← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Happy Hacker
Thread ID: 9392 | Posts: 10 | Started: 2003-08-29
2003-08-29 17:41 | User Profile
Most families will probably pay the government over a million dollars in taxes over a lifetime. To keep my money, I decided to have myself and my wife work for us, not the government. To this end, about a year ago I started planning my financial independence. The key part of this will be my homestead.
Right now, itââ¬â¢s just a hole in the ground. But, eventually it will be about a 4000 square foot home that has no utility bills. A family garden, including an orchard, will provide for my produce needs.
Nearly all homes are at least three stories, even if two of the stories are just a crawl space below the house and an attic. Why spend the money for these two stories without being able to use them? My house will expand them and make them usable. Iââ¬â¢ll have a walkout basement and an attic that is good for storage if not a few extra rooms of living space.
The house will face north and look similar to the homes in the new development adjoining. The east and west sides will only have one window to keep out the sun in the summer. The south will be mostly glass to let in the warmth of the low winter sun. Overhangs will block the high summer sun from these windows. The house will be brick, with some stone added to the front for aesthetics.
Iââ¬â¢ll do most of the labor myself. That way, I will be getting the full value of my work without splitting half of it with the boss and the half remaining with Uncle Sam. To this end, I am using insulated concrete forms (www.greenblock.com). These are easy for the inexperienced to stack, provide good insulation, and do not require framing to finish walls. This is the stage I am at now.
The house will be cooled and warmed by a geothermal heat pump. A heat pump works like an air conditioner in the summer, but backwards in winter to provide warmth. Instead of pumping from air, as normal air conditioners, it will use 65-degree year-around water from a well. It is about twice as efficient cooling as a normal air conditioner and about four times efficient heating as a standard furnace!
The heat pump will provide the hot water for the house as well as the water for the garden. Hoses in the floors will silently radiate the heat, so that in winter the room will be warmer near the floor rather than the ceiling. And, the well will provide for all our water needs. Still, Iââ¬â¢ll be hooked up to city water and sewage.
The backside (south facing) of the roof will be covered with thin-film photovoltaics that replace shingles. These are unrolled across the roof and will look a bit like black metal roofs found on some commercial buildings. They look much better than blocks of thick solar panels. I suspect many people might not even notice that the roof is functional for more than just keeping everyone dry. Tentatively, the source will be www.uni-solar.com.
A wood stove will supply supplemental heat in the coldest, darkest days of winter. Wood is the cheapest heating source, and a wood fire is nice. And, if this doesnââ¬â¢t leave enough electricity available for household needs in winter, Iââ¬â¢ll consider adding a windmill. Even though Iââ¬â¢ll have some batteries, the house will be hooked up to the power grid so I wonââ¬â¢t be without power and I can feed extra power into the grid and the electric company will pay me for it.
I work in the technology industry, and wear a tie to work, so building and farming are not things I have experience with. But playing around with a garden has been highly successful for me. With minimal effort this summer, I produced about 100 quarts of tomatoes from a 20ââ¬â¢x3ââ¬â¢ plot (My wife canned about 50 quarts, about half of what I picked. And, the summer isnââ¬â¢t over yet). Add to that automatic watering and fertilizing (I do have experience with microcontrollers), a permanent weed barrier, no-till grow medium, and other such things, I am sure I could produce a nice variety of produce with almost no effort beyond setting up the system, planting and picking.
2003-08-29 19:44 | User Profile
HH,
Thanks for the info and inspiration. I too am looking at becoming more independent in all the ways you describe, though I am not nearly so far along as you. However, it would seem that a big part of the process is making the commitment to actually do it. Thanks also for the links; the greenblock sounds like it's right up my non-framing alley, as well as being good insulation. Can you make basement walls out of it also, I wonder? I had seen some energy-efficient houses that were also solar-powered and had up to 12" thick stone walls to provide thermal regulation. Sounded good, but all that stone and fitting was really expensive. It looks like the greenblock could be a near equal in terms of effectiveness and a lot less costly.
The solar panel option is also interesting. One of the things I hate about modern life is the dependence on the electical grid. It would be so nice to be able to generate one's own energy. With enough energy, anything is possible. A brief perusal of the solar power site and some rough calculations indicates that the system might be a touch expensive, approx. $40,000 for an average (for here) 3.5kW system with batteries, though I know that some states offer rebates (but I don't think mine does) and that the electric company has to pay you if you net add to the grid. That could bring the cost down somewhat. The stove idea sounds good, too, but make sure you get a good chimney/flue! I learned that one the hard way. A windmill might sound better than it is, since you'll probably have to put the thing on a tower to get decent wind, which means more cable, and I do know that you get a lot of line loss in cable with DC, so you might want to take that into consideration. I suppose you could mount an inverter up near the windmill itself or at least at the bottom of the tower, but I don't know how practicable that would be.
Good gardening info also.
Thanks again for sharing!
2003-08-29 23:49 | User Profile
Great piece, thanks for posting.
Please note that there are many govt. benefits, depending on your state, for installing these types of conservation projects. They include tax writeoffs an 4% loans from your state government.
