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Sunday 28 June 2015

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.

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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.





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