Kelly Mead, Author at Living Off the Grid: Free Yourself

Solar Energy Need to Know

If you are installing or have installed a photovoltaic (PV) system we have found some helpful resource to make it not only easier but safer for you and your home.

First if you are debating on installing the system as a DIY (do it yourself) then we found a resourced guide that can save you time and money and best of all it’s free. It is a guide on installing PV systems by the California Energy Commission as part of their Renewables Buydown Program. This guide is for the current state-of-the- art PV system installation, though revisions are set to made as the technology changes.

Second a telephone seminar on fire safety for PV systems will be held by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) on April 30, 2008 at 2pm EDT. Various fire districts throughout the U.S. have been raising concerns about the safety of fire fighters in building with PV systems over the last several years. Most of the concern was how to ventilate a roof that was cover in solar panels and how to disconnect the live circuits with out being shocked. This lead to the California Solar Energy Industries Association (Cal SEIA) working with the California State Fire Marshall’s office to develop meetings between representatives from the solar industry and others interested in fire protection. They worked out some guidelines for PV fire safety. These guidelines are focused on required area needed on rooftops for access of firefighters to ventilate the roof in event of fire. You need to pre-register but any interested parties are able to attend, you will then be sent the access phone number a week before the event.

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April 10, 2008 No Comments

Getting the Children Involved

When deciding on changing to a more self-sufficient lifestyle it’s important to include your children in on the reasons why and it’s benefits. Some children may just be fortunate enough to grow up in this lifestyle but most will probably be making this journey with their parents.

We’ve have been lucky in that our children have embraced this lifestyle and are actively pursuing ways to improve our self sustainability. Also they haven’t had any social problems at school since global warming and being environmentally responsible with trash is a topic touched on in my children’s public school. They are almost as impatient as us to be completely off the grid. Planning our gardens this year is to be less for learning and more for what is necessary for us to fulfill our vegetable and herb needs. Though we know that during our first full gardening year we will over and under plant some crops we are excited to know that we are planning on producing most of our grown food ourselves.

Our children also have a way of making sure we don’t lose site of the big picture. Sometimes we get so mired in on project that we forget that it is just part of a bigger plan and perfection is not needed for it to work. Also their pride and excitement about doing something about the way our world has been being treated is infectious to those they come in contact with, such as teachers, other children, coaches, an so on. Including our children in our plans and why we chose it also open the dialogue between us. Since parents are not always informed on the environmental studies of children nor are the teachers as well versed as we would like we are able to discuss it with them and minimize some fears and expand on some topics. After one such class my oldest daughter was afraid to eat fruit for fear of pesticides. Since we go for organic and I thoroughly was any vegetable or fruit that comes into our home I was able to soothe her fears.

What brought this home to me about including children in the journey is that there is not many books out there that can help explain and/or make this way of life seem if not “normal” just not “odd”. I am volunteering at my children’s school book-fair and only noticed 2, though one was the same book just easier for younger children, at the fair. I saw multiple books on “High School Musical”, “Narnia”, and even “Indiana Jones” but to only see those two that touched on this topic was a little disheartening. The book Down-to-Earth Guide To Global Warmingby Laurie David & Cambria Gordon and their “Get Down to Earth: What You Can Do To Stop Global Warming” was a nice thing to see tucked in with all the …

April 9, 2008 No Comments

Have a DSIRE for Finacial Help For Your Off-Grid Dream?

Getting off the grid or even using personal alternative/renewable energy while still attached to the grid is an expensive proposition. That is especially true when putting in a complete system at once. Here at The Off-Grid Home we wanted to make a database of all the programs available across the United States but, found that it was more of a long term goal. So we have taken down the page we have completed until we can have more complete and up to date information.

