New beginnings

In preparation for my off-the-grid summer I removed all pots and appliances that relied on hydro electricity. 

What a difference!

6:00 a.m. on June 30th. I woke up to a battery-operated alarm clock that I will put away for the summer. Already the light and radio beside my bed - an old car radio lent by a friend - are powered by the sun.

I felt a momentary sense of panic as I turned on the CBC radio. My bedroom radio was wired in so I can't move it and the solar-powered radio hadn't arrived yet. I am a dedicated CBC listener and would really miss it if I only had a radio in my bedroom. Maybe I could turn up the volume really high.

Today was really busy. I rushed to do all my laundry because anything after this will be hand washed. I charged every conceivable appliance with a battery - including my laptop, phone, ipad, rechargeable batteries and cordless drill.

The past two days have been mostly cloudy and the light on my charge controller indicated that my battery was running low. What would I do if I ran out of power? Would the food in my small 12-volt fridge go bad? Could I work? What am I getting myself into?

Last run to the Thrift Shop to get rid of some of the heavier items that are cluttering my home. Since my parents passed away earlier this year I have been amalgamating two homes. My mother was a real collector and, I confess, so am I. The hardest things to get rid of - or give to the thrift store - are sentimental things: souvenirs from travels, photos and letters. I look forward to this summer as a time to think about what is important to me.

A big job today was cleaning out the jam-packed fridge and freezer because the 12-volt fridge that I will use is less than half its size. Some things just have to go. Others can be stored in a spare freezer in the basement of our former family home. I think it's a shame to be storing and always 'eating up' so much food when I have the best refrigerator possible just outside my doors: my garden.

This summer I want to break bad habits that I know I share with many people. About a month ago I stopped using lights during the daytime but I still often leave my computer on when  I'm not using it and I don't turn off the power bar to avoid 'shadow' electricity. I started riding my bike and walking more but I still have been jumping in my car when I'm in a rush. Now I'll
have to plan ahead more and recognize that biking can get me to my destination almost as fast as a car - and sometimes faster. I am allowed two car rides (return) a month and if I use them up at the beginning of the month on short, needless trips, tough luck for me!

5:40 pm. I phoned The Source to check if my solar radio arrived and it had. I dashed to the store and picked it up. It works beautifully! I'll have my CBC tomorrow!

Solar radio in my best 'refrigerator': the garden.

Finally I removed all electrical appliances and items that depended on electrical appliances - like my stovetop coffee maker and kettle - from the kitchen and living room. Wow! I have a lot more room!

Taking away the microwave, blender, beater and toaster oven, I have lots of room for small manual appliances: manual blender, manual coffee grinder, radio and spiralizer.

My solar set-up

Harold Lunnar, owner of Nova Independent Resources in Kelowna, teaches me how to set up the system.

Photo: David Rooney

One of my main goals for my off-the-grid summer is learning how to set up, maintain and regulate a small solar system. Last year, Harold Lunnar, owner of Nova Independent Resources in Kelowna, helped our local Sustainable Living Committee set up a small system for a workshop. Naturally, I thought of Harold for my summer project.

Harold understood my project immediately and provided me with an appropriate system - not too big; not too small. A smaller panel would have worked, he told me, but the difference in cost was minimal, though the inverter for the larger size would be a bit more expensive. 

He built a tilt structure to mount the panel on the roof. Because it is a temporary project, he suggested weighing the frame down with sand bags. The panel should face due south and tilt 37 degrees.

Charge control panel and inverter. 

Harold also built a small control panel for the charge controller and inverter. The charge-control panel prevents the battery from overcharging and and lets me know if the battery is running low. The inverter allows me to charge 120-volt appliances or appliances with regular plugs. I will charge my laptop, cell phone, ipad and battery charger using the inverter. I will also use it for my printer. Whenever it is not in use it will be switched off as the inverter consumes energy.

The 12-volt deep cycle battery remains
outside. A lid is placed on the container

to protect it from the elements. A small
opening is left for venting.

Harold instructed me to locate the control panel inside, but near the battery (12-volt deep cycle, rented from the Sustainable Living Committee). The battery needs to be kept outside in a large Rubbermaid container to allow safe venting of sulfuric acid fumes. It should be protected from the elements with the container lid but there should be a small opening (where the wires enter the battery box) for venting. I put a rock on the lid to ensure it doesn't blow off in the wind.

