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... I would never want to live where it's so warm. I wouldn't want to live in CA either. Passive solar should be taken advantage of to reduce fuel use but it won't be enough on its own in Northern areas. The biggest obstacle to solar systems of any sort in the North is the dark winter days, it requires more panels and more storage capacity to get through the long stretches of cloudy, gray days. Wind is useful in addition but some areas don't get enough wind.
Two of our neighbors are off-grid. Both of them have windmills and solar panels. They both curse the windmills and praise their solar panels.
Winter days are not dark.
We do not get nearly enough wind to make a windmill pay off.
I've often dreamed of either getting off the grid in Montana (or better yet the Caribbean) for years, 'cept I'd have to get a divorce first.
Anyway, it ain't all that difficult if you are willing to make the sacrifices. Buy a nice small trailer park it on some land and start building. There are tons of plans for energy efficient minimalist homes.
Come live in California on the coast and you can stay nice and toasty all winter long by burning ZERO cords of wood. A home can be well insulated and use passive solar and solar panels for a very green life. Burning wood and coal add to air pollution and now in some urban areas is banned. Passive slar is the way to go.
I live in a one bedroom apartment in Orange County that has three south facing windows and survive year round with almost no air conditioning or heat. One or more windows are usually open 24-7 from about March-November. The only cheap thing about living here is that my monthly electric and gas bills together are usually less than $30. I'd like to move out of the megalopolis in a few years after I retire from my windowless cubicle engineering job. DT, how far up the CA coast are you? I have never found where I can buy a modest little plot of land in coastal CA to put up a simple little house that is reasonably close to a town. By "town" I mean the basic services one needs without having to drive for miles and miles. Somewhere a bit inland from Eureka maybe?
And, no matter what you say i still contend that burning wood or coal contributes to air degradation and the increase of asthma. Why the prevalence of black lung disease in the early industrial days of the US and England?
Black lung is disease affecting mostly miners from the dust.
As far as asthma I'm no doctor or scientist but I'd look elsewhere for a cause in the spike. Since 1990 air pollution has been drastically reduced by more than 50%. Surprised? Those are EPA figures.
In that same time asthma has increased by quite a bit. My guess would be it's combination of more efficient homes where "the bad stuff" can't escape. Since the late 70's you have an increased use of insulation, house wrap and other things that are going to trap things inside a home or building. Houses simply don't breathe like they used too and old air is not replaced with new air. The other factor I would suggest is kids are spending more time inside.
While on the topic there is at least one medical study I'm aware of that concluded people living in houses heated by wood or coal were less susceptible to asthma.
I have a forum for those using coal and the subject has come up more than once. I don't have this affliction so I can't speak from experience but most that did post on the subject reported either no change or an improvement. Our conclusion was that since most coal stoves or furnaces are located in a basement they were keeping mold, mildew and moisture and other things that might aggravate asthma at bay. Essentially you're sterilizing the air in a rea of the house most susceptible to produce agents that might aggravate it.
what i especially like are the specifics. i.e. CT's fascist electrical grid laws. i grew up near there so i wouldnt even consider ct as a choice. i was aware that vt had high taxes. so maybe the northern new york area is best.
i have done some indoor wiring myself. this is not rocket science. stripping wire, connecting bx cable.
i just reel at the thought of some beaurocratic inspector nosing in on my business, or a nosy neighbor reporting me.
any more info on which areas are less rectrictive with inspectors, let me know.
the 20 acre minimum suggestion was great. i will definitely add that to my requirements.
i will consider also the water information. the northeast looks promising in that regard.
i'd love to just plop the trailer down now. but freezing my butt off in an adirondack winter scares the tar out of me.
coal... eh. sounds economical. but wood seems so much more immediate.
as far as the whole environmental and illness debate... save it for another topic. this is a huuuuuuge area of interest for me, as i've been into natural medicine for 20+ years. ( stop drinking milk if you have asthma) and don't stick your head in a fireplace and suck in fumes.