Though we still feel that everyone who is interested in using alternative/renewable energy should have a starting point for their own research. So as we were working on our own state by state narratives we ran across a complete database run by North Carolina Solar Center and the IREC. We haven’t been able to check to see how up to date the database is but it is a great start for individuals or even companies wishing to delve into using these power sources and getting financial help. The database is called DSIRE, Database of State Incentives for Renewable & Efficiency,and is stated to last be updated on April 7, 2008. We will be adding links from our site to theirs in hope that those who are just waiting to make the big financial commitment can now have the help they need. Plus, incentives and grants have limited time windows for them to be available. As ours may not be finished till after some are no longer available or near the end of the time frame making it hard if not impossible for you to get the help needed.

The database was founded in 1995 and is an ongoing project of the North Carolina Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council. It is also funded by the US Dept of Energy.

The North Carolina Solar Center was created in 1998 and promotes the use of renewable energy technologies and green building practices. They do this through the four main programs of technical training and assistance, policy research and analysis, outreach and education programs, and technology research, development and demonstrations. They seek to stabilize energy cost for the consumer, stimulate local economies, reduce dependence on foreign fuels, and mitigate impact on the environment by energy use. It is operated by the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University.

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council, IREC, has a mission to accelerate the use of renewable energy sources along with their needed technologies through both state and local government and community activities. It was formed in 1980 and supports market-oriented service that are targets at education, coordination, procurement, and both adoption and implementation of standards, guidelines and consumer protection. Members of IREC include state and local agencies, national labs, solar and renewable organization, companies as well as individuals.

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April 7, 2008 No Comments

Energy

The Power of Trash

A big worry today is what to do with all the waste that is disposed of in our everyday lives. Where is all the wrappers, napkins, uneaten food, worn clothing, broken furniture, etc that needs to be disposed of going? and how do we make trash a positive effect for our environment. Recycling and reuse are great options but what about the pizza box that can’t be recycled or the torn pants that can’t be repaired, they should be able to make a difference too.

So while prowling the forum over at TreeHugger a discussion of if it was an energy source was found. Which reminded us of two options for small or large scale renewable power can come from garbage. Methane harvesting and incineration of that which can’t get a second life as usable product.

Methane harvesting is a viable option especially in todays calling for alternative fuel options. Methane can be harvested and sold as is or could be piped to an electric plant to produce electricity, which then can be sold. Back in 2000 NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center awarded a contract to the Toro Energy to use landfill gas. According to the release at the time of the contract:

Goddard plans to purchase no less than $900,000 of landfill gas annually. The unit gas cost includes the costs of building facilities to accommodate the delivery of gas. The Center also intends to expand use of the gas to alternate-fueled vehicles, and possibly to become a centralized government fueling station. Other possible applications for using the landfill gas may be powering chillers in the power plant, or even electrical generation.

So the idea to do this has already been implemented in large scale projects and seven years in to this contract there has not been a large outcry (nor that we’ve heard small) about this not being a working option. No outcrying of harmful side effects from employees of the base, landfill or residents living between the two of health concerns. Considering the skepticism and some downright disapproval in the public at the time it was implemented that is almost a miracle in itself.

Burning trash is another option that is possible. In Baltimore City there is a plant, one of only 16 in the country, that has been doing it since 1984. Considering that at that time most plants of this type were still the dirty, polluting ones in our nightmares, it’s amazing that it is actually a source of pride to our city (at least the ones who realize it’s there and what it does). There is no haze that hangs around or odors that can be smelled miles away. The plant. Wheelabrator Baltimore Inc., has actually worked to help clean up the area and become a symbol of the ideal waste burning plant.

Their first step is to remove metal that can be …

April 4, 2008 1 Comment

Change Your Toilet Change the World

A simple and effective way to conserve water and save money on water bills is to change your toilet to a dual flush one. This can be done as simply as buying a new dual flush toilet, just a dual flush tank, or using a conversion kit for a conventional toilet.

Since a dual flush toilet is designed to only use the water needed to flush the waste you save and you don’t have to use the practice of only flushing on number 2 as has been advised to me before. If you live in a house full of people, did I mention that 6 people live in my home and during the summer/fall months 7, that can leave an unpleasant odor lingering in your bathroom. Since composting toilets are also not an option, we’ve looked into other avenues.

