Going to have at a block of land on Monday with the view of building an off the grid 2 bedroom unit/small house. Spent the last couple of days scratching plans on bits of paper.
Been an interesting exercise planning power, which will be solar and an oh my god genie as back up, water storage and heating of (thinking diesel at this point, options there also for house heating), Black and grey water disposal (trying to stay away from septic tanks). I will self build, timber framed and clad with horizontal colorbond. Interior will be plasterboard.
So if anyone has some thoughts, please feel free to post
cheers
blaze
bloody free campers now what permanent sites , suppose I will still have to pay shire rates
Tony Bev said
10:21 PM Oct 1, 2016
Hello blaze
Insulation everywhere
White ant pest control, before building
blaze said
10:25 PM Oct 1, 2016
hi tony,
building laws dictate the insulation ( there will be plenty) and no white ants in Tassie, this block is in Queenstown on the wild west of Tassie
cheers
blaze
Tony Bev said
10:51 PM Oct 1, 2016
I was unaware, where you were building, sorry
I was also unaware that there are no white ants in Tassie, so thanks for that info Blaze
Peter_n_Margaret said
11:22 PM Oct 1, 2016
Spend lots of time on google.
This is not a brand new thing you are doing.....it has been done many times before.....learn from the success and failures of others.
I would avoid the diesel if you can. Solar is cheaper than it has ever been before. Maybe supplement that with as large a wind generator as you can afford plus evacuated tube water heating. Check out high thermal mass heat storage under the floor.
Insulation is king. Think of a number and double it. Double glazing is a minimum.
Check out desiccating toilets, but be careful to note the power consumption.
Cheers,
Peter
blaze said
11:57 PM Oct 1, 2016
thanks peter, more to look at
Just did a quck google on Desiccating Toilets,
best suited to a dry arid climate, queenstown has rain 300 days a year and for the rest it drips off the trees
cheers
blaze
-- Edited by blaze on Sunday 2nd of October 2016 12:02:40 AM
Peter_n_Margaret said
12:13 AM Oct 2, 2016
blaze wrote:
thanks peter, more to look at
Just did a quck google on Desiccating Toilets,
best suited to a dry arid climate, queenstown has rain 300 days a year and for the rest it drips off the trees
cheers
blaze
-- Edited by blaze on Sunday 2nd of October 2016 12:02:40 AM
Try composting toilets :)
But start with the local council regulations. They are often very specific and not very cooperative.
A long drop would probably be the cheapest and easiest toilet, but they probably won't let you have one :(
Cheers,
Peter
-- Edited by Peter_n_Margaret on Sunday 2nd of October 2016 12:16:03 AM
blaze said
12:29 AM Oct 2, 2016
lol re the long drop
Jaahn said
09:15 AM Oct 2, 2016
Hi Blaze
There is allmost no place in Australia where a carefully designed house, on a good alignment which takes advantage of the sun and wind in the area, cannot be comfortable to live in all the year round. There are lots of books on the subject. A little thought about the principles of natural heat flow and ventilation, and heat insulation and thermal storage will get you most of the way there after some study of the subject. Perhaps a little "out of the normal square" thinking is required but it is not rocket science.
However if you choose to put your house in a gully by the creek on a south facing aspect, then buy the genny and the diesel heater
Jaahn
PS dry composting toilets are a good easy option I have used and are easy to use.
-- Edited by Jaahn on Sunday 2nd of October 2016 09:16:32 AM
Chris61 said
10:08 AM Oct 2, 2016
With 300 rain days a year, how effecient will your solar be with all that cloud cover, have the generator full of fuel
With 300 rain days a year, how effecient will your solar be with all that cloud cover, have the generator full of fuel
operates quite well surprisingly. I have 2 small solar lights atm and they work for a short time every night and have never failed. Certainly not as effective as other places but Tassie is really solar efficient friendly.
cheers
blaze
daffyfrancis said
12:41 PM Oct 2, 2016
Hi blaze,
If you do some calculations on what you would spend on power, sewage & heating costs over 5-10 years if you were hooked up on grid here in Tassie & you will have a healthy budget for alternatives I would think. Most posts I see on the cost of solar, diesel/gas heaters & batteries etc seem to overlook the cost of household power & heating per year when they were not travelling.
