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Lamar, are your panels fixed? I am thinking about putting some on my building but some people say you have to follow the sun and some don't. You can see the pitch of the roof and it's pretty much southfacing.
In a lot of jurisdictions anything with a footprint under 200 sq ft is considered a "shed" nd therefore you don't need a permit to build it. But most jurisdictions don't want you living in that structure
That's one of the reasons we gave up on NH and decided on Alaska. Where we have our property isn't even in an organized borough (like a county), so we're not under anyone's jurisdiction really. The only code we have to build to is that our septic system has to meet DEC requirements, which basically boils down to "don't contaminate your water supply"... composting toilets, greywater reclamation, and outhouses all fit that criteria
No way am I wasting perfectly good drinking water flushing a toilet, or perfectly good irrigation water letting bath and dishwater sit in a hole. Water is just too precious up here (less than 16" of rain a year) and the heat in my greywater shouldn't be wasted either! I can extend our (very!) short growing season by a couple of months on either end by pumping my warm greywater out and subsurface irrigating some cold frames.
I understand that many governments are just trying to ensure public safety with their rules and regulations, but sometimes they're just plain wasteful! Hopefully, soon, they'll start accepting alternative building methods and waste/water management systems... it'll be an uphill battle I'm sure!
Lamar, are your panels fixed? I am thinking about putting some on my building but some people say you have to follow the sun and some don't. You can see the pitch of the roof and it's pretty much southfacing.
If you face the panels at true south and at 45 degree angle you will get the majority of sunshine.
I can adjust my panels up and down and in summer I lower the panels to about 15 degrees and to 45 degrees in winter.
You can use pole mount or tracking mounts if you do not have a correctly oriented roof.
In a lot of jurisdictions anything with a footprint under 200 sq ft is considered a "shed" nd therefore you don't need a permit to build it. But most jurisdictions don't want you living in that structure
I understand that many governments are just trying to ensure public safety with their rules and regulations, but sometimes they're just plain wasteful! Hopefully, soon, they'll start accepting alternative building methods and waste/water management systems... it'll be an uphill battle I'm sure!
You definitely need to find a county with no or lenient building codes but there are still alot out there that only require an approved septic system and many will allow commercial composting toilets.
Always do your research first before buying land!
I designed my cabin at under 200 sqft because that is the requirement for structures built without a permit and many counties will allow these as dry cabins or vacation cabins.
I also found that many jurisdictions will allow you to live in a dry, small cabin/shed for up to a year while you are building a larger structure that they would consider a proper home. Going that route might allow many people who would otherwise have a mortgage to get onto their property and into shelter without a mortgage and build the larger structure slower and without a mortgage as well. I'm sure that as long as you looked like you were trying to build a bigger place and you had filed for all the right permits, they might extend your allowable "shed time"
I, personally, find it invasive that a government can dictate how big a house you should live in!! 1200 sq ft (like in NH) is a LOT of space for just one or two people, geez!
some people build a cabin like mine as just a vacation cabin with the idea if the SHTF they have a place to go that is paid for and ready to live in.
Others build it as a guest house and live in it while building their regular home.
The cabin is designed to have additions on 3 sides so extending it to the 1200 sqft limit would not require much more construction or money and could be done over time as you need the room.
You might consider a small grid tied solar system just in case grid power skyrockets with the smart grid.
It could easily be converted to off-grid if necessary.
I live between the Ute reservation and BLM land and Uintah forest. Over 3 million acres of wilderness for my backyard- it is nice!
I was serious about just running 12V and not use the inverter.You know keep things simple.
Was thinking run Freezers and Refridgerator off 12V.Cooking mostly with Wood have plenty of it.
I have a spring I can get my water out of.But have a Well use to draw by Hand so I know what that is about.
We Can alot of stuff.But around here like if I go Hunting and come back empty handed I can Grab my Rod and Reel catch enough Trout most the time for Supper in 10 minutes,just my wife gets tierd of fish.
Run this by a bunch on another Forum they basically said I was Nuts because I was selling alot of stuff I have and rebuy to work with the Solar.
Most my neighbors don't have electric but they have Gas Lights,use Gas Engines to build up Air Pressure to run Power Tools and Pump their water.
My places set next to State Forest and Corps of Engeneer Land.
I, personally, find it invasive that a government can dictate how big a house you should live in!! 1200 sq ft (like in NH) is a LOT of space for just one or two people, geez!
Not only invasive, but ridiculous as well. We have a government and a society that keeps harping about conservation... yet you have to live in at least 1200 sf??? Why? Forcing you to be wasteful? Doesn't make sense.
I have no problem if someone wants to live in 50,000 sf, but I do not understand the common sense (lack of) behind a minimum square footage requirement. Personally, I've never lived in more than about 800 or 900 square foot in my entire life and even that seemed way, way too big. I'm currently in around 400 sf. 1200 square foot would freak me out! That's way too much space. As it is, my gas heating bills (I keep the temp WAY down to around 60) is only about 20 dollars (30 if it's like a high in the teens for weeks and abnormally cold) during the coldest part of winter (ranging from about 10-20 as a low to around 25-35 as a high).
When I get my small house going (currently planned at about 200 - 300 sf), I expect the heating bill to be even lower. Of course, if I use wood or coal rather than gas, it should be really cheap (especially since firewood is basically free around here if you're not afraid to work for it).
Ultimately, I don't see that anyone is served by forcing those who don't want a lot of space to live in a large, wasteful (for them) space. I really like the videos that Lamar posted, because I basically have the same plan and philosophy about housing. I've always felt more at ease in a cozy 'cabin' setting than a huge, monstrous barn that is the typical home of today.
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