Dual flushing toilets sound like a great idea for those who aren’t ready to change bathroom habits, but want to stop wasting galleons of water daily. If you want a complete toilt you can look into purchasing one at a local hardware retailer. Or you can check out Aquanotion, a company out of Canada, to see some of their solutions that aren’t as expensive as replacing a complete toilet. They offer a two flush solution that will work with an existing toilet by using a kit to replace the inner workings of your tank. This kit once installed, and can usually be done by someone themselves, will give you the option of a low flow flush or a regular flush, depending on the need.

If you don’t wish to fiddle with the tank they also offer a tank designed to fit most toilet bowls sold in North America that already comes complete you just need to fit it onto your bowl. This would save time but still would require some minor installation to be done.

Of course know that we started to research toilets we saw electric composting toilets that mix everything for you, and can last up to a year before needing to be emptied. Then to top it off they don’t use harmful chemicals so the waste can then be introduced to your compost pile. We were almost in love till we saw the price tag the cheapest being $1,799 with a non electric coming in slightly cheaper at $1,399 (and no we didn’t put the comma in the wrong place). Still if you can afford it why not. We’ll be waiting for the price to come down or just admire it from a far.

So options have greatly increased in everyday appliances to make changes for positive in both our pocketbooks and our world. We just have to notice them that’s all.

This site and subject was suggested on the forum and we would like to thank seafury for the idea and letting us know about the …

April 2, 2008 No Comments

Water

The One Stop Septic System

There are a number of options for your waste water, the water that has been used in your kitchen, bathroom, and laundry. Some options would mean keeping this waste separate and dispose of in different ways, but the one stop solution and most common is a septic system. As this option is the common for those who cannot get city water or in older homes this is an option that is not unknown to the common person. Though if you are considering this you need to make sure that it is an option in some suburban and urban (not practical in most cases) areas. In our area it is hard if not impossible to get approved for a new septic system as our county wants everyone connected to our city water. Since it has one of the best treatment plants in the country it’s not as big an issues for us right now. They have made this push to get and keep our waterways cleaner.

There are four main components to a typical septic system:

A pipe to carry the waste from the home
The actual septic tank to start the digestion process
The drainfield to spread out the waste water
The soil with microbes to do the final filtering and cleaning of the water

The pipe carrys all the used (grey and black) water out of your home and into the working parts of the septic system.

A buried watertight container is the typical septic tank. These tanks can be made of concrete, fiberglass or polyethylene. The purpose of the tank is to hold the waste water long enough to allow solids to settle out (sludge) and oil and grease to float to the surface (scum). This allows for partial decomposition of the solid materials. To prevent the sludge and scum from leaving the tank and entering the drainfield, it is compartmentalized and has a T-shape outlet. Additional screens are recommended to make sure the solids do not make it into the drain field. On newer tanks risers with lids for easy location, inspection, and pumping of the tank.

When the wastewater has been process by the tank it exits the septic tank into a drainfield to complete it’s treatment by the soil. This wastewater is continually pushed into the drainfield every time new wastewater is introduced into the tank. Since drainfields can overload with too much liquid , flooding, and can cause sewage to come to the ground surface or create backups in your plumbing and prevent complete treatment of all watsewater. To prevent this having a reserve drainfield, as required by many states, also on your property is a good idea. This area should be cared for as well as you care for your primary drainfield.

The last part of your septic system is your soil. Soil is essential to removing contaminants from your wateswater before …

March 31, 2008 1 Comment

Make a Difference in NOLA

We are happy to announce that Make It Right9 in NOLA (New Orleans, LA) has given us our own home to promote. Once you follow the link go down the list till you see our home, we we’re second to last at the time of this post. We also welcome anyone who wishes to use the banner above to let other’s know about this wonderful opportunity.