Regards
David
blaze said
01:56 PM Oct 2, 2016
daffyfrancis wrote:
Hi blaze,
If you do some calculations on what you would spend on power, sewage & heating costs over 5-10 years if you were hooked up on grid here in Tassie & you will have a healthy budget for alternatives I would think. Most posts I see on the cost of solar, diesel/gas heaters & batteries etc seem to overlook the cost of household power & heating per year when they were not travelling.
Regards
David
Hi David
My last quarterly power bill was $1000, that's one of the reason I'm looking at off the grid
cheers
blaze
Peter_n_Margaret said
05:26 PM Oct 2, 2016
Rule of thumb for off grid.
First job.....Choose the most energy efficient appliances you can find. The cost of reducing your consumption (by buying new appliances and having the best insulation) is almost always less than generating and storing the power to feed inefficient ones.
Cheers,
Peter
Aus-Kiwi said
05:38 PM Oct 2, 2016
Blaze . My power at home was 1200-1500 . I fitted 6kw solar, 5 kW inverter . Max single phase for NSW . Changed timer on hot water service to be on between 9 to 3 pm.. Do all our laundry through the day, pool pump 8am to midday. Power bill now is $450 to $550 a quarter . Next step will be solar, gas hot water . Heating and cooling is the consumption users . Lights, LED TVs use bugger all .. With tunners on fridges, freezers, HWS etc at night . So battery draw was only lights and entertainmen. 4 X 100 kW battery storage for a start . With fridges timer on for 20 min after midnight .
-- Edited by Aus-Kiwi on Sunday 2nd of October 2016 05:48:43 PM
Cupie said
04:14 PM Oct 3, 2016
Bloody hell!! I can't believe your power bills.
My little 1.5KVA solar system reduces our bill to around $200/quarter. Should have gone for 5KVA!
Perhaps my 50c/KWH feed in rebate/subsidy helps. Plus of course the State Gov. Part Pensioner discounts.
Before I retired almost 20 years ago I used to dream of a small self contained cabin in Tassie looking out over a green clothed re-entrant onto a pounding ocean beach. Well past that now at 75 with all my failing body bits.
Good luck with your adventure Blaze.
-- Edited by Cupie on Monday 3rd of October 2016 04:16:08 PM
Aus-Kiwi said
04:42 PM Oct 3, 2016
6c cents here . Under $6k for solar .
Roving-Dutchy said
06:00 PM Oct 3, 2016
My electricity bill comes to around $80 each month, fairly large 4 bedroom home, 2 0f us at home, use air con for heating and cooling, no pool, solar hot water, don't worry too much about usage live on NSW Central Coast,
Some of those bills seem to be very high, but I suppose it matters very much, just where your home is located.
Cheers
David
Aus-Kiwi said
08:05 PM Oct 3, 2016
Have to send Energy Aust / Ausgrud out to check meters ?
Going to have at a block of land on Monday with the view of building an off the grid 2 bedroom unit/small house. Spent the last couple of days scratching plans on bits of paper.
Been an interesting exercise planning power, which will be solar and an oh my god genie as back up, water storage and heating of (thinking diesel at this point, options there also for house heating), Black and grey water disposal (trying to stay away from septic tanks). I will self build, timber framed and clad with horizontal colorbond. Interior will be plasterboard.
So if anyone has some thoughts, please feel free to post
cheers
blaze
bloody free campers now what permanent sites
, suppose I will still have to pay shire rates
Insulation everywhere
White ant pest control, before building
building laws dictate the insulation ( there will be plenty) and no white ants in Tassie, this block is in Queenstown on the wild west of Tassie
cheers
blaze
I was also unaware that there are no white ants in Tassie, so thanks for that info Blaze
This is not a brand new thing you are doing.....it has been done many times before.....learn from the success and failures of others.
