Offgrid living
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Everything off grid; power, water, self-sufficiency; whether you're doing it or aspiring.
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They say that people who don't build battery banks while wearing a sweater will cry about the lack of battery banks in double fur coats. :)
Since today was possibly the last "sweater" weekend here, morning frost is a reality and snow has fallen 500 km northwards...
...I decided that I would be among the first and not the second group. :)
Coincidence has given me an almost unused (43 000 km driven) battery bank of a Mitsubishi i-MIEV (a crap car, don't buy unless you are an EV mechanic).
But in my house, there is already a 24V battery bank made of Nissan Leaf cells and I'm worried about lack of space and fire hazard (if lithium batteries burn, you typically need tons of water to make them do anything else - I have only one ton and pumping it requires that same battery bank).
So I decided that I'd build a new 48V battery bank outside my house, start it up with the MIEV cells and maybe migrate the Leaf cells there later too, after checking and reassembly.
However, winters are cold here and MIEV cells (as I mentioned, the car is crap) lose 30% of their capacity when cold. It thus follows that I must keep my battery warm in winter - and later on, cool in summer. This requires energy. Spending less energy on battery care allows using more energy for useful things. :)
Thus it follows that I need a battery enclosure. :) It must have wheels so construction bureaucrats can be waved away with an explanation (a generator on wheels doesn't need a building permit either). And it must have thermal insulation.
The insulation is PIR foam, 10 cm thick. Maybe I'll make some parts even thicker. The wheeled platform was salvaged from a bankrupt boat factory, I don't know its original purpose. The bottom plywood is 20 mm waterproof ply, and the top layer (PIR is very delicate, don't put batteries directly on PIR) is 9 mm waterproof ply.
The design I stole from an anarchist squat which existed in 2009, where styrofoam was used for a similar purpose, with the difference that squatters used lead acid batteries and their battery room was indoors (now it's advisable to imagine the sound of clattering teeth, it was cold there in winter).
Inside the box, there will be:
- balancers / equalizers
- some DC heating ribbon
- a thermostat or a microcontroller-driven thermometer + relay
- a circulation fan (thermal stratification is bad)
- battery monitors with an alarm function
- a smoke alarm
Since PIR aborsbs sound, the piezo buzzers of the alarm devices will have to be unsoldered and brought to a plastic box on the surface of the enclosure. :)
The arrangement of cells has been chosen to provide access from outside, get a reasonable ratio between volume and surface (avoid flat shape) and to minimize the cutting of materials (several sides are made of PIR sheet cut to length only).
Some more pictures:
- Main tools for working with PIR
- Test fitting
- Closing up
- Securing with fiber tape (you can tow a car with a roll of it)
End result of today's work:
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(Note before reading: I am aware it is very unlikely people on here can build one of these systems, so I am just posting it for those who find it interesting)
Evaporation of water from reservoirs and irrigation canals is a problem that many places struggle with today, but one desert solution was used approximately 3000 years ago.
“Throughout the arid regions of Iran, agricultural and permanent settlements are supported by the ancient qanat system of tapping alluvial aquifers at the heads of valleys and conducting the water along underground tunnels by gravity, often over many kilometres. The eleven qanats representing this system include rest areas for workers, water reservoirs and watermills. The traditional communal management system still in place allows equitable and sustainable water sharing and distribution."unesco.org
To make them extra interesting, they could be paired with a wind-tower. This technology could cool a house through evaporative cooling; or even to keep ice from melting too quickly in the middle of a desert.
(Image Sources: Image 1 | Image 2)
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I understand that not everyone will have access to a stream/river with fish, but I thought people might find this interesting anyways.
Do you have videos that stick with you? "Through the Kitchen Window: A Town Living with Water [Harie, Shiga] " is one that occasionally pops back in my mind.
In Harie, Shiga(Japan), water canals run through much of the town, and the people there use it to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with fish. 🐟
Imagine a pool of water that people use for washing fruits, vegetables, and dishes. That same pool has carp that call it home, and the carp eat the scraps and keep the water crystal clear. This could be inside the home or outside, but it is constantly added to by natural spring water, and the water exits in to a canal. This system is called “Kabata,” and has been used for over 300 years.
(Both images above are from this website)
That running water then heads to rice flats, which benefit from the natural fertilizers the fish provide. That water then heads to wetland area, where the water is cleaned by reeds and other vegetation before entering a lake.
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Within Arizona(USA) is a beautiful cliff-dwelling built by the Sinagua people in 1100-1425 AD. Montezuma Castle (renamed to this by colonizers) has around 20 rooms, and is built using a method that today people call “passive solar building.”
“In passive solar building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect, store, reflect, and distribute solar energy, in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer. This is called passive solar design because, unlike active solar heating systems, it does not involve the use of mechanical and electrical devices.” Wikipedia
For the cliff dwelling, that included a design that ensured the buildings were hit with the heat of the low-winter sun, but protected from the high-summer sun by overhang. It also made use of ventilation, small windows and doors (to reduce temperature loss), and more.
This ancient knowledge is making a comeback in houses, but is really helping for greenhouses. Even in colder climates where temperatures can reach -40c(-40f), passive solar designs are enabling greenhouses to run all-year.
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I know very few people in the world have access to hot springs, but I just thought people here might find this information as interesting as I do.
Japan:
Cooking Eggs:
In some other places, hot-spring pools can become a neighborhood egg-cooking spot. In Japan, these eggs are called Onsen Tamago (温泉卵), and are slow-cooked in the natural spring water.
The result is a unique custard-like texture in the yoke, while the whites are soft.