The home is sponsored in the name all those who are dedicated to having a healthier and/or self-sufficient home of their own. Let all of us who truly believe in this way of life make a statement by helping to get some people back on their feet in a way that we believe in. Showing that not only is it important personally to us, but to everyone because of the reduce strain on our environment, reduce strain on ourselves and our families, better health, less stress, and even lower costs for running a home.

You can donate as little or as much as you are able. $5 can buy a CFL (Compact Fluorescent Bulb), $25 low VOC paint, $40 a low flow shower head, $100 for a programmable thermostat, $200 for a ceiling fan, $500 for energy efficient lighting, $1500 for a tankless water heater, $3000 for the heating and cooling system , $5000 for a rainwater harvester, or even $25,000 for rooftop solar panels. As you can see there is a wide range of donations needed. This list is just a partial what can be sponsored. When you click to donate to the home at Make it Right 9 get an interactive home that shows you where your funds will be put to use and why that product was chosen. So not only can you do a good deed but you can learn while you’re doing it.

We also encourage you to talk with friends and family about getting this project finished. They are over half way to meeting their goal of 150 homes. The count is 81 homes and almost a quarter of the next one sponsored. Showing that this a way of life not only for rural areas can have a big impact on showing the public at large that this is an attainable goal for the average Joe.

Of course they approved The Eco Friendly Home today because yesterday we did our updates. Sorry that you got two updates in a row but we thought this was important enough to post as soon as we found out about it.

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March 28, 2008 No Comments

Updates on Previous Posts

Thought it was time to update some of our previous posts. Since we started this journey back in October we have run across some amazing movements, events, products, and people and we wanted to check in on them and see how things have gone.

Make It Right 9 of New Orleans has raised funds to build 81 of their proposed 150 homes. We are still waiting on word whether we can sponsor our own home. So check back or if you can’t wait please visit them and donate to a worthy cause. You can also visit them to find out more about the amazing people and organizations that are involved in this opportunity to not only give someone a helping hand but to help show that being self-sufficient in our resource needs can be done in today’s world community wide.

Our Hollywood Going Green? post back in November was about a convention being held in December. I know I said I would wait for the movie so guess what they have posted their presentations. Now to find the time watch them! If you do or attended let us know what you think. We will be starting a thread at the forum about them.

We Love It’s Not easy Being Green was about the BBC show on a family transforming an old farmhouse to their off-grid utopia. We haven’t seen anything about another season but the charity they started The Big Green Idea has continued on. Starting in summer 2008 they plan to have a green double decker bus touring the UK to let people have hands on experiences of products used to get off-grid, while also offering movie and documentary viewings. Even though these sites are geared for the UK they are a great source of ideas to bring across the “pond”.

Ava Solar from our $1 per watt of Soalr Energy post has been moving froward on mass production of their new panels. “ We are very happy with our initial pre-production runs and have decided to move up production plans on our existing manufacturing line,” said Pascal Noronha, President and CEO of AVA Solar. “Although this will be relatively limited production, we intend to accelerate our production learning curve and get our products into the market faster than we thought possible last year.” They have also announced that instead of building a new manufacturing plant in Fort Collins they will be using an existing physicality in Northern Colorado which helped speed up the production time-line.

In December we wanted you to Help Focus The Nation. The online web-cast had problems as many more than anticipated people, groups, and institutions logged on to be part of it. Though they then made it available to watch anytime. We admit that we were part of the unfortunate ones that had problems and were kicked out of the live cast. …

March 27, 2008 1 Comment

Less Then a Month and Counting

Earth Day, April 22, 2008, is less then a month away and I though t this would be the perfect time to ask: What have you done in the past year to improve your and our environment?

This is more of a thinking exercise then to put anyone on the spot. I try to use Earth Day as my mark to see how I have changed my habits and living to be healthier both for my family and I and for the Earth as a whole. I will be writing a more in depth article on April 22 and hope that is you have a blog you will join with me about how I did change the world for good this past year.