I would avoid the diesel if you can. Solar is cheaper than it has ever been before. Maybe supplement that with as large a wind generator as you can afford plus evacuated tube water heating. Check out high thermal mass heat storage under the floor.
Insulation is king. Think of a number and double it. Double glazing is a minimum.
Check out desiccating toilets, but be careful to note the power consumption.
Cheers,
Peter
thanks peter, more to look at
Just did a quck google on Desiccating Toilets,
best suited to a dry arid climate, queenstown has rain 300 days a year and for the rest it drips off the trees
cheers
blaze
-- Edited by blaze on Sunday 2nd of October 2016 12:02:40 AM
Try composting toilets :)
But start with the local council regulations. They are often very specific and not very cooperative.
A long drop would probably be the cheapest and easiest toilet, but they probably won't let you have one :(
Cheers,
Peter
-- Edited by Peter_n_Margaret on Sunday 2nd of October 2016 12:16:03 AM
Hi Blaze
There is allmost no place in Australia where a carefully designed house, on a good alignment which takes advantage of the sun and wind in the area, cannot be comfortable to live in all the year round. There are lots of books on the subject. A little thought about the principles of natural heat flow and ventilation, and heat insulation and thermal storage will get you most of the way there after some study of the subject. Perhaps a little "out of the normal square" thinking is required but it is not rocket science.
However if you choose to put your house in a gully by the creek on a south facing aspect, then buy the genny and the diesel heater
Jaahn
PS dry composting toilets are a good easy option I have used and are easy to use.
-- Edited by Jaahn on Sunday 2nd of October 2016 09:16:32 AM
operates quite well surprisingly. I have 2 small solar lights atm and they work for a short time every night and have never failed. Certainly not as effective as other places but Tassie is really solar efficient friendly.
cheers
blaze
Hi blaze,
If you do some calculations on what you would spend on power, sewage & heating costs over 5-10 years if you were hooked up on grid here in Tassie & you will have a healthy budget for alternatives I would think. Most posts I see on the cost of solar, diesel/gas heaters & batteries etc seem to overlook the cost of household power & heating per year when they were not travelling.
Regards
David
Hi David
My last quarterly power bill was $1000, that's one of the reason I'm looking at off the grid
cheers
blaze
First job.....Choose the most energy efficient appliances you can find. The cost of reducing your consumption (by buying new appliances and having the best insulation) is almost always less than generating and storing the power to feed inefficient ones.
Cheers,
Peter
Blaze . My power at home was 1200-1500 . I fitted 6kw solar, 5 kW inverter . Max single phase for NSW . Changed timer on hot water service to be on between 9 to 3 pm.. Do all our laundry through the day, pool pump 8am to midday. Power bill now is $450 to $550 a quarter . Next step will be solar, gas hot water . Heating and cooling is the consumption users . Lights, LED TVs use bugger all .. With tunners on fridges, freezers, HWS etc at night . So battery draw was only lights and entertainmen. 4 X 100 kW battery storage for a start . With fridges timer on for 20 min after midnight .
-- Edited by Aus-Kiwi on Sunday 2nd of October 2016 05:48:43 PM
Bloody hell!! I can't believe your power bills.
My little 1.5KVA solar system reduces our bill to around $200/quarter. Should have gone for 5KVA!
Perhaps my 50c/KWH feed in rebate/subsidy helps. Plus of course the State Gov. Part Pensioner discounts.
Before I retired almost 20 years ago I used to dream of a small self contained cabin in Tassie looking out over a green clothed re-entrant onto a pounding ocean beach. Well past that now at 75 with all my failing body bits.
Good luck with your adventure Blaze.
-- Edited by Cupie on Monday 3rd of October 2016 04:16:08 PM
Some of those bills seem to be very high, but I suppose it matters very much, just where your home is located.
Cheers
David