our "off grid" home with it's Rainwater Collection System
(updated March 13, 2008)
This
place we call Rocky Top is a 38 acre parcel of land about a
half hours drive East
of Redding, California. It consists of a long ridge as well as a valley with a little winter creek that runs through the middle. My wife and I both enjoy building and together we first built a garage-shop-RV port which we then moved into, using our 5th wheel trailer as our kitchen, pantry, and bathroom. The garage/shop became our living room and bedroom. As we were quite some distance from electric lines, we decided to live off the grid and see if we couldn't get by with photovoltaic panels, batteries, and an inverter to convert direct current (12 volt DC) power to normal alternating current (120 volt AC) which would then run the washing machine, TV, and our computer. Of course we would still need water and, at the time, drilling a 300 foot well seemed a little too expensive and we were also concerned that the water might taste funny. Since we had been concerned about fire danger, we built the building with an enameled steel roof. This roof allowed us the opportunity to collect rainwater which we would then store in tanks. This was our first home, our prototype. It was a test to see if these ideas were really doable.
To begin with we installed
three 2,300 gallon tanks under a roof behind our first building.
If you look closely you can see a stainless steel funnel under the rain gutter
and 2" PVC pipe that runs straight down, but also turns out to join a kind of manifold which
connects to all three tanks. The tanks, as it rains, fill from the bottom. As they fill, the
pipe also fills as water seeks a common level. People ask if we get enough rain to fill these tanks.
The formula is quite simple. For every 100 square feet of surface, one inch of rain will give you 60 gallons
of water. This particular building will capture enough water to fill all three tanks with just 9
inches of rainfall! Unseen in this picture are our two 105 watt panels on the roof. These
panels were first used in the Mohave ARCO project in the early 1980s are still working well.
It is really hard to "wear out" a photovoltaic power panel as there are no moving parts, unless you count
the electrons which are knocked out of their grid when hit by a photon from our sun! And then, while producing electric
energy, they migrate back to where they were and the process repeats!
Well, maybe not exactly like that, but that's the idea.
The first three tanks provided enough water to allow us to make it through our dry season
while we were living in the garage/RV port. However, we knew we'd need more storage once we were living a more normal existence in a real house! So, when we built what would later become the "tractor garage" we also installed more tanks. In this picture are two more 2,300 gallon tanks and also two 2,500 gallon tanks which are behind the building. We did not realize it at the time, but we would be living in the garage for two and a half years while we built the main house.
The "Main" house!
One should remember we did most everything ourselves. From designing the plans to laying out string lines, we formed, poured concrete (with the help of dear friends!), did the rough plumbing, framing, siding, roof sheathing, and painting. Some things, of course, are best given to subcontractors. In our case, the topout plumbing, the sheetrock, tile work, the AC electrical in the main house, all the cabinets, carpeting, and the oak flooring. Because our property is home to rattlesnakes, I decided I did not want to build on a raised foundation. Because of the grade and the multiple levels, the foundation and slab would take us an entire year.
Electricity
Naturally, with a much larger abode, we would need a more elaborate electrical system. The house is powered by photovoltaic panels which charge large industrial sized batteries wired for 24 volts DC. We have a 4,000 watt inverter/charger which converts the electricity to 120 volts AC. There are four 120 watt panels on a tracker as well as six 120 watt panels on the south facing slope of the house garage. We moved the two old 110 watt panels on to a pergola and are now tied into the house system, as are two southeasterly facing 150 watt panels. The RV/garage now has just one 80 watt panel which charges two golf cart batteries which supply 12 volts DC to the pump that pressurizes our rainwater as well as supplying juice to a 1500 watt inverter that runs our shop tools. A little 50 watt panel on the pergola over the pond runs the pond pump that gives us a waterfall whenever the sun is shining. The well pump is run by four 80 watt panels and the water is pressurized by another pump that gets its power from two golf cart batteries that are charged from a 50 watt panel on the tractor garage roof. Most men would agree that a man can't have too many garages, and now you see that, if you live off-grid, you can't have too many photovoltaic panels either!