“It is said to have originated in Onsen Towns in Beppu, Oita prefecture. It is said that the first Onsen Tamago was made over 300 years ago when a traveler left his eggs in a hot spring by accident and found them cooked when he returned." MyFormosaFood
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Steam Cooking
“It is a cooking method using high-temperature steam heat gushing from hot springs, and it has been used in Beppu since the Edo period. Just put the ingredients in a basket, put them in a pot where steam of about 100 degrees called “Hell Steaming Kettle” and cover it.” | Jigoku Mushi
At tables equipped with timers and hot-spring powered steam cookers, you can steam your own food.
Heating Greenhouses:
“Hot springs are used to heat greenhouses for different types of fruit and vegetables. At Atagawa Spa on the Izu Peninsula, the Atagawa Tropical & Alligator Garden cultivates tropical plants like banana trees and bougainvillea.” | Nipponia
By piping the heat into radiators, they can heat and humidify the greenhouses with no electricity.
Iceland:
Volcano Bread
Cooking rye bread with the help of a volcano has a long history in Iceland. All you had to do was dig a hole near a hot-spring, place the dough (which is in a container) in the hole, and burry it.
The boiling water will steam the dough to a dense but soft texture.
Hopefully you remember to mark where the hole is, but if you did, you will have freshly cooked bread with no need of an oven. As an extra bonus, you can also cook some eggs when you are there.
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While it might look like those grapes are in weirdly-shaped bread, they are really in clay. A pair of clay bowls are made, and left to bake in the sun. When they are dried, they are ready to use.
“When each pair of rustic “earthenware bowls” is completely dried, around 1kg of ripe unbruised fruit are put inside, and then sealed with another serving of mud to form a single closed, air-tight vessel.” Farmizen
This is called a “Kangina” and is an ancient preservation technique still used in Afghanistan to this day.
The kangina are put somewhere cool (sometimes buried) and will remain fresh for up to 6 months. They are both eco-friendly, and effective.
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Crafted by a potter named M Sivasamy, this clay pot was designed to help keep produce cool for days.
He made a cylindrical pot made out of clay with a tap on one side and an outlet to pour water on the other side. A smaller pot fits inside the bigger one where you can place your vegetables which is then covered with a lid. The technology is simple — the water in the pot remains cool keeping the vegetables fresh and cool. - BetterIndia
For places with no or limited electricity, this could help immensely. Especially considering terracotta(earthenware) clay is almost used worldwide.
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I just thought people would find this interesting:
Within the Ukraine lives the Hutsul people. They are masters of a specific type of wool blanket technique called “lizhnyk,” which is made from Carpathian sheep wool.
Creating the blankets is a long and difficult craft, but the results are beautiful.
One of the most ingenious parts of their craft involves help from the river. A valylo is a river-powered wooden washing machine; which will beat the blankets until they are soft and lose their sheep-smell.
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Thought to be a system over 100 years old, the valtoare/vâltori (whirlpool) in Romania works by channeling water into a large wooden funnel-like barrel. The funnel has gaps wide enough for water to flow out, but not wide enough for the cloth to slip through.
The force and angle of the water hitting the wood creates a spiral of water, which tumbles the clothes thrown inside.
Historically, people would rent the usage of these from the owner, with money, grain, or by working the land for however long it took the clothes to wash. Today, they are free.
“Today, whirlpools remain popular, especially among people from rural areas. They are used for washing wool fabrics free of charge, but people still like to contribute a small fee to the budget for repair and maintenance.” Peasant Art Craft
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Living off grid often correlates with poorly accessible locations - because that's where the infrastructure is not.
On certain latitudes, especially near bodies of water, especially in remote locations - do not ask who the snow comes for - it always comes for you (and with a grudge). So, what ya gonna do?
Over here, a tractor being incomplete (it is great folly to go into winter with an incomplete tractor), snow is handled by an electric microcar. Since the microcar is made of thin sheet metal and plastic, it cannot carry a plow... but the rear axle being solid steel, it can pull one.
The plow is one year old, and was previously pulled by a gasoline car. It is made of construction steel: 8 mm L-profiles shaped like a letter A with double horizontal bars. The point of connection on top ensures it doesn't lift too much while plowing. It's currently fixed with an unprofessional and temporary C-clamp (there will be an U-bolt soon). It is pulled with a chain.
If snow is heavy, the L-profiles lift the plow on top of snow, and you have to plow the same road many times. Sometimes it veers off sideways. Generally, you have to catch the snow early with this system - if you're late, you're stuck. :)
Not many advantages, but dirt cheap. Don't go plowing public roads with such devices - it is nearly invisible to fellow drivers, and cops would get a seizure.
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To make no excessive claims, I have to admit I burnt a fair bit of wood during the night. In the morning however, around 9 o'clock, the solar fence (nominal power 2400 W) was giving 600 W and steaming vigorously. By 10 o'clock, it had thawed and gave 940 W. Later, other panel arrays took over and wattage decreased. The energy was used to run a heat pump.
P.S. Knowing that server resources aren't infinite, I hosted the image externally, I hope that hosting on "postimages.org" works smoothly.
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After some rather unsuccessful attempts at reusing some large lead-acid batteries I got for cheap (which were not fully broken when I got them, but I managed to break them in the process), I caved in and bought a 5.2kW LiFePO4 battery pack (was 25% off at a local store).
Still needs some more hooking up, and due to some stupid regulatory reason I can't install solar panels yet, but I hope to already use it as a backup power supply over the winter.
The hybrid inverter is quite cool as it allows hooking up two individual strands of PV and also export a lot of very detailed data to the open-source Home Assistant software. Also seems to have a built in UPS feature for connecting servers, but I need to test that first (by default the emergency backup power only kicks in after a few seconds).
So, not really offgrid living, but the system would allow an off-grid setup at least.
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