27 thoughts on “Home”

1. I currently live in the city. I also have a small place in the mountains which is off the grid in fact the whole community is off the grid. Some use lanterns and generators. I have a small solar array, wind turbine and diesel generator. I have many ideas for future projects such as a wood fired hybred boiler for space heating, consumption ( to reduce use of tankless water heater), and jacuzzi. and more

   just wanted to drop a line keep up the great work

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   • Hi Mark,
     Thanks for taking the time to correspond. If nothing else, I am having a good time meeting folks like you. My mountain community sounds like yours. Most people here are off grid with outhouses, generators and lanterns.
     It sounds like you are more capable of developing off grid apparatus than I am. I admire people like you. If you ever get that hot water figured out I am interested.

     Ed Essex

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     • One of the best purchases I have made is the tankless hot water heater (Aribizu or something like that). I found one on ebay for around 200.00 runs on propane its electrical source for the igniter is one D battery. It has summer/winter setting in addition to hi/lo flow, and on/off when your away. The seller is from austraila and its shipped from hong kong. Takes several months to arrive but so worth the wait. This unit has been working for 9 years with zero problems. In the future I hope to have a hybred wood-fired/solar boiler which can supply space heating, hot water, and a hot jacuzzi. Still working on the plans and open for suggestions.
       mark

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       • Really interested in what brand and model tankless water heater you got–that sounds spectacular!
         Have tried googling for the name you gave, but got nothing. (Aribizu or something like that)
         Can you share more about that Please?
         Have you thought [not knowing about your build site] of trying hybridizing any of your heating systems with a fairly simple geothermal ground loop to pre-temper the fluid so less heating is needed?
         Geothermal can also be used to pre-temper for cooling purposes.

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         • Chi,

           I have a Bosch. I bought it for two reasons:
           1. It is the least expensive unit out there and I wasn’t sure what I would eventually end up with, geo thermal or solar heated water once it gets improved.
           2. It has a little water pressure generator built into it that ignites the pilot light whenever you run the hot water.
           It works ok, not great. It doesn’t heat real well when the temperatures get down in the teens etc. I think it is the altitude as well. I may break down and get a better one in a few years.
           For my own reasons I ran my waterlines in the attic under the insulation. That is also part of the problem. While they never freeze if properly installed there is certainly a difference to running them underground. I have a slab floor, not a crawl space.
           Ed

         • Hey there Ed,

           I live in the middle of Podunk, WY (Gasplant side of Midwest, WY, 40 miles North of Casper, WY), out in the Oil Patch (which is literally Open Range….I had a black angus cow grubbing alongside my back fence-next to a borrowed beater truck, while one of the local dogs was raising cane at her…..which she of course totally ignored while continuing to chow down on the grass the wind had exposed from underneath the snow).

           We get regularly during Winter here temps in the 0F to -50F (mostly in the 0F to -30F range, sans windchill) and my place has an earth floor crawl space adjoining a small root cellar underneath, with old water lines). What I did to make sure I didn’t end up with frozen and hence busted water lines is to wrap ‘heat cord’ around the pipes, then put the black water line poly-something or other foam insulating ‘tubes’ over the heat wrap……..let me tell you, after doing that, my water heats up MUCH faster at the kitchen end (the farthest point from the hot water tank), and I haven’t had a single frozen pipe, period!

           I know you’re Off Grid, so the Heat Cord might be a no-no UNLESS you could tie it in to Utility Specific solar panels (one or two solar panels dedicated solely to the purpose of heating the Heat Cord during the Winter), and those, for the sake of economy you could probably build yourself (I’m looking into that myself.).

           My sister is planning on moving to either your neck of the woods (she lives in the Casper area) or to the Olympic Peninsula, and living as simply as possible after she gets married this year: I sent her hyperlinks to your Blog, your Business Website and the article you and your wife wrote for ME.