Heating, and other energy saving devices
For heating the home we have a Monitor® kerosene heater which is extremely efficient. We only use about 70 gallons of kerosene a year! We also have a small wood stove as back up and ambiance. Our refrigerator is perhaps the best you can get. It is called Sunfrost® and when they say it saves electricity by a factor of five, you can believe it. It does. If every home in the United States had one of these in their home we wouldn't need foreign oil! We have the big model, the RF19 (refrigerator/freezer) in 24 volts DC, but it can be purchased in conventional AC also. For washing clothes we have a System 2000® horizontal axis top loader. Very efficient, using very little water and electricity without sacrificing cleaning ability. For water heating we have an AquaStar® on demand heater. It's great. When you turn on the faucet you get hot water instantly. When you close the faucet you are no longer heating water, only the pilot light is on. We do spend some on propane, most in the winter when we're socked in and have to run our Onan® 5500 watt generator for a couple of hours per day to goose up the batteries. And, we use propane in the kitchen stove. When the Onan finally dies, I'll probably get a Kohler diesel generator and learn to make my own biodiesel from waste cooking oil.
Here are a few pictures of our setup. If you should have any questions, send me an email and I'm always happy to try and answer them.
of Redding, California. It consists of a long ridge as well as a valley with a little winter creek that runs through the middle. My wife and I both enjoy building and together we first built a garage-shop-RV port which we then moved into, using our 5th wheel trailer as our kitchen, pantry, and bathroom. The garage/shop became our living room and bedroom. As we were quite some distance from electric lines, we decided to live off the grid and see if we couldn't get by with photovoltaic panels, batteries, and an inverter to convert direct current (12 volt DC) power to normal alternating current (120 volt AC) which would then run the washing machine, TV, and our computer. Of course we would still need water and, at the time, drilling a 300 foot well seemed a little too expensive and we were also concerned that the water might taste funny. Since we had been concerned about fire danger, we built the building with an enameled steel roof. This roof allowed us the opportunity to collect rainwater which we would then store in tanks. This was our first home, our prototype. It was a test to see if these ideas were really doable.
To begin with we installed
three 2,300 gallon tanks under a roof behind our first building.
If you look closely you can see a stainless steel funnel under the rain gutter
and 2" PVC pipe that runs straight down, but also turns out to join a kind of manifold which
connects to all three tanks. The tanks, as it rains, fill from the bottom. As they fill, the
pipe also fills as water seeks a common level. People ask if we get enough rain to fill these tanks.
The formula is quite simple. For every 100 square feet of surface, one inch of rain will give you 60 gallons
of water. This particular building will capture enough water to fill all three tanks with just 9
inches of rainfall! Unseen in this picture are our two 105 watt panels on the roof. These
panels were first used in the Mohave ARCO project in the early 1980s are still working well.
It is really hard to "wear out" a photovoltaic power panel as there are no moving parts, unless you count
the electrons which are knocked out of their grid when hit by a photon from our sun! And then, while producing electric
energy, they migrate back to where they were and the process repeats!
Well, maybe not exactly like that, but that's the idea.The first three tanks provided enough water to allow us to make it through our dry seasonwhile we were living in the garage/RV port. However, we knew we'd need more storage once we were living a more normal existence in a real house! So, when we built what would later become the "tractor garage" we also installed more tanks. In this picture are two more 2,300 gallon tanks and also two 2,500 gallon tanks which are behind the building. We did not realize it at the time, but we would be living in the garage for two and a half years while we built the main house.
The "Main" house!
One should remember we did most everything ourselves. From designing the plans to laying out string lines, we formed, poured concrete (with the help of dear friends!), did the rough plumbing, framing, siding, roof sheathing, and painting. Some things, of course, are best given to subcontractors. In our case, the topout plumbing, the sheetrock, tile work, the AC electrical in the main house, all the cabinets, carpeting, and the oak flooring. Because our property is home to rattlesnakes, I decided I did not want to build on a raised foundation. Because of the grade and the multiple levels, the foundation and slab would take us an entire year.
Tammy
and I were both working
full time and, even after spending a year on the foundation, the
balance
of the building would consume another year and a half of virtually all
of our free time. Since we had committed ourselves to living
"off
grid", we tried to incorporate as many energy saving features as we
could
think of. The house is 2x6 framed and was entirely
wrapped with OSB before hanging the fire resistant Hardi plank siding.
Cooling
As our area is well known for its industrial strength summers, we decided to vent the roof ridge by holding back the roof sheathing and screening the gap. This was then covered by the metal roof cap. As a result, the attic vents very efficiently. We have two feet of blown in insulation in the attic. We also have a 6,500CFM evaporative cooler which does not see much use. It is set up bring in cool air through several down ducts. All windows are kept closed which forces air out into the rooms and then up into the attic through various up ducts. This insures a flow of cooler air moving into the attic. This system works very well, but for the last two years we have not needed to use it. Instead, in the evening we open windows and then in the early morning we run a whole house fan for a couple of hours which pulls cool air into the house. Then we close the windows and, thanks to the insulation, roof venting, and ceiling fans in each room, we are able to be quite comfortable even when the temperature outside runs up to 115 degrees.