John Bafaro hauled eight heavy sandbags to secure the solar panel on the roof.

Amazing!

Taking on a project like this it's good to have friends who bring an abundance of excitement, encouragement, knowledge and practical help. David Rooney, my friend and editor (of the Revelstoke Current) went to Kelowna with me to pick up the solar panel and equipment. Sonny Pedersen and John Bafaro installed the panel up on my room. John zipped up and down the steep ladder carrying eight heavy sandbags to stabilize the panel.

Engineer Dave Aubrey dropped by to help with the wiring and test the 15-watt

system that will provide light to the kitchen.

My friends Dave Aubrey and Cornelius Suchy, and my tenant Marc Paradis, helped me with the wiring while instructing me on simple wiring techniques. Dave and Cornelius are both engineers who have a strong interest in sustainable energy.

Today, the day before my off-the-grid summer starts, I have a light and a radio (Sonny's old car radio and speaker) wired into my bedroom and a 12-volt fridge in my office. Before the day's end I will wire another light in the office. All direct-current positive wires are equipped with a fuse for safety.

Even a small electrical system like this needs a fuse for safety. 

Photo: David Rooney

My energy budget - setting limits

The idea of an energy budget was introduced to me by Hermann Bruns, co-owner of Wild Flight Farm in Mara, BC. Hermann has a popular organic fruit and vegetable stand at the Revelstoke farmer's market.

One day, as we were discussing climate change, Hermann said, "Wouldn't it be great if everyone were assigned an energy budget? We could figure out the level of emissions that we could put into the atmosphere without causing climate change and divide that by the number of citizens on the planet. We could issue each citizen an equal amount of carbon that you're allowed to emit. That would give us a target," he said, "because you never know how much you can responsibly use."

"We could have carbon emission cards and every time you make a purchase the carbon emission impact is deducted from your total." If you wanted to use it all on one plane ride, he said, you could do that but then you'd be more limited in what you could do later on. Hermann even envisioned that people who lived lightly on the land, as people often do in developing countries, could sell their excess carbon credits and make a profit.

I like the idea of an energy budget so I used it in designing my off-the-grid summer.

*  *  *

Every challenge like this needs parameters - what can I do, when, where, and what is off limits?

When? 

My off-the-grid summer will take place from July 1 to August 31.

Where? 

In 2011 I built a house in downtown Revelstoke with an apartment upstairs. I will turn off the hydro power (by switching off the main panel) in my apartment only. The upstairs apartment and common areas - entrance areas, stairs, laundry room and storage rooms - will not be affected, though I can't use the power in the common areas. For example, I can't use the washing machine (I have no drier) or turn on lights.

I have a workshop in my basement and have become fond of my power tools. Those are off-limits this summer unless I can charge them with my solar panel. I have been told that it doesn't take a lot of power to charge a cordless drill which pleases me greatly.

The only exceptions to the hydro-power black-out in my apartment are the fire alarm and my modem. Normally I would include the modem in my experiment but I share the wireless with my tenants who need 24/7 access. I haven't figured that one out yet.

Electricity: 

By limiting my access to electricity, I am giving myself a budget. I can only use one 250-watt solar panel and one 12-volt, deep-cycle battery in the back of my house and one 15-watt solar panel with a regular car battery in the front.

The panel that services the back will be enough to charge a small 12-volt fridge in my office, my office appliances - laptop, printer, ipad and phone - and a light and radio in my bedroom.

I can try to charge other things with this system but I have to have enough power left in the battery to keep my fridge running, charge my laptop and phone and have extra left over for a rainy day.

The small panel in the front will charge a light for my kitchen.

If I manage to generate extra off-the-grid electricity in some other, simple way then that's just fine. This is a summer for experimentation.

Cooking and hot water:

The most challenging and interesting part of this summer project will be cooking. I made a solar cooker and bought a second, more portable one and I expect to do most of my cooking with those. I'm also going to explore raw food and infusions of coffee, tea and herbs. 

