All you need to go off-grid

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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
Land

Coolest Caravans

Shake off your prejudice and start looking for your tow bar; the chicest (and easiest) way to be independent comes in the form of the good, old-fashioned caravan.

kewl karavan
Cool Caravans for sale or hire

Always strong on the conceptual front, (a house on wheels that you can take anywhere? Keep changing the view? Genius.) it was let down badly by unchic design. Now, finally, the cool caravan has arrived. And you can hire it for a weekend.…

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November 15, 2004 1 Comment
Courses, guides & tutorials

Fantasy Island

A holiday is in the eye of the beholder. No Swimming pool, no tv, no minbars For those who want to truly off-grid when they take off, Petit Byahaut, located on St.Vincent in the West Indies, would be far from the madding crowd, rather than just maddening.

Off-grid Cove
Tranquility is a human right

So what do you get? An Eco-resort that offers five Frangipani surrounded guesthouses with corrugated-roofed open-air bedrooms, natural beauty products, and fresh seafood hauled daily form the sea. But the most appealing aspect for the vacationing off-grider, is that whilst you let your body gradually unwind, your conscience can take a break too. …

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November 11, 2004 No Comments

Warm indoors

What’s the most effective way generating enough off-grid energy? Try not needing quite so much in the first place. According to the National Energy Foundation, in a typical UK home a third of the heat produced by a central heating system is unnecessarily and rapidly lost. As winter makes its hasty approach, try taking a few of these heat saving techniques to make sure you will be like the proverbial bug in the rug…

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November 9, 2004 No Comments

Nice little package

Imagine this. In the future, you get in from a long, hard day. You open fridge a take out a slab of pasta and pop it into the microwave. Soon it goes ping, and you happily enjoy it with a nice glass of wine. If that doesn’t seem remotely high tech; think about that scenario again. What’s missing from that equation is the guilt inducing mass of packaging a ready meal normally produces. That’s because if WRAP, the Waste & Resources Action Program have their way, soon that packaging will be a thing of the past. And as they have just received 8 million from the government with the aim of reducing household waste by 310,000 tonnes by March 2006, it might happen sooner that you think. …

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November 8, 2004 No Comments
Courses, guides & tutorials

Pod Life

Off-Grid loves any excuse to kick back and enjoy the view, and design team The Collaborators have made it possible to do that just about anywhere. Their Pods come in all shapes and sizes, and they allow you to create your own space and relax, wherever you can find a place to hang your pod.

Lover's pod
Life’s a Pod

Transported in its own flat carrying case and coined “The seat to watch the apocalypse by”, all you have to do is find a nice tree or girder and swing whenever you feel inspired. …

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November 5, 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
Courses, guides & tutorials

Campaign to change Planning permission

At the BBC they call him the Jamie Oliver of Architecture, but we think of him as the Corbusier of TV presenters: Architect Charlie Luxton made his BBC series on Guerrilla Homes last month the start of a campaign to change the planning rules (zoning laws in the US).

We want to join in.

Charlie Luxton
Luxton – wants planners to permit ecohouses
…

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October 10, 2004 2 Comments

7 steps to a successful self-build home

Don’t let anyone tell you that building a house is easy, whether you are off-grid or not. You must surround yourself with the right experts, get the best advice and take it slowly.

All about Self-build by Robert Matthews (Blackberry Books 22) is a step by step guide through the jungle of self-build — from buying the plot of land through to getting the final product signed off by the Local Authority building control department.

Here are the key steps to take BEFORE you even start building. They are based on the experience of the author, plus some tips of our own.…

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October 5, 2004 No Comments