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

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 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

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

Plenty of info - all you need on this forum about solar , wind , toilets etc forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/143

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

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

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

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