Sharing a bit of the Homestead.

This is my view from where I am writing my posts. It is the front of the house and facing due west.

We are about 400 feet off of the road and about 60 feet below the road level, meaning we are basically in a bowl.

The back of our property is lined with 7o' tall White Pines and just beyond that is 19 miles of horse trails designated as State Park by Trust.

The barn, looking down from the deck on the back side of the house. The edge of the White Pines is seen on the right.

The three Pines directly on the right of the barn will be taken down shortly so that the barn catches more direct sunlight. The barn faces due west and the roof receives more then 6 hours of direct sun daily.

This Spring I plan on doing two projects for the barn. The first is a small solar panel for low voltage lighting. I do have 120 AC power in the barn, but I prefer to use solar as an alternative.

The second project will be a passive solar hot water collector. It will be good to have hot water available in the barn, especially in winter to help with freezing water in regards to the animals. Although I have power in the barn I am leery about having active electric devices around straw, hay, and animals.

Brett

Free to surrender your freedom.

I recently have read about new business ventures in residential solar panel installation that I find disturbing.

It seems these enterprising companies are offering home owners an "opportunity" to afford solar technology by installing the solar panels and additional components, collecting the federal and state tax rebates, and charging the home owner a monthly fee for energy usage.

As much as I want to see individual home owners taking responsibility for sustainable, alternative energy and solar panels are certainly part of that equation, I am appalled at the thought that we would be exchanging one home "energy czar" (power company for solar installer?) for another.

One of the joys of being sustainable and being self powered ( and empowered) is that you owe no individual or company for your electrical energy use, and more importantly, no one has the ability to cut off that power but you. That is true energy freedom.

Please think twice about entering into any deals for home solar power installations that does not offer you total and complete ownership and control of the power generated. Remember also that any extra power that you generate can be sold back to most electrical providers, under the solar "rental" plan this would belong to the installer.

Brett

Memorial Day Thoughts

I feel compelled to acknowledge those that have served, are serving, and those that have given their life and limb for my freedom.

So with sincere and heartfelt voice I say thank you. Thank You and come back home soon. Safe, proud, and enjoying the freedom you secured through so much sacrifice.

Brett

Questions and Answers & Expert Interviews starting June.

A reader offered several ideas that I thought were of great value, and I have decided to incorporate these ideas into several articles over the next months starting in June.

The first article in the series will answer these two questions:

"I want to start living a sustainable lifestyle for my family but only have $500.00 in budget to spare. What is the best way I can invest this money in sustainable living"?

"I am not mechanical in nature or a handyman around the house. The thought of home projects scares me. How do I find a professional in my area that knows about passive solar, water harvesting, and other things you write about"?

I also will be conducting interviews with individuals that are using, designing, and/or manufacturing specific products that support sustainable and healthy living for family and home.

By hosting Expert Interviews, products and applications will be offered in an easy-to-read format, providing a clear insight of use, installation, and experience from those "in the know".

Finally, I want to thank the reader for the suggestion of articles and wish to invite all readers to submit their own ideas of interest.

Brett

Why I'm hot on passive solar energy (pardon the pun).

Passive solar energy offers a virtually free source of heating, cooking, drying and even electrical energy.

Many passive solar do-it-yourself projects can be done very inexpensively, in an earlier post I provided a link to a web-site that offered plans on different types of solar ovens, most of the designs used materials easily found in most homes.

What makes passive solar different from PV (photo-voltaic) Solar Panels?

Solar panels are used to convert light to an electrical current that is then used to power low-voltage devices directly or used to charge batteries in a solar energy system.

Passive solar refers to capturing or harnessing the sun's heat to produce a desired result, the are no mechanical or electrical components required.

Some examples of passive solar application is hot water collection, household heating, even food and vegetable dehydration.

Passive solar heat can actually turn small turbines for electrical power.

Although I believe in the use of solar panels as one effective method of self sustainability, I still find them very expense to use for the average household.

If I had one complaint about many of the "green" educational television programs is that they often focus on large, very costly projects. Not many people have the hundreds of thousands of dollars to renovate or build a new efficient 'green" home.

Passive solar offers immediate results with very little investment in dollars, just a bit in time and imagination.

Building a small greenhouse is one way to get immediate benefit using passive solar heating.

There are many examples of simple projects for solar hot water collectors and food dehydrators available online.

I have seen examples of using passive solar heat (stored in attic space) to dry clothes saving energy and money from the gas or electric clothes dryer. Using a clothes line to hang laundry outside is one idea to eliminate the use of the indoor dryer (saving energy and money) but what to do on a rainy or cloudy day?

The point is that using passive solar energy and harnessing the power of the sun, is but one step forward on the path to self sufficiency and sustainable living.

