Posted on 01/03/2015 3:37:59 PM PST by knarf
After decades of cogitation on the subject, the only way I can see to get off of the grid is to burn alcohol that you produced yourself in a regular internal combustion engine powered generator. You would need a large distillery that produced 100 gallons a day(that’s a lot of alchohol) and it would not be a small operation but it would be doable. You could sell electricity to your neighbors to offset costs. Drinking the fuel is not advised.
If you can hand pump the water a windmill could pump it too, when the wind is blowing.
You’d need an elevated storage tank.
It was commonly done in the prairie.
I wouldn’t think a well pump would take much energy though.
I’d agree if you want to power a modern home, or anything close to it. Still there are sources of generating small amounts of electricity. Certainly not a replacement for the coal plant.
Thanx ... making more coffee now
The only place I’ve seen it work for real is Taos NM earthship community.
Enough sun to get you thru the winter on solar and homes half buried keeps it cool in summer.
Plus an entire community of experts on the topic who live there.
Too bad they are almost all liberals.
Be sure to watch his videos on how he researched the state, county and local laws first, before he started spending money and doing things, so he could take advantage of all the loopholes.
Congrats to the happy mom and son-in-law!!!
Really cloudy, foggy and drizzly here in Tallapoosa land!
“I got two of those oil filled raditor electric units and what a huge difference in my bill”
The only difference would be that you are only fully heating a smaller area. It is called area heating. It is a myth that one type of electric heat is cheaper per BTU’s of heat. Since at the heater itself electric heat is pretty close to 100% efficient. Only the wiring supplying the electricity can cause heat loss in useless places.
We have one,works great.All the mess stays outside and no chance of a fire.The smallest units would be more than adequate for a mobile home.
Oil-bearing plants work equally well, in a Diesel-cycle generator.
I assume the people inclined to undertake this type of project would be mechanically inclined enough to modify the engine to accept such a fuel. (Replacing kerosene with plant oils poses its own challenges, re: biodiesel.)
That may have been the same program under which many people got free golf carts! $7500 tax credit per “vehicle”.
When someone figures out how to make electric induction heaters they will reap a fortune.
Your in PA. You can’t buy Coal any cheaper. A coal stove burning Anthracite (hard coal) is pretty close to as safe as you can get(If installed properly). You don’t even get Creosote. So no such thing as a chimney fire. It is as safe as Gas. And you can direct vent through the wall. And it would only cost a fraction of electric heat which is the most expensive heat you can have.
Not for electrical generation. For heat. Tonight is going well below zero.
Electricity will eventually come from photovoltaics.
Mind you, you’ve got to cut your consumption wa-a-a-ay down. High demand will usually necessitate a generator for stuff like table saw use or the like.
Yessir! My problem is half a year flipped around from Knarf's.
My Summertime electric costs are huge. winter is when I save money.
You can't light a fire to stay cool. There's just no way to stay cool without high electrical consumption in the hot, humid Souf!
Anybody replaced their electric hot water heater with a gas tankless?
I hear they are very efficient.
How do you pump water with propane? generator?
I’m in the same situation. Must pump water with electricity. Hand pump works, but is NOT fun for very long. I have a gasoline-powered generator and about 400 gallons gasoline stored for long-term power outages pumping water and running refrigeration/lights/FreeRepublic.
I am 100% wood heated with a propane heater backup for if we leave town (keeps the pipes from freezing).
Mobil homes are not supposed to use wood stoves.
Every wood stove I’ve ever seen says in plain view on the back panel “Not approved for use in mobil homes.”
We have a ranch that is 14 miles off the end of the grid.
We do have a wood stove, because we have an unimaginably large source of fire wood, and we use it to heat the living room, but we use propane for all other heating and cooking. We use solar PV panels to run lights, coffee maker, and toaster, but the toaster gets kind of “iffy” in the winter, since it uses a lot of power.
Propane or kerosene/heating oil make way more sense than electricity for cooking or heating.
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