Off the gas pipe – introduction

In many places the most popular source of energy for cooking, heating and preparing domestic hot water is the natural gas. If you’re far from the nearest natural gas pipeline, you probably use propane or propane/butane mixture (also known as liquefied petroleum gas — LPG). But what to do if you don’t want to use those non-renewable fuels?

First of all, to be hones, you don’t need propane nor natural gas at all! You can supply all the energy you need from any other fuel or energy source.

Domestic hot water may be prepared using:

• solar energy → solar hot water → solar heaters,
• electricity from windmill, photovoltaic module or genset,
• wood or coal in wood-fired furnace.

You can cook with:

• solar energy → solar cookers,
• wood in woodstove,
• electricity.

You can heat your home with:

• solar energy,
• wood or any other biomass,
• electricity.

But wait, there’s more! You can make your own gaseous fuel. Natural gas and propane may be substituted with wood gas (a mixture of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen and some other gases) or biogas (methane mixed with nitrogen).