Why I want to Live off the Grid - Part II, Not Living in the Stone Age
When it comes to the practicalities of living off the grid there are many options, and just as many enthusiasts willing to help. The Internet is home to a growing community of DIY green enthusiasts who's advice the off-gridder will most appreciate. A Good starting place is Treehugger.com.
Thoreau's explains in his classic book Walden that the bare minimum a person needs to live a comfortable life is enough food to survive, clean water and a basic shelter that provides protection from the environment. All else, he says, merely allows someone to die in excess comfort. To Thoreau's requirements I add that it is imperative to have an energy resource. For off-grid purposes it must be renewable and as independent as possible.
But where to start? Let's start with a basic inventory our modern lifestyle.
Electricity - Electricity the activity of electrons that is wired into our houses at 110-120 Volts, and alternates current at a rate of 60 times per second. In England and most the world, electricity is set to 220-230 Volts, and alternates current 50 times per second. Solar Panels generally produce electricity at either 12 or 24 Volts and does not alternate current. In order to transform Solar Powered electricity to household electricity an inverter is necessary. Inverters are complicated, see wikipedia.org. Interestingly electrons in electricity move at the speed of light, however the common notion that electricity "flows" through your house is actually incorrect. Electrons can drift through the wires, but for the most part actually stay put in the wires. More or less electrons actually sort of vibrate around with greater or lesser intensity.
Water - Clean water is a necessity. Imagine trying to make a good cup of coffee with muddy water...bleh! Aside from the clarity of water it is imperative that it contains no cysts, bacteria, fecal matter, protozoa or other dangerous and alive organisms. Water is still pumped into our houses the old fashioned way, pipes and valves from a main source. However, if you live in a house off the water grid you will be responsible for pumping it out of the ground, or purifying it from rain...or if the conditions are right collecting it from the air via fog collectors !
Heat - House heating is usually accomplished via fossil fuels. Generally fossil fuels are burnt as efficiently as possible and the resulting warmth is blown throughout the house. Lately there is a resurgence of wood and wood pellet stoves for heating a house. Aside from being more earth friendly than fossil fuels, they are much more rustic and Romantic!
Insulation - Our houses are insulated well..keeping the hot air in in the winter and the cool air in in the summer. This is a key ingredient to a comfortable house.
Air Conditioning/Cooling - In the summer most houses get really warm, thus some form of cooling is required. In Dry Climates evaporative coolers use the principle that hot dry air can be made cool be absorbing the heat in water. In more humid climates Freon is expanded and contracted in order to capture heat from the air; our vehicles use this method as well. There are more methods for cooling air including acoustic cooling!
Food - Most of the food we consume is produced en mass from farms far away from our houses. Food however can be grown efficiently and with much benefit in our own back yard!
Transportation - Nothing defines America like cars. We love cars and we love going places. And we love cheap gas. Unfortunately some of that may need to be rethought as gas prices keep on climbing. Interestingly, the largest producers of oil in the middle east are some of the largest investors in renewable energy...hmmm....interesting.
Appliances - I love appliances. I love to be able to wash my clothes, and dry them quickly, wash my dishes with little effort, put 2 cups of raw rice in the rice cooker and have steamed rice 20 minutes later. I love being able to have cold ice-cream in the refrigerator. I love not having to plug my computer in to use the Internet. Unfortunately all appliances especially washers and dryers use incredible amounts of water and electricity.
Communication - The Internet is perhaps the best invention in Modern History. In fact, the guy who invented packet switching, which makes the Internet possible, was recently inducted into the inventors hall of fame. All devices that enable us to talk and communicate of long distances are not only incredible, but incredibly useful.
Entertainment - Nothing says humanity like entertainment. In a way, entertainment is the lifeblood of our culture. Entertainment is really just story telling. And story telling tells us who we are and what we are doing.
These are the basics of our modern lifestyle. Certainly one could find many more essentials to our modern life, but without the above, we would hardly recognize our lives as modern.
In the next few articles I will explore each topic in more detail and offer some practicle suggestions.
Links to the first two entries in this series
Why I want to Live off the Grid - Part I, Interdependence
Why I want to Live off the Grid - Introduction
No comments:
Post a Comment