Off the grid
I have 5 acres in South Park that I'm building an off the grid cabin on. It has enough wind plus excellent views for solar. I hope to get the infrastructure work done this summer and raise the cabin next summer.
My landlord is willing to lend me his tractor/backhoe so I can get the footings in, and maybe even the septic. I've been looking into homebuilt well drilling rigs vs contracting out the well. The county water dude says I'll hit good water at about 120 feet but the only drill service in the area swears you have to go 400 feet. At $15 per foot, his price is 3 times the cost of the kit which is good to 200 feet. I need to do more research on other wells in the area.
The cabin itself will be a pentagon with an "eagles nest" loft in the center. The stove and water heaters (on demand) will be propane. Most of the electrical will be solar/wind with a backup gas generator. The washer and dryer can run off the generator as needed. Internet and Discovery channel via satellite and I get 3 bars of service on the property.
My solar and wind budget will be limited at first. I'll start with two 200W panels and a 2kw turbine. Wind is much cheaper than solar but the wind doesn't always blow and the sun sets every night. Solar is about $4.00 per watt and wind is about $1.00 per watt. The trick is going to be in using only appliances and lighting that doesn't suck power. Lighting will be easy. High power led systems are pretty inexpensive and draw only milliamps of power. I'll use a laptop and smallish LCD TV. I won't need AC up that high and it'll be heated with a pellet stove in the winter.
Kitchen appliances can all be 12V types, but the refrigerator is kicking my ass. To power it with propane would be very expensive and it would drain the batteries in short order.
My landlord is willing to lend me his tractor/backhoe so I can get the footings in, and maybe even the septic. I've been looking into homebuilt well drilling rigs vs contracting out the well. The county water dude says I'll hit good water at about 120 feet but the only drill service in the area swears you have to go 400 feet. At $15 per foot, his price is 3 times the cost of the kit which is good to 200 feet. I need to do more research on other wells in the area.
The cabin itself will be a pentagon with an "eagles nest" loft in the center. The stove and water heaters (on demand) will be propane. Most of the electrical will be solar/wind with a backup gas generator. The washer and dryer can run off the generator as needed. Internet and Discovery channel via satellite and I get 3 bars of service on the property.
My solar and wind budget will be limited at first. I'll start with two 200W panels and a 2kw turbine. Wind is much cheaper than solar but the wind doesn't always blow and the sun sets every night. Solar is about $4.00 per watt and wind is about $1.00 per watt. The trick is going to be in using only appliances and lighting that doesn't suck power. Lighting will be easy. High power led systems are pretty inexpensive and draw only milliamps of power. I'll use a laptop and smallish LCD TV. I won't need AC up that high and it'll be heated with a pellet stove in the winter.
Kitchen appliances can all be 12V types, but the refrigerator is kicking my ass. To power it with propane would be very expensive and it would drain the batteries in short order.
3 Comments:
What are you using to build the cabin? Have you considered straw bale construction or an earth house?
You could always go vegeterian. Vegetables don't need refrigeration ;-)
Have you seen Into the Wild? It's a great movie about a guy who goes off to Alaska wilderness with nothing. it's a true story. Of course, he dies - but only because he ate the wrong berry.
The county building/zoning nazi's have made it difficult when it comes to alternative designs. All building materials must be graded and the walls engineered. Basically, they're trying to keep out the riffraff (like me).
The footprint and overall appearance will be of a planked wooden Yurt. The entire cabin will be less than 600 square feet.
can I pee in your yard?
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