           I used to fish in Spectacle Lake when I was a kid (loved the area, but now as I understand it, it’s come to look a LOT like the California nightmare that Western WA, has become, VERY commercialized, but I hope I just heard incorrectly, I’ve many fond memories of that wonderful place—and of Oroville on the way there), and learned to love the Omak/Okanagon area (say Ed, do they STILL have those great ‘rock farms’ around Omak…..boulders the size of VW Bugs as I recall!!!!?).

           Anywho, I’m going to put my place up for sale and relocate to SE Alaska, as there’s too many people here now (Casper is a metropolis by Wyoming standards—-55k and counting), and so will be living predominantly OG.

           You’ve got a really great site and I loved looking at it! I hope you and Laure will do several follow up articles for ME (Mother Earth), going into greater detail about the specifics of both Off Grid circumstances (daily uses/problems with systems, gear, etc), and the crafting that you do to earn income…..I’m physically impaired so need to be VERY resourceful on the income end of things…….the spirit is willing, but the flesh really sucks!

           Thanks again!

         • Hi JR,

           I really appreciate you writing. I am going to post this on the site so everyone can enjoy what you have written.

           We have “free range” here as well. the ranchers graze their cattle in the National Forest next to us and anything else that is not fenced.

           Too cold for me where you live. I would definitely have to go underground home if I lived there. We got our lines all straightened out. Once they were properly insulated they have been fine. I have my waterlines on the ceiling instead of under slab. that’s the way it is done commercially with fire sprinklers etc. there is a certain way to insulate them. first a vinyl faced batt in a tent form over the lines and then the blown in insulation on top of that.

           Laurie lived on the Peninsula for eight years and still visits there twice a year.

           Spectacle Lake still looks the same (I think). My folks fished there for years. Funny you should ask about the rocks and boulders. Our address is Big Boulder Lane……….

           Is there anything you see that you would like more detail on? I write to MEN once a week but am starting to run out of ideas. Next week we are going into detail on all of our fresh vegetable growing techniques during the winter time.

2. Thanks for taking the time for the blog. It’s good to see other folks thinking about the same things we do and even better you have actually done them. We have 40 acres of heaven just over a bit from you in Tunk Valley. We bought for recreational use as well and have made a small cabin, put up some solar panels and have a well etc. Our plan is also to build our retirement home there (if we ever come to agree on which house and where on the property it will go). I will book mark your web page and check in once in awhile.
   Wes

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3. Our place is a bit farther south, between Pateros and Chelan. We started building in 2004 and retired here about a year ago. House still not fully finished inside but we’re chipping away at it. We are on 60 acres that are boarderd on two sides by forest service land. Nearest power or phone lines about a mile away.

   Well is 560′ and pumps another 200′ to a 1,000 gal holding tank, and then is gravity fed to house so we only have to run the big generator every week or two.

   Wood stoves heat the house. Tankless propane hot water. Propane ranges – one 4 burner and one resturant model 8 burner. 1,800 watts solar panels and 16 batteries. House is wired with 120 volt ‘normal’ power but MANY zones for lighting to conserve power. Have 24 volt wiring for 7 ceiling fans. Sattelite tv and internet.

   It all works pretty well except for cell phone. Like you, we have tried a few systems and now have intermittant coverage with a 3′ yaggi, amplifier, and inside rebroadcast antenna. It works fairly well if you are standing still and in or near the room with the antenna. House is 3,400 sf so no coverage in some rooms. Parts for system try #3 are now starting to arrive, a 7′ yaggi and a 50 ohm amplifier. We’ll see…

   All in all, I’d advise anyone considering this to look south to assess their site for solar exposure hours in winter and sight lines for sattelite tv and internet. Not much you can do to fix it if you are at the base of a hill/mountain that blocks stuff. Generator run time on small generator for us in winter is about 3 hours every other day, or if doing laundry.

   Then look at cell coverage. Pretty much all the off grid people we know struggle with this.

   But it’s a great way to live! More work, but great.

