All you need to go off-grid

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Courses, guides & tutorials

What is off-grid?

Being off-grid means something different to everyone. To me it simply means not being tethered to the services one normally expects of society.

Steve Spence and his Veggie Gen
Steve Spence and his Veggie Gen

No power grid, no water or sewer grid, and in some cases, no communications grid. Some are permanently off-grid (like ourselves), others only temporarily off-grid, in the form of RV’s, boats, vehicles, etc. When one is off-grid, one has to provide some of those services (the ones deemed necessary) for oneself.

As a new addition to the Off-Grid team, I will explain ways to obtain power, water, communications and other self provided services, and show some of the neat appropriate technologies available to you in this area. I will be presenting solutions like Rain Water Harvesting, Composting Toilets, Solar, BioThermal and Wind power, Cellular and Satellite voice/data communications, and environmental controls (Heating/Cooling) in stationary and mobile environments.

I currently use a combination of wind, pv, and Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) fueled diesel co-generation on our off-grid farmstead.

Welcome to the journey.…

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January 5, 2005 No Comments

Energy Alternatives

For a clear headed guide to alternative energy sources in a cold (UK) climate, visit Off the Grid.

Written by David Allender, who bought a remote house ten years ago and has steadily tested his way though each kind of alternative power, it tells you exactly which batteries to get for maximum reliability (Tungstone (now part of the Hawker group) – type YCP25) , or which is the best model of wind turbine. David is currently testing solar panels.…

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December 30, 2004 1 Comment

Don’t forget your Solar Toothbrush

Solar smile
Solar toothbrush saves on toothpaste

Compact-Impact
is selling a titanium solar powered toothbrush that works without toothpaste.

The Soladey-3 “cleans and sanitizes without any toothpaste, forever” promises the maker.

For $45, here’s how it works:…

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December 10, 2004 1 Comment

More progress for UK solar industry

A new factory in North Wales could give the solar energy market in the UK the impetus it needs. The Sharp Corporation, the worlds major producer of photovoltaic (PV) products, initially expected that the new Wrexham plant would turn out PV panels for residential and commercial installations at a rate of 20 MW worth per year. But orders quickly exceeded output and the company announced that it would be doubling it’s capacity. …

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November 18, 2004 No Comments

Looking to nature creates a second chance for Welsh Farmers

Faced with a dramatic 75% decline in farming through disasters as diverse as Chernobyl and BSE, many Welsh hill farmers decided to pack up and try a new line in work. Not the three families that make up the Cwmni Gwynt Teg (‘fair wind’ in Welsh) cooperative. When faced with disaster in 1997, this ingenious group looked to the the mountains for inspiration and harnessed the wind, on their own land. They now run the Moel Moelogan Wind farm, a profitable and growing business.…

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November 16, 2004 No Comments

Focus on Hydrogen

Inspired by our story about the island off Norway, Utsira, adopting hydrogen power? ( Island switches to wind and hydrogen posted 5th of August 2004). Consider a trip to the International Hydrogen Energy Congress & Exhibition, being held in Turkey from the 13th to 15th of July 2005. …

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November 12, 2004 No Comments

Fund your Off-grid dreams with OPM (other people’s money)

Wouldn’t it be lovely if someone offered you between 400 to 5000 to cut your bills, help the environment and get off-grid?

Following the success of the Clear Skies scheme, aimed to provide householders and communities with grants and advice to help reduce the amount of fossil fuels used and realize the benefits of renewable energy, the Department of Trade and Industry(DTI) has announced additional funding of  2.5m, and extended the scheme until March 2006.…

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November 4, 2004 No Comments

How to build your own Power Plant

So you live in a two bed room semi detached house in a regular housing estate. Despite appearances, (and perhaps assumptions), even the most conventional house can have it’s own off-grid revolution, and even go one step further; by becoming a power station in its own right.

And how would you do that? Through the implementation of a system known as ‘micro-generation’, which is quietly transforming energy in the domestic environment. …

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November 3, 2004 1 Comment

Big ideas on the move

Gaining access to off-grid and green energy ideas couldn’t get any easier; the Green Energy Machine (GEM), from the National Energy Foundation will come to you. Designed to raise awareness through schools, fairs and exhibitions, it carries information and demonstrations on key renewable energy concepts. As well as carrying on board a wind turbine, wood burning stove, solar devices including solar bike and fountain, you can get free impartial advice on renewable energy sources. If you think you have an event, know a school that could benefit from a visit or just want to see it action call +44 (0)1908 665555 or visit www.nef.org.uk …

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October 28, 2004 No Comments

Sweden leads the Bioenergy way…

World Bioenergy 2006, Conference & Exhibition for Energy, J?nk?ping, Sweden
30 May – 1 June 2006

Those looking for a green solution to the fossil fuel crisis should turn their attention to the rapidly growing field of Biomass. Biomass includes all renewable vegetable and animal matters that can be used for industrial (fiber, chemicals) or energy production (heat, electricity, fuel) and is the focus of the World Bio-energy conference to be held in Sweden in 2006. …

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October 27, 2004 No Comments

Against the tide and on the grid

While hundreds of homes are kicking out utility companies, and providing their own power, a Suffolk couple finally had an electricity supply connected to their home yesterday – after 37 years.

Pat Payne, 74, and wife Margaret, 72, raised nine children in their farmhouse in Whepstead, near Bury St Edmunds, without electricity. We shall return to the Payne’s in three months time and find out whether electricity has made them happier.…

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October 16, 2004 No Comments

Al viento, in Costa Rica

Homebuilt Wind Generators – Monday to Sunday, February 21st to 27th 2005 at Fundacion Durika, Costa Rica – www.durika.org
Learn how to build wind generators from scratch with Hugh Piggott
Fee: US$650
Registration: Solar Energy International PO Box 715 Carbondale, CO 81623 970-963-8855 Fax: 970-963-8866
sei@solarenergy.org www.solarenergy.org…

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September 30, 2004 No Comments