Crazy Insane Yet Environmentally Friendly Idea Sure To Get Code Enforcement On My Case?

[greg42]

The big issue to me is getting enough water. It may be possible, with a lot of surface area, to collect enough rainwater over the longer period of time for one person's normal use, but the issue is storing it for when it's not raining. Beyond that the issue is filtering it for potable uses, not necessary for toilets but even the shower you really don't want to use it raw exactly. And you're still going to need the plumbing anyway I think so trying to do this will end up as extra beyond what you would need to simply use the public water supply. Although we could argue whether or not this should be the case, I suspect that the current cost of public water would mean you would not recoup any investment in alternative water solutions. It would make more sense on a larger scale; the scale of one person makes it tougher.

[Bong477]

The point wasn't that solar power is useless, but its not reliable enough to power your home on it without being also being connected to the power grid (or some other alternative power source I guess). So you can cut your NET energy consumption by a lot over an extended period of time (exactly how much you can do this in Pittsburgh compared to say Arizona or LA I don't know) but you generally can't power an "off the grid" home exclusively on it.

[DurangoJoe]

Not much sun in Pittsburgh for effective use of solar power. In AZ, CO, and many places in the southwest, the 300+ sunny days a year make it very practical. It's actually quite common to receive a check from your power utility every year for the energy you put back into the grid. It helps some in Pittsburgh, but you'll still be paying the power company. And it's not inexpensive to purchase & install by any means so payback can become an issue.

[North Beach Person]

You'll likely have to hook into the sewer. Now, sewer plant operators like to have the water coming in be from a known source, that's why areas that get water service with pre-existing sewer (common here in MD) have the homeowners disconnect the well from the house service.

I don't know Pittsburgh codes but you might be ok with recapturing gray water (kitchen sink, shower, bathroom sink) and reusing it but what you flush will have to go into the sewer.

You'll get more bang from your buck if you do the normal water/sewer service and solarize your house. That would include super insulating, triple pane windows, really tightening the house up. You still will likely have to supplement with electric service. Even if you can provide all your electric needs from panels code will likely require electric service.