Have you estimated the cost of each of these? I would part. like to know the rough installation price of the Geothermal pump unit in a median sized home.
2003-08-30 00:22 | User Profile
This is an awsome idea. My father built his own house, and this is something I hope to do myself, soon, someday. Great info as well. All White nationalists should attempt to implement as many of these ideas as possible. This could be taken as far as a WN offering building services or equipment to those willing to do their own work. Any amount of WN time and money we can keep from going into the system the better.
2003-08-30 00:50 | User Profile
*Originally posted by MadScienceType@Aug 29 2003, 19:44 * ** the greenblock sounds like it's right up my non-framing alley, as well as being good insulation. Can you make basement walls out of it also, I wonder?
**
Most certainly you can make a basement out of the forms. Greenblock will even invite you to view the nearest local project, if you like. They're also really good about providing expert assistance (at least in my experience). For a basement, it does cost more than a traditional unfinished concrete basement. But, the money savings on framing and insulation make up for it, if you want a finished basement.
As for the solar, the cost is high. And, I'm still looking around to cut costs. But, either way, eventually it'll pay for itself then I'll have free power. And, the cost will be in my mortgage so I won't have to pay upfront and I'll still be saving money every month.
In my formal plans and for budget reasons, I'll only have 2KW system. I'll do something about this at another time.
BTW, FAT cables should take care of DC power loss :)
2003-08-30 03:05 | User Profile
HH - thanks for an interesting thread.
I have been researching off-the-grid living for a number of years, and have found the Home Power magazine to be a useful resource.
We came very close this year to installing a 30 kW solar power system but after learning the old lady down the road had been burgled three times last year we diverted the budget to a security gate and fence. Bloody Mexicans. 2004 for sure!
I second your recommendation about radiant underfloor heat. We had that installed during an extensive remodel and it's been a super investment and benefit.
Regarding HVAC we consciously decided not to go with a/c despite the regular 100+ temps here in the summer. The house is super-insulated with electric blinds on all windows, lots of shade trees and vines, plus attic fans and many skylights. Every night we just open everything up since temps usually fall to 50 or so, then close everything up agian when we get up.
I think that many more of us will need to get used to living lightly on the land in coming years.
2003-08-30 07:14 | User Profile
*Originally posted by Campion Moore Boru@Aug 29 2003, 23:49 * ** Have you estimated the cost of each of these? I would part. like to know the rough installation price of the Geothermal pump unit in a median sized home. **
On the well end of a geothermal heat pump, you can get the plastic pipe and a suitable water pump, and other parts, at a local supply shop for about a thousand. You'll need a more expensive pump if it has to go deeper. If you go through a well service company, they'll charge you a hefty markup for what they buy locally. And, they will charge you a couple thousand dollars essentually for two days' labor of digging the hole (and a return hole) and sinking the pump. However, I found a place that will rent a well truck so the labor will be only the price of the rental.
The heatpump itself, which replaces an air conditioner and a furnace, should come in at under two thousand.
So, I'm hoping to spend as little as $3000. You can easily spend twice that for an average size home, if you're lazy. But, you will save hundreds of dollars every year in energy bills. I'll need lots of water for my garden so I'll save even more.
2003-08-30 07:28 | User Profile
*Originally posted by Dan Dare@Aug 30 2003, 03:05 * ** We came very close this year to installing a 30 kW solar power system **
30KW is a lot of juice. I'm still considering a windmill or additional photovoltaics to meet my power needs. But, I want to finish the house and see what I really need. Too much power is a waste of money. Considering the high efficiency of the home, I don't think I'll need much.
I second your recommendation about radiant underfloor heat. We had that installed during an extensive remodel and it's been a super investment and benefit.
Fortunately for me, it won't cost much to install because I don't have to destroy anything (remodel) to put it in, and I'll put it in myself.
I think that many more of us will need to get used to living lightly on the land in coming years.
Indeed. But, much of my motivation is the desire for leisure time and early retirement. And, a desire not to fuel the government.
2003-08-30 13:00 | User Profile
Wood stove info here, incl. stove ratings, forum, 2000+ searchable q's & a's from wood heat users, etc: [url=http://hearth.com/what/specific.html]http://hearth.com/what/specific.html[/url]
More here: [url=http://www.woodheat.org/index.htm]http://www.woodheat.org/index.htm[/url]
And this Finnish axe is a superb little tool: [url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004SD7B/qid=1062244900/br=1-17/ref=br_lf_ol_17//002-9373831-8379207?v=glance&s=garden&n=292602]http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...garden&n=292602[/url]
I've used the new [url=http://bestbudsgarden.com/ibs/simplecat/product/asp/product-id/899585.htm]7859 model[/url] to produce a 45' long row of 16" - 18" oak pieces stacked 4 1/2' high this summer and I highly recommend it.
2003-08-30 17:10 | User Profile
**30KW is a lot of juice. **
It is indeed, but it is our average daily load ( I should really have said 30 kWh/day). I think this actually somewhat less than the average American family.
To produce this power requires 6kW peak output or 40 150W panels. The great thing as well is that with utiility intertie you get to see the meter spinning backwards.