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4. Hi Ed and Laurie, was just reading your blog in MEN and was impressed with your homestead. I have been off-grid now for about 15 years. I started in a small camp trailer and lived for two years that way while I saved enough to build a small off grid cabin on my property. The cabin is only 14×14 and with the loft is about 400 sqft. I have 580 watts of solar and 400 watts of wind power which runs my lights, tvs, water pump, DC fridge, laptop and lots of gadgets. I use propane for a stove and OD water heater but I have a small wood stove for heating, cooking and heating water so I can do with out the propane if needed. I use a solar composting toilet of my own design and I hand drilled my own water well. I also have solar ovens and water heaters for backup. I garden, raise chickens and rabbits and hunt and fish. I own a small local business and an online business and with no house payments and utility bills my life is pretty sustainable.

   You can visit my website for pictures and videos of my cabin for anyone interested:

   http://www.simplesolarhomesteading.com
   http://www.youtube.com/solarcabin

   keep up the good work!

   LaMar

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5. I just discovered your website and I am very impressed and will return. I just purchased a wood stove to heat my house-last year was my first winter and I did not turn on the furnace at all. I only burned a cord of wood and I am sure I am doing something wrong but need help figuring out what it is. When I had the chimmney cleaned last month he said he was surprised I had not had a fire in the chimmney it was so gummed up. He said I either had green wood(which I did not) or not enough oxygen. The instructions that came with the stove explained how to reduce the oxygen and keep the fire burning all nite long. It worked and the stove will burn for 8 or 9 hours this way. Is there a book out there that will tell me how to use a wood stove to heat your house without burning it down? Thank you for any help that you might be able to give me.
   Karen

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   • Hi Karen,

     I know I get a lot of opinions on burning wood as well. I am not aware of any book in particular but I bet there are many.
     Wood stoves have gotten more sophisticated in terms of how they burn.

     I heated with a wood stove for many years. We all want to shut them down as far as we can to save on wood and burn all night. Bottom line is that they need to burn wide open periodically.

     A stove is burning efficiently when you have more flame than smoke. When you close a damper or fresh air vent (which reduces oxygen) you will accumulate more creosote in your chimney. The only way to prevent that is to burn your stove wide open or (compromise) open it up occasionally.
     If you only burned one cord (excellent) you can afford to burn a little more to keep your chimney clean. If it gets too hot, open a window.

     Also the type of wood you burn will have an affect on creosote. When we burn a low fire in our kitchen stove, if we use fir – no problem – but when we use ponderosa pine we get creosote.

     Creosote has several main causes – green wood, too low a fire for too long, and type of wood.

     The only way to know with your own stove is to experiment until you get it figured out because all stoves are different and all wood is different.

     I hope that helps instead of confuses. There is quite a lot of information on line from independent folks like me. Try a search for “firewood chart”.

     You might also try the manufacturer of your stove to get their opinion.

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6. I have enjoyed your website and the Mother Earth News website that I got your’s from. All of this living off the land and off grid sounds wonderful, but for me it comes down to the simple fact that land is not that affordable, even in Arkansas, which is the 2nd lowest economy in the U.S. The cheapest acreage is $3,000.00 an acre and probably that means land stripped of any useable timber and no water source in sight. So what’s a person to do in situations like that, the govenment sure isn’t going to help cover the cost of anyone wanting to live off grid. Any ideas, comments – all suggestions are welcome.

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   • Hi Rebecca,

     Land here right now is about $1500 per acre. Some less, some more. Just keep looking online and in the homestead magazines like Countryside, Backwoods Home, and Mother Earth. Maybe Grit as well. I saw some recently in Missouri for $1,000 / acre. One thing to keep in mind is that you can do a lot with only a little bit of property. Garden in the backyard. A small chicken tractor for 2-3 hens in the backyard. Planters for the patio. Maybe a home made cold frame on the south side of the house. An Earthbox or two in the house or on the deck. You can grow a lot of your own food, have fresh eggs and pressure can what you grow or catch with just a single lot rather than acreage.
     We don’t really live off the land. We grow much of our food, catch fish, pick berries etc. We do as much as we can with what we have. We are a lot more self sufficient than we used to be. It is a lot of work but satisfying and it is really nice to know where your food comes from.
     Thank you for writing!
     Ed