Brett

The result of my poll suggests Sustainable living seems to be the subject of interest.

I'm not surprised, the financial condition of millions of Americans have resulted in a fear not experienced in many decades.

Just the other morning while flipping channels there was a news story on the rise of backyard chicken coops in Atlanta. My wife and I have raised chickens for years and feel that chickens are very much part of a sustainable lifestyle home.

Flipping through more channels I came across another story on Greensburg, a city that was virtually destroyed by tornado and being rebuilt utilizing wind, solar, Geo-thermal energy and "green" methods of construction and design.

As Summer approaches I notice that gasoline prices are starting to rise again.

This summer go to a local farmers market. Support your local growers, eat fresh, if available seek organic.

Or plant a garden but don't overdue it, learn to do a little at a time towards that self sufficiency. If you plant a small garden think of a way to provide water from rainfall.

Try something new, several years ago I decided to learn to make bread by scratch. I use all organic ingredients starting with a basic Honey Wheat. It was a success and a lot of fun. Kneading by hand, the magic of the leavening and rising, and delicious warm out of the oven with a spread of butter.

I have now graduated to sourdough, January 1st started my own "starter" living in my refrigerator that I feed weekly.

I start the "thermal wall" garage door this next week. Pictures will be posted of progress and materials listed. This is the first of several passive solar projects I hope to do on the property this spring and summer.

Brett

My first spring project.

I have to replace one of my garage doors. My garage is south facing so I am going to build a garage door that will function as a passive solar heat wall in winter and cooling carport in summer.

I will be posting pictures of each step with list of materials, cost and detailed instructions.

My plan is that in winter (when the garage door in closed most of the day) by using passive solar energy the door acts as a "thermal wall" that provides heat into the garage (and the rooms above the garage). In summer, the garage door opens up outside of the garage (not into) offering shade outside and cooler air into the garage.

My thinking is this, any repairs or modifications I do to my home and property should make use of technology, passive or active that will provide long term benefit and sustainability.

Brett

Own your home? This spring do these three things to start your sustainable lifestyle.


1. Plant a fruit tree or berry bush - Much less energy (and time) then planting a garden, research a fruit/berry you like that grows in your temperate zone. Try to plant a new fruit tree or bush each spring.

2. Start harvesting rainwater - Start small with a barrel for garden use but I warn you that once you start you will be seeking more ways to harvest rain.

3. Begin to Compost - start composting all vegetable matter from household meals. There are many models available or build your own.

By researching fruit trees or berry bushes you begin to understand about your temperate zone, soils (composting), local food resources and growers, and the importance of water irrigation (harvesting).

Sustainable living is a change of consciousness. An understanding that we as individuals can be responsible for our own food, water, home and energy.

Brett

Grab and go, be prepared.

In an earlier article I mentioned that if you live in an apartment, you should have at least 10 gallons of water per person, stashed in a closet. More if possible.

In cases of city-wide emergencies, this supply would offer a few days of water if water from the tap may be unavailable or temporarily unsuitable for drinking. The mind-set is to be prepared until water is available either though tap or by city/ federal agencies water distribution plans.

Put together a grab-and-go bag or suitcase. Inside place a flashlight, a copy of passport, license, social security card, insurance card, any health plan card, bank information, packets of dried milk, tea bags, a jar or packets of instant coffee, hot coco, energy bars, dried fruit, nuts, dried soups, sweatshirt, heavy long sleeve shirt, jeans, socks, tennis shoes, extra cellphone charger, additional toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, first aid kit, matches in water proof kit, extra pair of glasses, sunglasses, and work gloves.

Place all of these items in a duffel bag or smaller size suitcase ensure that the suitcase is small enough to be able to easily hold and carry if needed, place in same closet as water containers.

Remember in any emergency you are either staying put or getting out. Have one of these bags per person and you should be able to have at least three days or more of food, water, and change of clothing without panic thinking.

Brett

30,000 flee fire in Santa Barbara, California.

Last week the nation watched on nightly news channels as Santa Barbara, California suffered through another terrible fire.

Last week I started a series on rain water collection (harvesting), one of the uses I mentioned was storage for fire protection.

The fire damaged 47 properties and over 30,000 had to flee their homes. In 1990 in a similar size fire over 500 homes were damaged, firefighters credited several preventative measures that helped diminish damage.

One measure was a raised awareness for clearing older brush from around homes and properties, and an increase in fire-resistant gardens or just clearing vegetation from around their homes.

There are however some property owners that want the seclusion and privacy that a hillside of vegetation offers.

Rain water collection or rain harvesting offers an easy and economical way to protect home and property. Utilizing collected rainwater as a source for rooftop sprinkler systems and landscape water saturation makes perfect sense.

