Tag Archives: off-grid

April Goes to College

Posted on by by Michael Janzen.
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Graduate student April Anson is bringing her tiny house to school.

“The final cost of Anson’s tiny house will be between $8,000 and $9,000. She will park it on a piece of family-owned land, where she can get electrical service until she eventually installs solar panels. So-called gray water from sinks and shower will be filtered, and sewage will be pumped out and taken away for disposal. “My plan is to keep working, to make living in the tiny house as self-contained as possible,” she said.”

via Grad student brings her tiny house to college with her – The Denver Post.

 

Leopard Films is Looking for Off the Grid Stories

Posted on by by Michael Janzen.
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I was recently contact by a film producer looking for people willing to share their off-grid lifestyle change stories. If you’re interested be sure to contact Joe Pinzone directly. Here’s what he told me:

“I’m a casting producer for Leopard Films in NYC and we are casting a new documentary in which we want to profile people who are moving “Off the Grid”. In a perfect world, we’d like to document their move from Suburbia to off the grid in order to live off the wild, build their own homes, to be safe, and healthy. We’d love to document the journey of moving in which the family is building their new home from scratch. It can also be a situation where they are just developing a 2nd home as well. This documentary will be aimed at showing what the pros are for doing this life change. If interested in helping us find the perfect person please email me at joepinzone@leopardfilms.com. Thanks!”

You can also contact Joe Pinzone via Facebook.

Bus Living

Posted on by by Michael Janzen.
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A peek inside bus living.

“After buying a used school bus for $3000, Richard and Rachel drafted autoCAD plans and began to design every detail of their new home, something that was important in their decision not to simply buy a used RV or mobile home (which they view as flimsier than a steel-framed bus).

…The conversion has cost them about $12,000 so far, including the price of the bus so the $1200 solar fridge and similarly-priced solar-powered composting toilet were big decisions, but necessary to maintain their off-grid lifestyle.”

Learn more at faircompanies.com

Sunny Days = Solar Installation

Posted on by by Michael Janzen.
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If you’ve been curious about tiny solar systems for tiny houses, here’s a homeowner that just upgraded and discovered the difference a couple panels can make.

“We finally had a break in all the rain so we took an opportunity to install the new solar power system. Our electrician friend Dann (who helped us wire the house during construction) is in town so he helped with the solar install as well.”

Read the entire post at Life in 120 Square Feet: Sunny Days = Solar Installation.

Japanese Ad Company Designs 100% Off-Grid House – The Good Human

Posted on by by Michael Janzen.
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MIRAI NIHON Project from mirainihon project on Vimeo.

Accepting that our infrastructure is fragile and that the uninterrupted supply of energy is no guarantee, this ad agency asked the hard question, can we live without a connection to the grid?

I really like projects like this because it brings the truth that diversified small scale solutions are not only more environmentally sustainable – they are more sustainable through tough times.

“Japanese agency TBWA\HAKUHODO has designed a house full of new technology which will allow homeowners to live comfortably even if they are completely off the grid.”

See video and learn more about Japanese Ad Company Designs 100% Off-Grid House – The Good Human.

Off-Grid Float Cabin: Retirement Tiny Dream Home in BC Wilderness

Posted on by by Michael Janzen.
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Great off-grid retirement story.

“Margy and Wayne Lutz were camping in Coastal British Columbia when they discovered their dream home: the float cabins of Powell Lake. They’re not houseboats, but “float cabins”, that is, they’re permanently anchored to shore.

The Lutz’s bought their retirement home in 2001 for 35,000 Canadian dollars (about $25,000 USD, at the time), what they considered worth the risk if their experiment in off-grid living didn’t workout.”

See more at Off-grid float cabin: retirement tiny dream home in BC wilderness – YouTube.