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7. We are located in SW WA State.
   We have constantly struggled to minimize energy use in the house we rent. Done the basics like converting to using all CFL’s many years back, etc.
   At one point, our PUD official stated “Our customers have been so good at saving energy, our PUD is having trouble paying it’s bills!”
   —that was before legislation was passed to get rid of incandescent bulbs, and well before LED lights started being available in Box stores.
   In the meantime, we discovered a “dirty little secret” refrigerator industry has been perpetrating: “bench testing” cooling units alone to pass the mandatory “Energy Star” qualifications, then installing those units into larger boxes–which lack thick enough insulation with foam insulation. Net result for Energy Star refrigerators: they actually cost more to run!
   Our REFRIGERATOR solution:
   I got 2′ wide, 2″ thick foam insulation panels from Home Depot.
   These got applied to the Sides, Top and Front [NOT the back!], of our refrigerator, using clear packing tape–one can deco the outside as they like–we really didn’t care what it looked like, so left it as-is.
   We also got a Heavy Duty appliance timer, and set it to shut the refrig off a few hours at night–like from midnight to 4 or 5 a.m.].
   That dropped our electric bill by about $20/month.
   HEAT:
   Lots of “cloudage” here. But we do get “cloud reflectance”, which about compensates for not having direct sunlight. So I made 2-4′x8′ passive solar air heaters, booted them together, and booted that into our bathroom window–the only one with south access. I had no idea how well they helped drop our electric heating bill, until I asked for a cumulative record of kWh’s used monthly for the last several years–showing before and after installing the panels. Turns out, even having used wrong cover “glass” [read: cheap greenhouse corrugated panels], they were decreasing our monthly winter power bill by about 100 to 300 kWh per month–better readings when I used a small fan to boost the air flow, and for replacing the wrong cover glass with better cover [the channeled greenhouse plastic panels].
   However, the landlord wanted the yard cleared, so our panels had to get removed–not looking forward to our coming winter bills.
   LIGHTS:
   Long ago, we replaced all lights with CFL’s–when those 1st came out. The next upgrade was to find reliable, and properly constructed LED’s. THAT is a challenge, because, while LED’s use massively less power than CFL’s, that reduction is not reflected in the products on teh market for consumers to date–the basic other wiring done in LED bulbs causes them to use more energy than LED’s should be using. But they still use some less than CFL’s and the models currently out there are do-able–figure, if the Big Box stores are selling them, they are now more reliable than before–otherwise, the Box stores take a hit from people returning faulty product. So we have replaces a few lights with LED’s, and instead of heat-producing grow lights for some house plants, we have started experimenting with “full-spectrum” CFL’s–the difference in energy use? grow lights before 120 watts, vs. CFL bulb at less than 20 watts.
   Jury is still out on whether that will be sufficient to keep the house plants healthy.
   ELECTRIC HEAT:
   What makes heating cost so much? it is not just the energy from the grid, but some factors perpetrated by the HVAC industry for decades: blowing on what you just heated, and, locating vents near the exterior walls/doors/windows where the output must immediately compete with the cool at the bldg. envelope edges.
   Solution:
   A heating unit needs to be radiant and convective, and located in the center of the mass of the house.
   That way, BTU’s you just paid to make, store in the interior mass of the building, and therefore are lost far slower when anyone opens a door. The BTU’s stored in the interior of the bldg slowly radiate out into the interior, tempering the interior spaces more evenly.
   This can be done with radiant floor and/or wall systems, or, using a heater that radiates or convects, located in the central part of the bldg.
   We got a $40 oil-filled “radiator” heater, with a toggle for 600 watts, a toggle for 900 watts, and a rheostat to adjust how much to run it. Newer models have a programmable thermostat. IF this unit is used in a badly insulated bldg, it costs too much. IF it is run at the full 1500 watts all the time, it costs too much. BUT…we run it on 600 watts, and set the rheostat at between 1/4 to 1/2 turn, during the coldest part of winter, and locate that heater in the center of the house [a hallway here]. That arrangement dropped our winter electric heat bill by almost $50/month, during the coldest part of winter [we can get down to about 10 degrees F. here].
   So we also shut off the breaker switches to the wall heaters, and simply only use the one heater unit for this approx 850 sf. house. SOMEtimes we add another one for the bathroom–but usually, a sporadically used heat lamp in there gives enough extra heat back in that corner, for our showering needs.
   We use exterior window shades to reduce overheating for summer weather: exterior works far better for that!
   So, with extra bulbs lighting house plants, and using at least 1 TV on all the time, 2 desktop computers, 1 electric tank water heater, some A/C use [window unit] in summer, night lights, fans for air circulation, and assorted appliances occasionally, we STILL manage to keep our power bill down to an average of about $80 to $90/month year around.
   Without all the measures we have taken, the average monthly bill would easily be at least $150 or more.
   We still could:
   Put a timer on the water heater; install a 3rd layer [of cover] over windows; convert desktop computers to laptops.
   IF this were our own house, the south side of the house would have been solarized long ago, and we would have put in some simple geothermal to temper indoor air, and would have installed an on-demand water heater instead of the tank.