I have to say that this year has been pretty productive as I completed changing over all my light bulbs (I only changed them after the old ones stopped working), insulated exposed pipe and duct work, finished changing my cleaning supplies over to non-toxic/organic, and started this site to help convert and inform others of the benefits of going green and getting of the grid. I still need to plant my gardens, a herb, vegetable, and a berry, but they have been cleared and just need tiling and the compost added.

My plans for the upcoming year is to install a solar water heater and if I’m really lucky and on the ball solar panels. Also I intended to be more involved in getting others to understand the benefits of being self-sufficient in today’s world. I have to admit that I don’t take the pushy approach but the education one. This seems to work the best for me.

Did I ever mention that my husband wasn’t to thrilled about the idea of taking our family off the grid? All he saw in the beginning was the expense and the extra work it would require to do it. Now though after being pulled along he is almost as excited as I am. He is actually researching on his own and even helping with the home improvements (not one of my husbands loves) which just shows that once people are shown the benefits they don’t just jump on the train but actually drive it.

Speaking of information and change I stumbled on a story about a Stanford law professor trying to change the way Congress works. A site called Change Congress is trying to take wiki approach to congress to make it more transparent and keep track of our politicians and their pledges. It looks to be in the very early stages but if we all get behind it that could change very quickly. I have joined their emailing list and hope to hear good things from them soon. Along with that Breathing Earth made quite an impact. It shows carbon dioxide emission level of every country in a …

March 24, 2008 No Comments

Earth Day Rx: Slow Global Warming by Stopping Junk Mail

Junk Mail Consumes More Energy than 2.8 Million Cars

Ferndale, Mich. — With growing public concern about climate change and the health of the planet, 41pounds.org offers a quick, easy and effective way that everyone can make a difference: stop junk mail! The energy used for junk mail each year creates more greenhouse gas emissions than 2.8 million cars. And, it wastes 28 billion gallons of water and 100 million trees! Junk mail is more than a personal nuisance, it’s an environmental hazard.

The 41pounds.org service will stop your junk mail for five years by contacting dozens of direct mail companies to remove your name from their marketing lists. This includes almost all credit card applications and coupon mailers, plus any catalogs you specify. 41pounds.org also will donate more than 1/3 of the $41 fee to an environmental or community organization of your choice! To sign up, go to www.41pounds.org.

41pounds.org supports non-profit organizations working for a healthy environment and healthy communities. These partners include American Forests, Trees for the Future, WildWest Institute, Friends of the Urban Forest, Habitat for Humanity (East Bay), Center for a New American Dream and others.

Each household that reduces its junk mail for five years will prevent 460 pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere — and gain 8 hours of free time!

The average adult receives 41 pounds of junk mail per year.
More than 100 million trees are destroyed each year to produce junk mail.
Americans waste about 8 hours a year dealing with junk mail.

Three brothers — Sander DeVries, Tim Pfannes and Shane Pfannes — started 41 Pounds as a community service project in addition to their regular jobs.

“We’re surprised and pleased at how quickly it’s catching on,” said 41 Pounds co-founder Sander DeVries. “41pounds.org is like the national ‘do not call’ list, but for your mail. We contact the direct marketing companies around the country to get your name off their lists and make sure you’re no longer deluged by junk mail.”

“41pounds.org appreciates the growing concern about climate change, and they’ve provided a simple, easy step people can take to have a positive impact,” said Deborah Gangloff, Executive Director of American Forests.

To sign up or learn more, go to www.41pounds.org.

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March 22, 2008 No Comments

Put A Little Green in Your Spring Reading

When we started our journey to get off the grid we did not even realize that there was so many wonderful books available to help inform and encourage us. So we would like to share some of those we started with as well as some recent ones we’re still enjoying with you.

