Comments on: Can you go off-grid in the city?

By: Alain Saffel

Alain Saffel — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:08:38 +0000

Thanks for stopping by!

I’ve looked into earthships and they seem like one heck of a lot of work! Those tires take a lot of soil! I do like the concept of a south-facing earth-bermed house. Not particularly practical in the city, but if you have property it is.

Cob construction seems like it would be just about as much work as a rammed earth building.

Hay bale construction seems like a pretty good option on the prairies though. Bales are plentiful and relatively inexpensive, wood is as cheap as ever and they’re super insulated! Not sure, but cities may even approve hay bale construction too.

By: KT

KT — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:18:03 +0000

I Googled “Living off-the grid in a city” and found your site.
Build an Earthship! You can DIY (i.e. building materials are salvaged tires/earth, and labor cost is cheap as long as you’re willing to put in the labor) and go off the grid at the same time.
http://www.earthship.org/

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 01:15:09 +0000

If you’re thinking about rainwater collection, consider the Bermuda Roof. As an added bonus it’s also hurricane resistant!

After that the calculations are easy: (footprint of the roof) x (inches of water) = average gallons per year

You might want to calculate for a standard of deviation or so, and you can still be half on the grid by installing an emergency level valve made from toilet parts into the cistern.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,636457,00.html

Good luck!

By: Jobs,Work and Career Forum

Jobs,Work and Career Forum — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 05:08:15 +0000

last year we bought two electric stoves that we use on our kitchen, they are nice because they do not generate smoke ;”`

(Editor’s note: I loved this comment so much I had to post it… about a month later, sans URL. I just wonder what they’d been cooking on before, cow dung?)

By: Les

Les — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:09:48 +0000

Another way of working towards off the grid that I’m aiming towards, (and I know it isn’t for most people, but more and more are looking at it) would be RV, van or boat living. Solar and/or wind generators could meet most of the electrical needs, a gasoline or diesel back up generator for when additional power is needed (laundry/microwave or electric stove and for air conditioning) propane and/or wood stove for heat and water heater (used solar to pre-heat the water to cut that cost) Also collect rain water for use in commode, washing clothes etc….

Some day I think I’ld like to try full time RV living, traveling with only the price of fuel, parking, cable/internet, maintenance, fees from parks and such and food. But will start with a home base, (probably weekends at first) Find a few (or more) acres of land and set up a homestead of sorts, with RV, add solar panels and wind turbine(s) in addition to wood stove (someone already gave me a small one) for cooking and heat. A large garden for some food and a small greenhouse addition to RV (for additional heat during daylight hours) or nearby just to extend the growing season, Dig a cellar for storage and possibly some sort of geothermal as well

I was thinking car dolly (one that the whole car rides on, not one the just lifts two wheels), towed behind, and once on location, vehicle would be unloaded and the dolly could be pulled along side of the RV, enclosed – small greenhouse on one side and mudroom with small wood stove on the other side.

By: Haiti reconstruction: shipping container homes | alainsaffel.com

Haiti reconstruction: shipping container homes | alainsaffel.com — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:40:50 +0000

[...] talked before about going off-grid in the city, and while that may not be entirely possible, an increased level of independence would be [...]

By: Off grid in the city dream or reality alainsaffel com | Outdoor Ceiling Fans

Sun, 31 May 2009 09:32:59 +0000

[...] Off grid in the city dream or reality alainsaffel com Posted by root 3 hours ago (http://alainsaffel.com) Putting it right below the ceiling fan works nice in the winter reply middot alain middot may 17 2009 12 22 pm hi nick thanks for the comment i agree we need to take those steps 2009 alainsaffel com powered by wordpress amp mimbo Discuss | Bury | News | Off grid in the city dream or reality alainsaffel com [...]

By: Alain

Alain — Sun, 17 May 2009 18:22:56 +0000

Hi Nick, thanks for the comment.

I agree we need to take those steps however we can. Laundry does take up a lot of energy in the form of gas and electricity for heating the water as well as drying clothes.

Municipalities are gradually coming back around to letting people have clothes lines in their back yards. Or, you can just do it anyway.

It’s great to take these steps, but we also need to be taking the bigger steps to reduce our energy consumption too.

By: Nick

Nick — Sat, 09 May 2009 14:56:54 +0000

I think the best way to move towards going off-grid is to start taking steps and just keeping taking those steps whereever and however you can. Laundry is a pretty easy starting point. The new horizontal washing machines use a lot less water and are a big advantage to hang drying clothes because they have faster spin-out speeds and those faster speeds mean your clothes are very well wrung out when you take them out of the washer. Or you could step even further off-grid and get an old-fashioned wringer washer! Here is the coolest clothes drying rack I have found. It folds up really small. Definitely built to last. Putting it right below the ceiling fan works nice in the winter.

By: Vertical Axis Wind Turbine - My True Summer Vacation Masterpiece | Wind Turbine Kits, Residential Wind Generators

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:31:35 +0000

[...] Off-grid in the city: dream or reality? Another way to generate electricity is to have a wind generator. I’ve seen two that intrigue me. One is on a vertical axis and takes up very little space. [...]