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   • Ok Mr Foofighter,

     Thank you for taking the time to share all that you have done. I am posting your comments because that is what this site is all about – sharing ideas for all to benefit from.
     I always say that we should do the best we can with what we have and you have put that advice to good use.
     Keep up the good work. I look forward to hearing from you again!
     Ed Essex

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8. How do you keep outside water from freezing for chickens?

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   • You might check some online farm suppliers such as tractorsupply.com or hatcheries such as Murray for deicers. They plug in and keep ice from forming in the waters. I don’t use them, I like to be out there with my hens daily so I water when I go out. I used to work a different shift though, and had considered buying one to make life simpler. I think they ran about $45 when I seen them last. After last night dropping to 19*, I am thinking that might still be a good idea! Thanks for reminding me and good luck!

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   • haha, well i live in south texas, washing clhotes in a creek is a problem, but not as much as running the a/c/ i think. I have an all brick home, high attic, lots of attic insl and ventilation (moving air). Half of my electric bill is my a/c. I used 1749 KWh for the month of May, and half of that was my a/c. We only use hot water a couple hours a day, hand wash dishes and hang clhotes on the line, and I cook most of our food on my gas grill outside.i just don’t see it being enough

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     • Rosidi,

       Thank you for commenting. Before we moved here we lived in a 1550 SF condo. it was a duplex. We had the whole upper floor. It was all electric except for a natural gas furnace and hot water tank. We only used about 250 KWh per month there. In our new off grid home we have abut 1400 SF and we use less than 140 KWh.
       I don’t have any experience in air conditioning but according to your numbers, if you ignore the AC part of your bill you still use over 850 KWh per month and that is pretty high. It sounds like you are conserving by washing your clothes in the creek etc. Are you sure those numbers of 1749 KWh per month are correct? If it were me I would have my meter replaced or at least tested. Something isn’t right there in South
       Texas.

       Ed

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9. Hey Ed,
   I really enjoy your blog.I would love to do what you and your wife are doing.I live southeast of Cincinnati Ohio in a little town of Sardinia and my wife and 2 kids and I have 10 acres that 7 acres is farmed out.We have a 2400 sq ft 2 story house with 6 computers, kindles, smart phones and a bunch of tv’s and other elctronics, all of which need electric to run and charge.The kids are really not kids, 1 boy getting ready to turn 21 and a daughter getting ready to graduate from high school and turn 19.My wife just graduated from college and is beginning her 2nd career.I would like to put solar panels on the property and go off grid but don’t know where to begin.How many panels ,batteries would run our corner of the world?Any Ideas?
   Thanks
   Charlie

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   • Hi Charlie,

     It is good to hear from you.