My article, "Water, Water, Everywhere but." continues next month with several fire protection system ideas.

Brett

I mentioned in an earlier post about providing plans for a Solar Oven. Instead I am going to provide you with a web site that offers plans for many different types of solar ovens. There are detailed instructions and pictures.

Use this link http://solarcooking.org/plans/

Brett

Thank you to those that signed up to follow my blog this past week.

I have been thinking about the direction I want this blog to go. Eventually I want articles and discussions to be reader driven, and appeal not only to the homeowner but also to those that rent or are in apartments.

Obviously an article on water harvesting is not going to be of interest for someone in an apartment. Although I do recommend that you keep at least 10 gallons of water per person in the apartment for emergency purposes ( buy 4, 2.5 gallon plastic containers of water and place in back of closet or cabinet).

However someone living in an apartment with a balcony might enjoy the ease, taste and safety that a solar oven offers. My wife and I lived in an apartment in Chicago with a great balcony. That balcony was our living room, family room and kitchen for most of spring and summer.

Unless asked a specific question I am not going to write about home theater or audio and video systems and distribution.

I will continue to offer articles and products for smart homes. Low voltage lighting control, whole house control, electronic sensing, energy savings, etc.

I am going to talk more about sustainable living products. projects, concepts and technical design. Passive solar heating, cooling, wind, Geo-thermal, solar panels, batteries, etc.

A sustainable lifestyle is not to be confused with survivalist lifestyle or philosophy, but sustainable living will help you to survive when times are hard.

Being green will not help you to have a sustainable lifestyle, but a sustainable lifestyle will help you live more green (buying an electric car is great but if you are unable to drive out of a disaster zone or city, then you better be prepared from a sustainable point of view).

So for now I am going to be talking about the Sustainable Lifestyle, what it means and how to incorporate it into your life, no matter where live and sleep.

Please offer any comments, questions or ideas that may be of interest to you.

Brett

With summer approaching a fun family project is to build a Solar Cooker .

A solar cooker (or solar oven) uses passive energy from the sun (no solar panels or batteries required) to cook Delicious dishes from soups, stews, meats, fish and tasty steamed vegetables, it is even possible to bake bread in a solar oven.

Think about your car with all the windows rolled up, parked out in the sun on a very hot day. Now shrink that down and focus that heat energy into your solar cooker and there you have the basis and technology behind Solar Cooking, temperatures inside the oven can reach as high as 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

It is the ultimate way to have food slowly and safely cook using no power source other then the sun, solar ovens have been a boon to third world countries that have scarce supplies of wood or fuel for cooking.

I have building/design drawings for a simple solar oven that I will post in the next couple of days, they are easy to build from most household materials, and work great, its a great springtime project to enjoy year round.

Brett

Water, water everywhere but.
Part two

Water, water everywhere but.
Part two.

In part one I talked about collection of rainwater, I mainly wanted to point out that there is an abundance of rainfall able to be collected even in a desert community such as Phoenix, Arizona.

I did not imply that every gallon of water should be collected or could be collected, budget and use will dictate that. When collecting rainfall what is most important is, well, what is most important to you.

I do know, If I lived in a fire zone such as the hills around Los Angeles, California, I would put in as large a water collection system as possible, I will talk more about this further in my series.

Collection for a small garden might only require having a “rain barrel”, filled by drain pipes from roof runoff. With a fitted spigot and gravity flow this offers an easy way to either pipe (inexpensive PVC piping), or with a hose keep a garden, flower bed, bird bath, etc.

I always recommend if using a rain barrel to have overflow piping (PVC, old hose) to take excess runoff away from the house.

Major tips are:
· to use a barrel that offers a screen for larger particles that will be swept along with water from the roof. Later I will describe some water collection systems that will allow the first runoff from the roof to bypass the collection unit so that dirt from roof is not first collected.

· Be sure the barrel has fittings in place for overflow and spigot or at minimum be cut out ready.

· Raise the barrel off the ground, on a strong and level base or platform. I have used cement blocks on a level ground with plywood top cut to size forming a table for the barrel.

This provides easier access to the spigot, making it easy to fill up a watering can or bucket, or attaching a hose.

Raising the barrel also provides a bit of gravity pressure if your garden is further away from your barrel.

The funny thing about collecting rainwater is that the only limitation is the size of your storage unit.

Storage can be ground based (from barrel to 12,000 gallons) , in ground (cisterns to ponds), or above ground (water towers).

Collection can be from rain, wells, ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams. (always check with local and government agencies for relating laws when diverting any water), swimming pools can be thought of as a water source, especially for fire protection, I will cover that later down the line.

Part two Water, water everywhere but. continues tomorrow.

