Life off the grid - solar heat,windmills,solar energy,biofuel,solar hot water,cooking

[maricybele]

Hi Friends,

Would love to discuss and see sets ups for inexpensive alternatives.
In the future I would like to do alternative power with windmill and solar. Would love to see any inexpensive set ups for solar power, solar hot water, solar heat, solar cooking.

[Sinfonian]

Around here wind is more consistent than solar, though growing up two houses in our neighborhood had solar panels on the roof.

You're best bet is to look into rebates and tax credits for all alternatives in your area. Both can run 10s of thousands of dollars to set up to be meaningful. Unless you're the Dervaes that get by on 6 kwts a day. I use 30 and I use gas for most things. /sigh.

Conservation is my best bet. Though my brother would love wind.

[plantoneonme]

If you have never had the chance check out the Mother Earth News website. They have a great magazine and many of their articles are also available online. They have a couple different set ups for solar heat that does not use expensive panels. I read about one that is basically a large box that is painted black on the back with glass on top. It is hung on the outside of the house and vents are placed through the wall into the living space. During the day you open the vent on the top to allow the accumulated heat to flow inside. They also had plans for a stand alone model that you place into a window and when you want the heat you open the window. They also have plans to make solar hot water etc. I think the water would be more practical in the summer because I would be afraid of freezing but for a large part of the year you would have free hot water...you may have to change schedules of say showering to the evening in order to have hot water but it would be a large cost savings.

I also just finished reading an article (and followed links to youtube and other sites) where people are making their own electricity with bicycles...granted for an hours riding time you get 100 watts but you could power a laptop for 2 hours and compact lights for 6-10 hours. Plus you get the exercise as well. Might also be a great way to encourage kids to exercise to power up video games or a TV....yeah right lol.

HGTV also used to have a show called Living with Ed (Ed Begley) who powered his toaster with his bike.

[plantoneonme]

I did a little research on the Mother Earth News site and found some interesting solar collection arrays that don't seem to cost much money. Here is a link to an interesting (although old) article about a church that made panels out of wood, tempered glass and soda and beer cans. There were able to cut heating costs by 55% and the panels paid for themselves the very first year they were installed.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Homes/1983-05-01/A-Solar-Heated-Church.aspx

Here is also lots of links to other solar collectors. I think I am going to price one out for the heck of it. I have the perfect window do place a collector in the family room, which is where we spend most of our time.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/energy-efficient-heating-cooling/solar.aspx

[plantoneonme]

I am having so much fun looking up alternative energy ideas. How about this one...have kids playing on teeter totters and producing enough electricity in a recess period to make enough power to keep a classrooms lights on for an entire day. Could even be fun for adults LOL.

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1519/69/

[gardengirl72]

I am working on it. I still haven't finished.

http://www.urbansustainableliving.com/blog_alternative_energy_latv_gas_saving_tips_blog. html

[maricybele]

I cant wait to see your videos and listen to your experiences with the windmill and solor.

[plantoneonme]

For those of you who are looking at going solar there is still a large tax credit this year for solar hot water and electricity until good until the end of 2008. The credit is for up to $2000. I wish we were in the position to at least give it a little try but cannot financially do so this year. I hear there is talk of extending this tax credit but with a new president soon it is all up in the air.

[MoniDew]

You know, every once in a while, someone figures out how to build their own solar collector and saves a ton of money while being very inventive and ingenious. I'd love to find some easy-to-follow (for a dummy like me) plans for building one. How do you connect it to your house? How dangerous is it to play with the electricity?

[plantoneonme]

I am driving myself crazy looking for an old post where I posted lots of ideas on how to make solar collectors very inexpensively. Check out the Mother Earth News website and search under solar. They have tons of information on how to make solar collectors with little more than plywood, paint, glass, insulation. It hangs on the house or into a window and can heat a room or more depending on where you live. I will keep looking for my old posts unless someone else remembers where I put them LOL.

OH DUH! Scroll up this post for the websites I have been looking for!!!

Kim

[rdsaltpower]

I am already into solar power at home. However, I erected a small wind generator- 100watt type and got no results. My location is terrible for that type of wind power. I have been looking at vawt designs..verticle axis wind turbines..on youtube and I might try an experimental one next year. A vawt sets upright and has fins that collect wind energy no matter which direction its coming from. I live on a hillside lot in a sheltered hollow and straight line wind is impossible! If I get one up I will post it to the board. :)

[Kittikity]

Ironic you should mention this.. I've also been doing a lot of research on solar power today.. Been interested in it every since I heard about it years ago but of course, the expense.. Today while looking around youtube, I found a neat video on using solar panels to power a magnetic motor.. What they have on youtube is just little science fair type projects.. But I've got new ideas forming rapidly in my head.. Here's the basic idea of the magnetic drive..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHxHNS9gCfg&NR=1

I also adore the super Mario brothers music.. Brings back memories..

Anyway, my biggest idea so far is to do this on a much larger scale and have two of these on opposites sides of a pole.. The solar panels power them and get whole pole spinning.. In the middle of the pole is a generator of some sort.. I'm not engineer so a simple copper coil generator is as far as my mind has gotten.. But I'd absolutely LOVE to see what kind of power this idea could generate.. Might not do anything.. Might fly apart in shambles.. But... BUT! I don't think it's too far fetched that it could also be so optimistic to generate enough power for an entire house..

[rdsaltpower]

http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2008/12/19/35815/848 here is an excellent article on solar heaters for a house w/ pics. :)

[maricybele]

I would like to try that solor box heater one day soon. I need to get more beds this year, as I am just going crazy with planting seeds this year! It would be great to get a supply list on that and figure where I could put one at my house.

[daddylonglegs]

I am pretty excited about putting solar hot water in my home. The man came last night and I just can't wait to hear the price. He lives in Richmond, RI and raises RI Reds. We talked for an hour. Everyone please send good thoughts into the universe that the quote is reasonable.
DLL

[Garden Green]

*keeps fingers crossed*

[btompkins]

With our ministry in Mexico, we are in an area without running water or electric. We have set up a system of batteries charged by the sun and wind. We use an inverter for items that need 110v. We also use a lot of 12v items. We do have a propane fridge, but when it dies we will probably replace with a solar powered fridge or freezer. We are also experimenting with solar cooking.

In fact, on Sunday, we are holding an Alternative Energy Day for the area to introduce the people here to the ideas which may help them in their day to day lives...ways to cook with less wood, cook with the sun, homemade windmills, etc.

We have videos on youtube that explain some of our setup here. Just type in sbhministry into the search box to find our videos and channel.

Any questions, don't hestiate to contact us.

In His service,
Btompkins