     When it comes to solar we could probably talk for hours but since that isn’t practical lets do this:

     1. Read this blog – http://offgridworks.com/2012/02/28/reduce-your-electrical-use-in-two-easy-steps/

     2. Read this one next – http://offgridworks.com/2012/03/09/how-to-calulate-your-electrical-needs/

     Its actually pretty easy to figure out how much power you need but that won’t be your first step because one of the byproducts (I promise you) about going solar is that you will become more conservative in your power usage when you have to produce that power yourselves. It is a natural occurrence that happens to all of us

     I highly recommend that you see how far you can get in that endeavor before you calculate your needs. All you have to do is look at your power bills from a year ago and compare them to your new bills this year. I.E. compare April to April and May to May from last year.

     We cut our Kwh usage down by 25% in a condo before we went off grid. That helped us to be more accurate in our “solar system size” calculations.

     Something else you will have to consider is that your kids will probably move on in the future which will lower your power needs. No worries. It is all about estimating for now and you will just do the best you can.
     For that reason you might also consider installing solar panels only right now (grid tied system). I’m not sure if your local power company participates in a buy back program. Here in WA State the local power companies have to pay us for every kilowatt produced.

     Then later when it becomes just two people in a 2400SF house you can install the rest of the battery backup system and go completely off the grid. Having a grid ties system now would help to pay for all of that.

     Once you have learned how to conserve you can fill out the spreadsheet in the blog. Email me and I will give you one that is formulated in Excel so when you fill in one cell the rest is automatically calculated. I have attached my own for you to look at. It worked perfectly for us!

     Once you know your power needs you can get estimates on a system. That is as simple as I can make it here. It is exactly how we did it without any experience and like I said before it worked very well.

     Ed Essex

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10. We live off grid in a portable building. 12 x 40 dual lofted with a porch. We found land 9.5 acres for under 20k. No restrictions. We have solar power, soon wind to help. We use wood to heat with and can cook on wood stove. We have propane grill. We haul our water right now but working on getting a 1000 gal storage tank for fresh water and setting up rain collection for shower and plants. We use a composting potty.
    We are still completing the cabin but we are able to live there. We have video’s on progress on you tube http://www.youtube.com/user/OurOffGridSolarCabin and on our blog http://www.solarcabin.org.

    We enjoy the life off the grid. Hope you take a look and enjoy and comment on our way of life. Thanks for your website very informative.

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    • Hi Bill,

      Thanks for writing. What you have accomplished is very impressive and a lot of work. I hope you find it all worth while.
      480 square feet must be an adjustment but it sounds like you are doing okay.
      Solar and wind is the best you can do if you have the wind. We don’t have enough here where we live so the backup power is the generator on cloudy days.

      It is a lot of hard work. Don’t be in too big a hurry and it is okay to rest once in a while too.

      Feel free to check in when you get it all done, well sort of all done. We are never really finished are we?

      Good luck to you both. I think what you are doing is fantastic.

      Ed

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11. Hi,

    My fiance and I are looking into changing our lifestyle and getting out of the city and moving to more of a self sustaining way of life. I was wondering if you had any research tips or websites or any recommendations for someone who is just getting started.

    Thanks,
    Teresa

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    • Hi Teresa,

      I started from scratch on the Internet and Laurie and I also spent time at our local library. Another good source are magazines. We subscribed to Mother Earth News and Backwoods Home magazines.
      You can go to Mother Earth News online and use their search bar to find blogs on any subject written by regular people like you who have gone out and tried new things just like you are planning to do.

      Hope that helps, Good Luck to you both!

      Ed and Laurie Essex

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12. When you do make your move I hope you will send me a picture or two.
    Thank you for your kind thoughts.
    Ed Essex

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