Since so much of the lifestyle we relish has now become more of an accepted, if not “hip” thing, the amount of space in our local bookstore has not only grown but better organized. The nice thing about that is that there is more information then ever out there to encourage more and more people to chose this path for themselves. On the other hand we really do advise reading part if not all of a book before adding it to your library. Libraries are a great source of information and many of the books that now grace our ever growing library was first read on loan. Another source, if you are lucky enough to have one where you live, is a book swap. We are fortunate in Baltimore to have “The Book Thing” which is a great place to drop off old book so they can begin a new life and give some a new home.

So above we have listed a few we thought would make great spring/summer reading. As always we are always happy to hear comments from our readers so if you have enjoyed or even dislike one please fell free to post a comment. Also if you think we missed out on promoting a book that should be read also feel free to post that also.

Also reminder that the Great Energy Efficiency Day by the Alliance to Save Energy is still taking registration for April 16, 2008. Then on Sunday April 20, 2008 Earth Day Events will be happening around the globe. You can see whats happening near you here. Let’s make this April a month to remind all those politicians that want our votes come November that our Environment and Energy Usage/Needs are a concern we want taken seriously and worked on. So as the Earth Day Organization is encouraging make sure your registered to vote for the coming elections and then let the politicians know we will be voting for not only our future but those our children and that of future generations to come.

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March 19, 2008 No Comments

Energy

Orange is For OWHH

Reading some of our subscription magazines that advocate a greener, more natural, or more self-sufficient lifestyle we noticed more then a few adds for an outdoor boiler or outdoor wood-fired hydronic heater (OWHH). So we decided to do some investigating.

First where can you find it at?

This type of heating system is in more demand in our rural, cold climates where a steady supply of wood is available, though they can be found throughout the US. From the outside the OWHH (boiler) looks like a small shed with a smokestack located near the building(s) it is to heat.

Second what does this system do?

From this “shed” a fire is burned that will heat water or water/antifreeze that will be pumped into the building(s) through insulated underground piping. This can then be integrated through a heat exchanger into a forced-air furnace, radiant baseboard, or radiant floor heating systems. The traditional type system is designed to run or seasoned wood to give the cleanest burn, and in most areas what can be burned is regulated. Though as the EPA has started a voluntary program to make these systems more eco-friendly we have seen wood pellet and corn versions which are toted as being “green”. Since both of these alternative fuels can be a burden to kepp up with additional attachments such as hoppers and bins are offered to make feeding theses fuels easier.

Third what are your best green options?

Go Orange! Starting in May 2007 any system that meets the EPA standards of emitting no more than 0.60 pounds of particulate matter per million BTUs of wood burned, or other fuel. These models have all been developed voluntarily to help make these systems more friendly to our environment. You can get a list of which systems have opted in to the EPA OWHH program here. Though when going to the websites we only saw information for the “Sequoyah Paradise” listed. The other manufacturers did not list the models approved for this program on their websites. Since these all operate through dealers you will need to contact them for more information directly.

And our final decision is….

All we have to say is that we are still uncertain of this one. Not even the EPA could say ya or nay on this one. We found reports advocating both for and against these systems. Those for seem to be of the mind that since the system has the potential to heat a complete house in addition to a barn or other buildings on your land that when looked at from this view the pollution from the fire would be less then having a fireplace/wood-stove in each area. Yet against is more from the standpoint of the boilers being operated with incorrect fuel such as green wood, trash, and construction debris, which dumps loads of toxins into our atmosphere. Also since …

March 18, 2008 No Comments

Kelly Mead

Solar Energy Need to Know

Getting the Children Involved

Have a DSIRE for Finacial Help For Your Off-Grid Dream?

The Power of Trash

Change Your Toilet Change the World

The One Stop Septic System

Make a Difference in NOLA

Updates on Previous Posts

Less Then a Month and Counting

Earth Day Rx: Slow Global Warming by Stopping Junk Mail

Junk Mail Consumes More Energy than 2.8 Million Cars

Put A Little Green in Your Spring Reading

Orange is For OWHH

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Junk Mail Consumes More Energy than 2.8 Million Cars

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Join the global off-grid community

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