushel

Now I know we’re are all scared of the dark these days, but the best way to cut the energy used in lighting is to have none of it — or very little. Motion sensors can be a good way to keep lights turned off when they’re not needed. Dimmers can give you just the right amount, and timers can turn lights on and off when needed.

For the light you do need, changing the bulbs and fixtures can go a long way to saving money and greening your home. In future – think CFL and LED – a conventional incandescent bulb turns only around five to ten percent of its consumed energy into light, the rest goes out as heat. (more…)

Business fat cats ignore off-grid

With oil breaking through $75 per barrel, top business bosses say Britain’s energy is at risk because the UK’s cumbersome planning system is blocking the building of vital new gas storage facilities. But they say nothing about the role microgeneration has to play, and the way the planning laws are blocking the development of off-grid homes and businesses. The same is true of United States zoning laws, and elsewhere.

The UK government hopes to meet 10% of the country’s electricity needs with renewable energy by 2010 and 20% by 2020. Currently less than 4% of Britain’s energy is from renewable sources.

The Confederation of British Industry raised the alarm as part of its submission to the UK Government Energy Review. (more…)

“Follow your heart”

Here’s some answers to the questions you the readers asked architect Dave Pearson, author of some seminal books on the design of eco homes.

Alec Bantos from Maine: Right now I am looking into buying a 3,049 sq ft lot in the middle of an urban downtown community in Maine. I have been researching the possibility of building a small off-grid 2 bedroom home on it and I feel no particular need to use up all of that space. My question is on how I can keep the costs down in building such a structure. What is the least I might be able to spend on this project
while making sure that it isnt a disposable or poorly built structure. Does using non-traditional building materials like shipping containers or papercrete help?
Also, I am not just excited about building my own home, but on setting an example for low-cost housing projects in general. Do you know of any architects or builders that are interested in how to build cheap, well built off-grid homes that might be able to assist in this process?

Hi Alec
To keep costs down I suggest you build small, keep it simple and consider how much you can build yourself.
Self build can save around a third of normal costs. You could look at kit homes as a possibility. They can either be delivered in parts for you to assemble or the company can assemble the shell and you finish the interior, and add the off-grid systems. But the designs may not suit your taste and they may not use eco-friendly materials.
But it will give you an idea of costs. (more…)

By Parker Abercrombie and Art Ludwig, author of Water Storage: Tanks, Cisterns, Aquifers, And Ponds for Domestic Supply, Fire And Emergency Use. Buy the book at the end of this story. Includes How to Make Ferrocement Water Tanks.

Water can be stored many ways

An ideal off-grid water storage system would draw water from an abundant, clean, year round spring or creek. There would always be enough water supply to meet water scarcity, and there would be no concerns about extra water for fire protection or emergencies. But since few of us are blessed in this way, nearly all water storage systems include some form of storage, most commonly a water tank. Even if you get your water from a municipal water system, you may want to store water at your home for fire protection or emergency preparedness. Water storage can be used to:

cover peaks in demand

• smooth out variations in supply
• provide water security in case of supply interruptions or disaster
• save your home from fire
• meet legal requirements
• improve water quality
• provide thermal storage and freeze protection
• enable a smaller pipe to serve for a distant source (more…)

Here come the Festivals….

Here is a listing of all paid-for festivals until the end of July.

We will be listing Free festivals in a separate article later this month, and also will be listing other eco-political outdoor events across Europe shortly.

Holmfirth Festival
Thursday 5 May until Sunday 8 May 2005
Holmfirth, West Yorkshire – MAP
Cost: 48 /42(concs) / 16 (12-16yrs). Day tickets: 15 – 25 / 10 – 23 (concs) / 8 – 10 (12-16yrs)

Southport Weekender
Friday 6 May until Sunday 8 May 2005
Southport, Merseyside – MAP
Cost: around 110 per person (sharing a chalet)

Annual Cannabis March & Festival
Saturday 7 May 2005
Brixton, London – MAP
Cost: FREE (more…)