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sspence

by sspence on March 27, 2008 · 9 comments

in ENERGY, LAND

Small PV System
Small PV System

So, you want to go off-grid? Or maybe you want to find out what it’s like before taking the plunge? How about taking one room of your house off grid? It’s a less expensive way of learning the technology, before committing yourself.

We suggest starting with a bedroom. Look around your bedroom and see what devices you have that run on electric. As I look around my room, I see one table lamp, two floor lamps, wall lamp, digital TV, Stereo, satellite box, portable dvd player, vcr, and XBox. I also have a battery powered clock, powered by rechargeables, so I’ll add the battery charger to our list. There is also a curling iron, hair dryer, and ceiling fan with lights, but we will leave those items off our list for now.

»Keep reading 'Take your spare room off-grid'

Auto dweller denies he’s Lord Lucan

August 10, 2007
Nothing like Lord Lucan An eccentric Brit living in a Land Rover in New Zealand has denied wild speculation that he is Lord Lucan, the missing peer whose disappearance sparked an international manhunt 20 years ago after the death of his nanny. Glaring angrily across the fields at a neighbour's house, Roger Woodgate said: "It's them - they keep saying I'm Lord Lucan, and I'm not."

»Keep reading 'Auto dweller denies he’s Lord Lucan'

Solar powered hydrogen production

May 4, 2007
Solar powered hydrogen production

PV to HydrogenApart from saving resources, using solar energy instead of power from portable generators like diesel generators. Yamaha generators or Honda generators, for everyday power needs could shield the West from the negative effects of dramatic shifts in the supply and price of energy. But the sun does not always shine. You need backup power for your home -- a way to store solar energy for times when the sun is not shining. Hydrogen provides a safe, clean , efficient way to do this. Here's how the solar hydrogen cycle works:

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How to build a Water Motor

March 31, 2007
How to build a Water MotorThe Water MotorWe all know how an industrial electric motor operates. You have a power switch. It turns electric current on and off to an electric motor, which then does work. That work can be pushing a cart, a fridge, a submersible water pump, or any number of rotary devices. What do you do off the grid, in the mountains of South America, where there is no power supply? What do you use to give power supply for your electric motor? Enter Ron & Diane in Bolivia, and their "Water Motor". A unique Micro-Hydro device that uses the power of a falling stream to power stationary devices like saws, mills and generators like home generators and so on.

»Keep reading 'How to build a Water Motor'

Mobile Homesteading

March 16, 2007
Mobile Homesteading

Schoolbus RV Check out the Mobile Homestead. Michael & Millie have documented their mobile, school bus conversion so others can learn and duplicate their work. The 1991 GMC/Ward 66 Passenger School Bus is shown at the various stages of conversion, and all the steps taken to convert it into a rolling home are documented. They have other projects, like a travel trailer and talk about their composting toilet as well. Other School Bus Live-ins: "Bus Links"

»Keep reading 'Mobile Homesteading'

Make your own Biodiesel Processor

March 13, 2007
Make your own Biodiesel ProcessorBiodiesel while you sleep This unit will take lye and methanol, react it with vegetable oil, and produce a direct substitute for diesel fuel, to be used in any diesel engine, with no changes or modifications to the engine or fuel system. From tractors to trucks, cars to generators, even your boat, if you have a diesel engine, you can make your own fuel, no fumes, no fuss. We start with a standard electric water heater from our local Sears store, and a conversion kit from Biodiesel Warehouse. After removing the cold water inlet tube, we remove the bottom drain, and attach the valve "T" assembly. The pump then bolts on to the "T", attaching the fuel transfer manifold to the top of the pump.

»Keep reading 'Make your own Biodiesel Processor'

WC=Waterless Closet

February 22, 2007
WC=Waterless Closet

Steve's Composting Sawdust ToiletOn our homestead, we have greatly reduced our water usage by eliminating the flush toilet. The idea of polluting fresh drinking water with humanure is an odd concept, but widely held as the only solution. At the same time, we have embarked on a process that builds topsoil depth and quality. By combining a sawdust toilet with a compost bin, we are reducing our "waste" footprint and creating valuable healthy soil. A sawdust toilet is ONE of three components. The system will NOT work without all components, which are:

»Keep reading 'WC=Waterless Closet'

Making fuel from manure

January 10, 2007
Making fuel from manure

Al Rutan & tabletop digesterThe production of natural gas (CH4) occurs everywhere in nature – in swamps, bogs, coal mines, land fills and in the guts of warm blooded mammals. In fact, anyplace where organic matter is present and air is excluded. It is this same vapor gas that the utility companies market. Made by nature and deposited in the ground over eons of time, the chemical formula is one part carbon to four parts hydrogen (CH4).

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Remote Scottish eco-project

April 12, 2005
Remote Scottish eco-projectUtterly remoteWildlife millionaire Paul Lister bought the Alladale Highland Wilderness Reserve after a 10 year search. He was looking for somewhere isolated, private and with vast, uninterrupted views to fulfill his dream of reintroducing indigenous predators to the Scottish Highlands. He is now offering students an ecology holiday, but at a price. Set within 11,000 hectares of truly dramatic and stunning Highland landscape, the reserve covers 5 glens, 10 hill lochs and 2 river systems. Alladale is the site of one of Europe's most prominent ecological restoration programmes, conserving native wildlife whilst reintroducing once native Highland flora and fauna in a controlled environment.

»Keep reading 'Remote Scottish eco-project'

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