At the end of april I finally started constructing something on my off-grid plot of land. As the first thing I want to have there is a small building, made from straw bale and clay.

This building will be used at first for storage of all my gardening tools (rakes, shovels, wheelbarrow), but I will also place a couch there so that from time to time I can sleep there while visiting my lot. When I build my house there, I will use it as a parking place for my car, and maybe add some extra space for workshop. (more…)

Last week I wrote here how I plan my off-grid house to be built. Today I will explain in more details my ideas on how to supply heat to the house, how to ventillate it and how to make domestic hot water.

In my climate the most of the energy our houses use goes to heating, so a reliable off-grid supply of heat is a must.

As I already mentioned, I want the house to be built as close to passivhaus (passive house) standards as possible. Insulating the walls will not be difficult, but as the walls will be built with wooden frame, they won’t store much heat. This will make using all the passive heat sources (like waste heat generators — TV, computers, kitchen stove, etc.) a bit more difficult. (more…)

Starting with this post, I wanted to share with you my ideas on my off-grid house and homestead. I’ll begin with the general ideas on design and house construction, used materials, techniques, etc.

The very first draft of my house design is ready, but some details need to be corrected. It looks like typical small house Polish families build these days, one story high, with rooms in the attic, gable roof, nothing fancy. On the ground floor I want a large room, kitchen in the corner, bathroom and a small entrance hall. In the attic I want to have three bedrooms and a bathroom.

I want the house to be as close to passivhaus standards as possible, so the house will be facing south with three large windows. Two of those will be fixed, which will save me some money and some heat, as such windows have better insulation properties than ordinary ones. (more…)

Since the time I started this blog, I never took the time to write about my goals and reasons why I want to live off the grid.

Today is a good time to do it.

1. I want to be independent and free

I want to be free and be independent from all the systems of support, like the power grid or water mains. I will use most of my power bought from the grid (my solar and wind power plant will probably not provide enough energy for all my appliances). But the key appliances like ventillation fan or central heating water pump will be able to work even if the grid fails. (more…)

The video attached below is the second episode of my series about building an autonomous house on my land lot.

Today I finished translating subtitles for this episode, so you can watch it with english subtitles.

This episode shows the early spring on my lot. It was recorded in high definition, but I guess that to watch it in HD you would have to visit the blip.tv page for the episode.