What Do Off Grid Homes Look Like? Here are 5 Examples
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 04.30.08
So we know what it takes to live off grid and how you generate off grid power, but what does living off grid look like? It might be a surprise to some, but some off-grid homes are totally indistinguishable from other houses in the neighborhood (except for the lack of power lines and electricity meters).
Above is the Van Geet Off-Grid Home [pdf], sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Agency. Near Denver, Colorado, the home takes advantage of 300 days of sun to produce lots of its power from a couple of solar arrays, and the home's careful siting makes the most of passive solar and daylighting to minimize the energy needed to run the home. Does it look "off grid" to you?
Don Ryan / AP
Off grid living in Oregon
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18744225/
This home, in the Three Rivers community near the central Oregon's Lake Billy Chinook, also uses solar for the bulk of its power needs (as pictured), and one home in the off-grid community went over seven months, from February 11 to September 15 (in 2006) without using their generator; it was all solar.
Nancy Palmieri for USA TODAY
Living off the grid in Vermont
The Doucette family, of Wilmington, Vt., uses a combination of 10 solar panels and an 80-foot tall wind turbine to power their 3,200 square foot plaster-and-tile home; the setup gives them plenty of juice for a home-based business (and the computers, peripherals and lighting required to keep it going), in addition to the rest of their "regular" day-to-day needs.
Off grid with straw bales in the UK
This straw bale double-wide mobile home, built by Richard and Carol Atkinson of East Yorkshire in the UK, uses solar, wind and solar hot water, in addition to a host of green building materials. And, because straw is plentiful and locally available in the UK, it produced just a fraction of the carbon footprint of an average UK home, 50 tons of carbon dioxide, during construction.
The future of off grid homes in Toronto
There is a confluence of ideas happening that will generate the efficient, green house of the future. Prefab offers the promise of replication of proven, tested designs with factory controlled quality; digital driving of CNC machines offers tighter tolerances, more effective use of materials and less waste. This example is an off-grid cottage, designed by Toronto architect John Bowron, is so energy efficient that "the mice in the kitchen cabinets generate enough heat to keep it warm".
With all of these ideas, the point is simple: you can have any kind of house you want and still live off the grid. Of course, bigger houses need more electricity, so it'll be more expensive, but if bigger is better for you, it can be done. And, if it's good enough for Dilbert, perhaps it's good enough for you, too.
More off grid homes and reading in TreeHugger
::Home Grown Home: A Straw Bale Off Grid Double-Wide
::Irresidence: Off grid Downloadable Design
::Generating Off-Grid Power: The Four Best Ways
::Is Living Off-Grid Right For You?
::Off the Grid: Modern Homes + Alternative Energy
What´s the point of having an off-grid house if you then need a 2-car garage (and presumably 2 cars)? Unless the cars are completely charged with electricity from the solar panels, which i doubt, the lifecycle energy use of the two cars offsets a great deal of the benefits of the off-grid house.
Why build one home off grid when you can build a whole village?
I purchased a old mill site that still had an active Hydro Electric plant that produces enough electricity to provide power for over 300 households.
We are calling the project'The Village GREEN at Glen Falls.
It is located in CT. and we will also incorporate Geo-Thermo Energy,Solar as well as building out the units which will have Condo's, Apartments as well as retail space all being built with LEED products.
Anyone out there that has any input to assist us please feel free to contact us.
Have a GREEN Day!
John P. Gauvin
Old Village MIll,LLC
I lived in an "off grid" home for many years, and spent a lot of money on batteries. Back then, you couldn't sell excess power to the grid. It would have been so much better to connect to the grid and sell my excess power so others could use it, and just not have the downside of a battery bank.
Today, more of us can sell excess to the grid, and use the grid for a battery bank. Much better idea. Add power generation to you home, and increase it's value.
For folks interested in career opportunities in this field, Sir Sanford Fleming College in Ontario, Canada is offering a sustainable construction and design program.
It is the first of it's kind in Canada and students learn cutting edge construction and design theory and put it into practise by completing a project.
This spring/summer twenty six students with differing backgrounds ranging between the fields of the construction industry, architecture, interior design, engineering and teaching have come together in Madoc Ontario to build a performing arts centre for the township.
Sustainable construction is a growing field. We need more people learning the skills and more institutions providing the education. Without either we don't have enough people with the practical information or skill set to grow the sustainable building movement.
If you're interested in learning more about this program check out:
http://www.flemingc.on.ca/index.cfm/go/programs/sub/display/code/SBD/strm/1085/cstrm/1079.cfm
My husband is currently enrolled in Fleming's Sustainable Construction and Design program and the prospects for jobs in a field that is addressing the needs of our health and the health of our planet are exciting.
I'm interested in other programs out there providing the knowledge and experience necessary to promote a healthy growth of the "green" construction movement.
If you know of any others, please share!
Sarah
carolyn luce has an excellent point: off-grid usually means a longer commute, too. So, unless You are home-empoyed and totally self-sufficient, You would still have a considerable impact on the environment.
But looking at off-grid from the survivalst perspective, it is a good idea. Also great for summer cottages that tend to be far away from infrastructure. Getting grid-power there would be far more expencive than investing in some form of renewable energy.
Carolyn,
Which house has a 2 car garage? I read through the
captions several times and scanned the photos but didn't
find it.
I've have also lived off the grid for years and do commute to town. An interesting stat is that in Colorado the average home produces 18tons Co2 a year while the average car with 15k miles a year produce 4.8 tons of Co2 a year. I drive 10k in a small pickup and my home emits next to no Co2, so the math is pretty clear on Co2 output. I also agree that if you can grid tie that is the best way to go, once your house is as efficient as you can get it.
My wife and I are looking to get off the grid with our next home purchase. Love the idea.
The benefit of an off-grid to me means freedom and independence. As little as possible do I want to rely on others.
James Timberlake has described many projects as exhibiting 'green bling'. I believe that an offgrid home must integrate the sustainable features with the architecture. Often I see homes that could be from a plan book with offgrid systems merely added on.
See homes with a focus on proportions, space, light is first with sustainability folded into the design to the maximum extent. Strength, Utility and Beauty all must be in balance. Offgrid homes are strong and useful, but not often achieving a high level of beauty.