Building Ecotopia: Living without Electricity, Part 2

by Chuck Hall

One way to live off-the-grid is to do without a source of AC power altogether. This doesn’t necessarily mean living completely without appliances. It could mean using rechargeable appliances or appliances powered by sources other than electricity. For example, major energy guzzler in any home is your kitchen range. Before the days of electric ranges, people cooked on an open fire or in a wood-fired stove. Unless you live near a forest, you probably won’t have a ready supply of kindling for a wood-fired stove. Then of course there’s the work of chopping wood and lighting a fire every time you want to cook. But there is a new alternative. Aga Cookers of Telford, Shropshire, Great Britain, manufactures a cook stove that can be run on biodiesel (http://www.aga-web.co.uk/index_334.htm). Biodiesel is a cleaner-burning alternative to wood-fired stoves. As biofuels become more readily available, these stoves will be more convenient to operate using a sustainable fuel source. In the meantime, they can be operated using regular diesel fuel or by making your own biodiesel. If you’re interested in the latter option, you can learn the details of making your own biofuels at Journey to Forever’s Web site: Handmade Projects. Make Your Own Biodiesel!
On the other hand, if you don’t mind a little extra work on occasion, maybe an earth oven would be right for you. Earth ovens are just what they sound like: ovens made of earth. Such ovens are made of a mixture of clay and sand. You can make coils to shape the oven, or alternately you can stack balls of the mixture in a circular pattern to form a dome. Some people have also made such ovens out of cob: a mixture of clay, sand and straw. The straw adds structural support and makes it possible to actually sculpt an oven into an ornamental piece for your lawn that is both attractive and functional. As fires are built inside, the oven solidifies, much like pottery being fired. For instructions on building an earth oven, visit: http://katipo.co.nz/gallery/oven. If you’re interested in the sculptural effects that can be achieved by using cob to build an oven, and don’t mind cooking outdoors on occasion, the Low-Impact Living Initiative site has some interesting photos.
There is also the option of using a propane cook stove, but propane isn’t a sustainable fuel. I once read about a hydrogen-powered cook stove, but I can’t seem to find any more information about it. If such a stove is ever offered to the public, it would have the advantage of operating on a sustainable fuel. If such a device is offered in the near future, I’ll be sure to let you know!
Next week, we’ll look at the energy saving that can be had by using passive solar design In building your new home.