Water, Water, Everywhere but.
Part one in series.

Why would I want to start off my blog Brett Talks Tech with a series on water, water collection, storage, and purification? Besides the fact that it is the foundation of life itself and, as that, constitutes the beginning of just about everything?

First. World history is filled with great civilizations that used simplistic but highly technical methods to carry water to their citizens and crops, and to harness the power of that water to work for the good of their people and future.

Second. Only about 1 percent of the worlds water is usable with over 97 percent salt (sea) water. The controlled use of water goes back to 8000 BC, and early Egyptian records describe purification methods even then.
Water management provides electrical power, transfer of goods through rivers and waterways, and many uses in manufacturing, food and beverage, and entertainment.

Third. It will be technology that squeezes water from rock and soil on distant planets for our next generation of planetary explorers. Technology offers our ever-thirsty world fresh water, from desalination plants to high tech ultra-violet purification methods.

Most Importantly. Water is necessary for life, period. While we can go for up to weeks without food, in contrast that in days, without water our bodies will begin to suffer severe consequences and death.

Every home, every family, should have a water collection and storage plan in effect no matter how big or small. Why?

Emergencies. Plain and simple; the ability to have clean, fresh drinking water for you and your families’ disposal is one of the most important “needs” we have (along with food in our stomachs and a roof over our heads).

In an emergency where you are required to stay put in home, having a supply of water available will be important for many reasons.

One of the things that would be most important in an emergency is too maintain your home as “normal” as possible. If water is unavailable for even flushing a toilet, having the ability to “flush” down using a bucket of available water is actually a blessing.

Although I have a deep well with excellent quality and taste, there have been times when we had to do without water due to lightning strikes, broken water pipes, or power loss.

Having had these experiences, I decided that I needed to be water-ready at all times. This led to research on water collection and storage, which caused me to research water purification methods, which caused me to research, oh so much more, that I will share in future parts of this feature.

So Lets start with Collection.

A typical home uses about 50-60 gallons of water a day.

A typical family of four uses about 87,000 gallons of water a year.

The standard collection rate for rainwater is:

Square footage of roof times .6 times annual rainfall in inches equals minimum collection. (Square footage X .6 X annual rainfall).

OK, I live in Connecticut, Connecticut has an annual rainfall of 44 inches.

I have roughly 1500 square feet of roof. Using the above formula.

1500 X .6 X 44 (inches annual rain) equals 39,000 gallons of water.

39,000 gallons that I do not need to pull from my well, saving my water supply and electrical costs of pumping!

Almost half of what a typical family of four uses in a year!

You can search your state and find your own annual rainfall.

Just to put things in perspective, Phoenix, Arizona has an annual rainfall average of just over 7 inches a year. Using the above formula someone living in Phoenix (with 1500 sq’ roof) can collect about 6,300 gallons of water a year. More then enough for a small vegetable garden, flowerbeds, Koi pond, washing cars, or any other use you might think of.

My point is simply this. No matter where you live, no matter how small or big your home is, there is a tremendous amount of water to supplement your own well water, or city water usage (and costs); and to have use of water even during citywide water restrictions. And yes, to have that source of water during any emergency that might present itself to you and your family.

In part two of Water Collection I will talk about different methods of collecting water from a barrel to cistern. I will also talk about products currently available and what to look for and I will be providing tips on proper bases and piping for uses everywhere around your home and property, I will also be covering water purification for emergency and/or household uses.

This is the end of part one

Tomorrow part one of my sustainable life series will be posted. The article title is Water, water, everywhere but. I look forward to all comments and input.

Tonight I thank and welcome those that took the time to sign up to become followers of this site this past week.

Please share this site with friends and associates and invite them to join also. I look forward to your comments, ideas, and input for future articles.

Feel free to ask any questions about what interests you. The whole point of this site is our interaction and sharing of knowledge.

Brett

Planned Articles and Discussions for May.


Water Water Everywhere but. Why every family and home (no matter how small or big) should have a water collection plan (uses, storing, purification methods). First article in my series on sustainable living practices.


Thinking Solar? Thinking Wind? Get your feet wet with these small and economical projects to put these technologies right to work and see immediate benefits to home and property. First in a monthly series.


Smart Home Technologies. How the average person can now have the smart home technologies that previously only the rich could enjoy, simple devices for lifestyle and home management. Products and system designs.


Home Theater Designs. Anyone can enjoy a personal home entertainment experience no matter the budget. These discussions and articles will provide all the details to be able to get the most out of your home theater and entertainment experience. Monthly installation tips, and more.


Readers' Feature. Discussions and answers to questions and interests of Brett Talks Tech readers. An interactive opportunity for all of us to share new ideas, tips, and experiences.

Brett