as george carlin said 'the earth will just reform itself into a new paradigm called 'earth + plastic' ( sorry to offend the greens, but i did mention that i'm not a green, i just happen to like nature a lot.
who was it that had built tire bale structures? this interests me a lot. both bale and tires seem great in that you don't have to insulate. the log cabins i assume you have to insulate. i was reading a paper yesterday on the tire bales, and they don't require a reinforced concrete foundation either. i want to know all about this building method. plus, once the bales are set in place, no need to lift heavy logs, except maybe the roof. i would even consider building a temporary small tire bale structure to live in while doing construction. this would probably be warmer than a trailer, give me some extra space, and i'd learn a thing or two before building the real one. kudos to me, just gave myself a good idea.
someone talk to me about foundations, floors, roofs, windows, and doors
stupid question... how do you insulate your floor if you don't have a concrete foundation?
i have this narrows down to
-on grid
-20+ wooded acres
-straw or tire bale. ( maybe log) or something easier if it exists.
-maybe passive solar, just because it wont take much more effort other than windows
still not sure about the water deal. i guess if it is remote i have no choice it has to be a well and septic or compost.
i would like to hear some real world numbers on materials cost. for instance i would possibly need to hire an architect to in order to get the bales free, and have it pass inspection. costs for roofing, contractors, bringing in electric. etc.
Pole barn covered with stress skin insulated panels for the north and north east.
"Cracker" shanty in the south or a Prefab “garden” shed to start.
Adobe in the desert southwest
I also suggest finding a country place that has been abandoned or is about to and simply buy it. You will gain enough knowledge and experience rebuilding it to know how much work building your own place can be. You will soon learn that the terms “homebuilt” and “labor intensive” mean you will work your ass off.
I have been thinking about buying a nice plot of land and building my own house or fixing up a barn.
i need some serious education on the subject.
i have no experience in building at all.
some ideas that appeal to me are tire bale, straw bale, log cabin (using my own trees), maybe packed earth. i am not really obsessed with green, it just turns out that my vision has a lot in common with green philosophy.
actually my main goal would be to be close to nature, and save as much money as possible in the build. i have seen some of these earthships and green communities... when you look at the numbers some of these people have spent fortunes of money just to be in in the green aesthetic. not for me.
I've been reading this thread with some serious interest, and I must congratulate you. This sounds like it could be a very, very interesting adventure! And what an undertaking!
You might want to check into this show that PBS did awhile back, called "Frontier House." Several families had to essentially "homestead" up in Montana, as people would have done 100+ years ago. It chronicled many of their travails. PBS - Frontier House: Frontier Life
I'm kind of a relentless DIY kind of guy myself. I grew up on a farm, where we did everything ourselves and fixed everything ourselves. We learned how to survive and thrive, basically without the help of other people. I've done a lot of construction, etc. over the years. So this "frontier living" kind of life has always had a certain appeal to me.
I do think it's going to be far more challenging than you realize. But if you're single, or have a wilderness kind of wife and NO KIDS, I think it can be done. I'm very interested to see where you end up, and what you do.
what i especially like are the specifics. i.e. CT's fascist electrical grid laws. i grew up near there so i wouldnt even consider ct as a choice. i was aware that vt had high taxes. so maybe the northern new york area is best.
Northern NY does have cheaper land, just like Maine has.
Northern NY it does have lower taxes just like Maine has. Less government interference, relaxed codes, etc; just like Maine has.
However you do have a far wider selection of regions and more land in Maine to choose from.
Maine has 3,000 miles of coastline, hundreds of lakes, ponds, and rivers.
both bale and tires seem great in that you don't have to insulate. the log cabins i assume you have to insulate.
The floor and roof and around the window and door frames need to be insulated in a log structure. The logs need to be chinked (the gaps between them filled) unless you use a chinkless construction method (shave the bottom opf the logs to fit tightly over the ones underneath them, eliminating gaps). If you use large enough logs, the walls themselves don't need insulation.
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great ideas so far
