Homework: Off the Grid
Living away from it all no longer means living without.
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ShareApril 1, 2008
Fifty years ago, building a home in a remote area away from the stress of everyday life frequently meant sacrificing basic creature comforts. Homes located off the grid—with no access to municipal power and water sources—were, generally speaking, havens only for people who were amenable to a primitive existence.This situation began to change in the 1970s, when alternative energy, such as solar power, became more widely available to the public. Though improvements, the early technologies were clunky and lacked sophistication, with wind turbines and solar panels that dominated a property’s aesthetics, and waste-management systems that failed to eliminate foul odors.
Today, the technology behind stand-alone energy is cleaner,
smaller, more reliable, and fully integratable. It also is more widely
available, which means one can now live comfortably anywhere—from New York City
to the Amazon jungle. Newer solutions include glass windows that contain thin
sheets of barely perceptible photovoltaic (solar) cells, which double as shades
as they collect power from the sun. Also available are small solar panels, about
the size of a postcard, that integrate with a home’s roof shingles; composting
toilets that look and work like standard toilets; wind turbines that resemble a
sculptural work of art instead of a windmill; and garden systems that purify
water to a higher degree than do many municipalities.
However, there are a few issues to consider before rushing out
and buying a distant parcel. Some towns will not allow the use of wind turbines
or greywater systems because the local building codes have not yet caught up
with the ever-evolving technologies. In more remote areas—especially in foreign
countries—it can be nearly impossible to find out what the rules and regulations
are, as there frequently is no set precedent. If rules for water collection,
waste disposal, and stand-alone energy generation are in place, an architect
specializing in alternative-energy systems can help ensure that they are
followed.
Once permission to build is granted, though, constructing a sustainable home in a foreign country is no more difficult than building a conventional one. According to New York–based architect Kimberly Ackert, who has designed off-the-grid homes in Australia and Singapore, all one needs is an architect who is well-versed in sustainable building, a local technical engineer, and access to the Internet to learn about local materials, manufacturers, annual weather patterns, and other factors.
While the Internet can give some indication of what sort of
weather conditions to expect from a given region, it cannot determine a
particular site’s individual circumstances, including the amount of wind, water,
and sun it receives. A location with minimal amounts of all three elements would
not be able to generate sufficient sustainable power. However, those with one or
two of the requirements may still be an acceptable location to build. Even a
plot of land characterized by gray skies and calm days can be suitable to build
on, as long as it has a substantial amount of water.
If appearances alone suggest that a site may be a good
candidate to support a sustainable house, the next step prior to purchasing is
to ask a qualified architect to generate a detailed analysis. Land that appears
to be ideal may actually contain obstacles that hinder energy and power
production, such as a hill that diverts the wind to another location. The
architect can also determine which energy systems make the most sense for a
given lot. Such was the case with a home that Montana-based architect Brett Nave
designed north of Yellowstone National Park. "Standard electrical service was
available at exorbitant prices for a grid-inner-tie system [which ties into
municipal power as a back up]," explains Nave. "So it was far more cost
effective and far less damaging to the landscape to employ a wind-solar hybrid
that can produce 100 percent of the energy required for the home without
interruption or sacrifice."
Frank Harmon,
919.829.9464, www.frankharmon.com
Kimberly
Ackert, 917.566.0056,
www.ackertarchitecture.com
Brett Nave, 406.222.7488, www.studio-bna.com
