Information for "off the grid" home design

[Ogre]

Any suggestions on where to get some good information on conderblock home design for living off the grid? I am in the planning stages for a future (5-10 years) rural home. I am interested in solar, wind, and rainwater collection/storage.

 

[Sailor]

Google passive solar design.

Your best money is spent making your home super efficient.

 

[jeremy]

All ready a thread started on this.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/survival_and_disaster_preparedness/31133-off_the_grid.html

 

[Cpt Caveman]

"Page not found"

 

[jeremy]

OK. I am going to have to have someone show me how to do the linky thingy...

The thread is in Survival and Disaster Preparedness.
It is called Off the grid.

 

[antsi]

Google passive solar design.

Your best money is spent making your home super efficient.

My folks put an addition on their home in the late 80s that incorporated a lot of effecient thermal design. The floor is set about 3-4 feet below ground level, which helps it be cooler in Summer and warmer in Winter. They have a very effecient Jotul wood stove surrounded by a big masonry hearth to soak up and store the heat. The heat rising off of this is ducted upstairs. In the Summer, you can open windows and ventilate all night to cool the masonry, and it stays cool into the afternoon. There are lots of ceiling fans, which can be helpful in both Winter and Summer. Being able to ventilate hot air upwards out of the house is extremely helpful in the Summer. Transoms over the doors also help ventilate in the Summer.

My wife and I have done some of this stuff on a smaller scale in our home (we weren't able to build to our own design). We particularly like having a wood stove. If your land is forested, you can probably get enough fuel just off of deadfall to run your stove in the Winter. We have found that it is not necessary to heat every room to 70 degrees like most people seem to do these days. If you have one big room that is really luxuriously warm from the wood stove, you can keep the rest of the house relatively cold and still be fine. Just have good blankets, slippers, and pajamas.

So much of this stuff is just working on a sensible lifestyle, moreso than the actual design of the home. I know people who spend a fortune keeping their homes at 72 degrees all winter, then go around barefoot in t-shirts and shorts and complain about how cold it is.

A much more likely scenario than a sudden cessation of electricity is a constant ongoing cost increase. Definitely, it makes sense to plan for being totally off the grid. But it also makes sense to plan for a strategy of using the grid sparingly, only for things that are super helpful (where the alternative would be highly inferior or inconvenient).