I bought some lovely gadgets - a manual food processor and a manual coffee grinder - and my sister, Krista, and cousin, Heather have bought me a handy gadget called a spiralizer which will be great for raw and cooked meals. If the sun is behind the clouds and if I haven't found another passive way of heating food then I'll enjoy raw food.

Hot water for showers and washing dishes and clothes will be generated using three black solar shower bags.

Eating out:

I don't eat out much but I do meet friends or have work-related meetings at some of our great local cafes. In this project I can still have work meetings but social meetings in a cafe or restaurant are limited to one a week and cannot involve cooked food - coffee or tea only.

My friends and I often enjoy eating together at each other's homes and that's an important part of my life. I can't live off other people's cooked food but I can do pot lucks where I bring a solar-cooked or raw dish. 

Fire: 

I cannot use candles for light or fire for cooking. That would be too much like camping. Back when I lived in my mud hut in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana I used candles for light for a whole year. I mastered that technology and need to move on.

I can, however, join friends at a bonfire if I don't cook food on it. With this record-breaking, hot summer, however, campfires may be banned for the whole season.

Batteries: 

I can use batteries if they are rechargeable and if I recharge them myself.

Fossil fuels: 

This is where my carbon budget comes in. For the most part I'll get around with my bike and my legs. This is a small town and everything is accessible. However, I am allowed two car rides (return) a month. The summer is a great time to go camping or hiking with friends and I also have some work-related opportunities coming up. I can do these things as long as they fit into my budget.

The only exception is if I need to drive for my job, which sometimes requires transporting people.

These are the limits I set for myself as I prepare to begin my project three days from now. Wish me luck.

Where it all started

Me on the doorstep of my hut, 1992.

One of my favorite pictures of myself is of me, barefoot and playing the harmonica, sitting on the doorstep of my mud hut in Kang, Botswana around 1992. I was a volunteer teacher with the World University Service of Canada and for the second year of my two-year contract I moved off the school compound and into the village, into a life off the grid.

Like almost all of the villagers I had no electricity and no running water - that had to be carried, bucket by bucket, on my head from the nearest standpipe. My stove ran with propane and I was not even technical enough to operate a kerosene lantern - I used candles for light for an entire year! I loved it.

My mud and dung hut in Kang, Botswana.

The kitchen corner in my hut with propane stove. Lit by candles.

Twenty-three years later I am beginning a new, and quite different off-the-grid experiment, this time in my beautiful mountain home in downtown Revelstoke, BC, Canada. Frustrated by the slow response to climate change in my own country, tired of seeing fossil fuels being used as if they had no environmental impact, and wanting to examine my own habits and relationship to energy, I decided to spend the summer - from July 1 to August 31 - living off the grid and almost fossil fuel free.

I had other reasons to pause and refocus. Having lost both my parents this year, I needed to heal and reflect on my own physical energy and lifestyle. I have been so busy over these past few years, juggling multiple projects and caring for my parents, that I often hop in my car instead of riding my bike or walking to my destinations. In my small town of around 8,000 people, little time is saved by driving, yet my car has become a habit and one that I'm eager to shake. Walking and biking are better for the mind, body and soul and that's what I need right now.

Finally, I wanted to do this to build some practical skills. I'm not very technical but I've had an interest in solar energy and appropriate technology since 1985-86 when I lived in Nairobi, Kenya. Whenever I traveled - in India, Nepal, Bolivia, Mexico, and several African countries - I would take an active interest in appropriate technologies.

Grandmothers from eight countries learn how to repair and test circuit boards

for solar appliances at the Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan. The Barefoot 

College prefers to train grandmothers because they stay in their villages

Some very interesting projects, such as the Barefoot College in Rajasthan, India, taught technical skills to often-illiterate people with little background in this work. The Barefoot College teaches often-illiterate grandmothers from many developing countries how to install simple solar systems and repair them. Seeing grandmothers from eight countries sitting around a table at the college testing and repairing circuit boards gave me the courage to try to set up and work with my own simple solar system. I hope that some of these skills will be useful in the future.

Woman from Madagascar repairing circuit board. 

As much as I often feel discouraged about people wasting energy, there are many people in my life who inspire me and encourage me to think differently about the way I use resources. Throughout this blog I will introduce them.

I hope you will join me on this journey and I welcome reading your insights throughout the summer.