Water
Rainwater is still our source for water in the home. It mixes very well with Scotch, feels great when you shower, and doesn't have any toxic chemicals or pharmaceuticals floating around in it. We also use it for washing vehicles as it drys spot free. However, we did finally drill a well. The well is almost 300 feet deep and its pump is run by a four 80 watt panels wired in series to produce 48 volts DC. On a sunny day we get about 750 gallons which is pumped into a separate 2,500 gallon water tank. This allows us to have a garden and small orchard and a pond. By having a separate plumbing system we can keep our rainwater for household use. As you can see, we really love the rainwater.
Cooling
As our area is well known for its industrial strength summers, we decided to vent the roof ridge by holding back the roof sheathing and screening the gap. This was then covered by the metal roof cap. As a result, the attic vents very efficiently. We have two feet of blown in insulation in the attic. We also have a 6,500CFM evaporative cooler which does not see much use. It is set up bring in cool air through several down ducts. All windows are kept closed which forces air out into the rooms and then up into the attic through various up ducts. This insures a flow of cooler air moving into the attic. This system works very well, but for the last two years we have not needed to use it. Instead, in the evening we open windows and then in the early morning we run a whole house fan for a couple of hours which pulls cool air into the house. Then we close the windows and, thanks to the insulation, roof venting, and ceiling fans in each room, we are able to be quite comfortable even when the temperature outside runs up to 115 degrees.
Water
Rainwater is still our source for water in the home. It mixes very well with Scotch, feels great when you shower, and doesn't have any toxic chemicals or pharmaceuticals floating around in it. We also use it for washing vehicles as it drys spot free. However, we did finally drill a well. The well is almost 300 feet deep and its pump is run by a four 80 watt panels wired in series to produce 48 volts DC. On a sunny day we get about 750 gallons which is pumped into a separate 2,500 gallon water tank. This allows us to have a garden and small orchard and a pond. By having a separate plumbing system we can keep our rainwater for household use. As you can see, we really love the rainwater.
Electricity
Naturally, with a much larger abode, we would need a more elaborate electrical system. The house is powered by photovoltaic panels which charge large industrial sized batteries wired for 24 volts DC. We have a 4,000 watt inverter/charger which converts the electricity to 120 volts AC. There are four 120 watt panels on a tracker as well as six 120 watt panels on the south facing slope of the house garage. We moved the two old 110 watt panels on to a pergola and are now tied into the house system, as are two southeasterly facing 150 watt panels. The RV/garage now has just one 80 watt panel which charges two golf cart batteries which supply 12 volts DC to the pump that pressurizes our rainwater as well as supplying juice to a 1500 watt inverter that runs our shop tools. A little 50 watt panel on the pergola over the pond runs the pond pump that gives us a waterfall whenever the sun is shining. The well pump is run by four 80 watt panels and the water is pressurized by another pump that gets its power from two golf cart batteries that are charged from a 50 watt panel on the tractor garage roof. Most men would agree that a man can't have too many garages, and now you see that, if you live off-grid, you can't have too many photovoltaic panels either!
Heating, and other energy saving devices
For heating the home we have a Monitor® kerosene heater which is extremely efficient. We only use about 70 gallons of kerosene a year! We also have a small wood stove as back up and ambiance. Our refrigerator is perhaps the best you can get. It is called Sunfrost® and when they say it saves electricity by a factor of five, you can believe it. It does. If every home in the United States had one of these in their home we wouldn't need foreign oil! We have the big model, the RF19 (refrigerator/freezer) in 24 volts DC, but it can be purchased in conventional AC also. For washing clothes we have a System 2000® horizontal axis top loader. Very efficient, using very little water and electricity without sacrificing cleaning ability. For water heating we have an AquaStar® on demand heater. It's great. When you turn on the faucet you get hot water instantly. When you close the faucet you are no longer heating water, only the pilot light is on. We do spend some on propane, most in the winter when we're socked in and have to run our Onan® 5500 watt generator for a couple of hours per day to goose up the batteries. And, we use propane in the kitchen stove. When the Onan finally dies, I'll probably get a Kohler diesel generator and learn to make my own biodiesel from waste cooking oil.
Here are a few pictures of our setup. If you should have any questions, send me an email and I'm always happy to try and answer them.