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A beautiful little building, inspired by the Earthships of Phoenix, a concept by the architect Mike Reynolds... I heard him speak at the University of Stirling, and subsequently at a Scottish Parliament committee... From those early meetings, this little baby Earthship was born - a demonstration model, shall we say, and one that I'd been meaning to visit for years!
The idea is that the building is completely off-grid, and self-sustaining. The roof catches water which is filtered for drinking. Waste from showers and taps is then used for toilets, and this waste is subsequently used to grow plants... The building is built into a south-ish-facing slope, with walls made of rammed-earth tires which act as an effective heat-sink. As an antithesis to high-insulation buildings with a high embodied-energy and thus carbon footprint, the Earthship minimises the footprint even further - the glazing is virtually the only material that need come in from off-site. The result is actually rather beautiful.
Find out more about Earthships at www.earthship.net/ and about this one in particular at www.sci-scotland.org.uk/index.shtml - I'd recommend visiting!
We went once more "Up the Pyrenees mountains and down again" in 3 dauntless Land Rovers..
A video from last year's relaxed Land Rover drive through the Pyrenees: www.youtu.be/ja9FGhrygv0
Here's the 1,000 gallon water tank I bought from Paris Farmers Union in front of the two tipis and the 4 wheeler.
Children in one of the Sabah schools using computer systems online with the use of solar photovoltaic renewable energy generation depicted in the other photographs tagged with Sabah.
Glen Kinney sands a doorframe in the Kinney Earthship. Many of the doors are custom made right on site. Photo Duncan Kinney, Green Energy Futures
Available in 2015! Click HERE for more info about the book!
The Renewable Energy Home Handbook is biased towards the practical, and covers the installation of all leading types of alternative domestic energy sources – from ground- and air-source heat pumps, PV solar electricity generation and solar water heating, to bio-mass domestic heating systems and wind turbines. Discussing the pros and cons of each technology, it also provides you with a clear overview of what’s genuinely required and the benefits to be gained from each system.
The author, Lindsay Porter, is best known for his books on motor vehicle technology, making car mechanics and body repairs easy to understand and carry out. But alternative energy and conservation have long been a passion for him and his wife, Shan, so this manual is very much a labour of love. Here, Lindsay applies his commitment to making difficult subjects easy for everyone to understand to the money-saving – planet-saving – systems we can apply to our homes.
Glen and Duncan Kinney on some of the leftover tires from the Kinney Earthship build. Over 800 tires were used to build the Kinney Earthship. Photo David Dodge, Green Energy Futures Video story on the making of an Earthship on the prairies in Canada. www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/earthship-revisited
We're off grid and I remember fitting our lights into the house and feeling so excited. Over the years we've increased our solar panel array and we've two computers !
Whoever thought it would come to this ?
The second day of work, the tire wall is rising and the footing is starting to be laid out with the blue Styrofoam insulation. Photo Duncan Kinney, Green Energy Futures
An Earthship Biotecture worker checks the batteries in the Kinney Earthship in southern, Alberta. Modest battery systems easily allow super energy efficient homes such as Earthships to cost effectively go off grid. Photo David Dodge, Green Energy Futures See video and story: www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/82-how-we-built-our-own...
oil lamp or even a pillar candle (in a glass lantern box) by the door/entrance or entrance gate/fence instead of electricity
Typical aspects of conventional "organic" agriculture practice. These cannot be sustained in a non-energy-extraction future.
The 9 metre mast will sit on this base.
We'll dig four other bases for the 8 metal guy ropes used to keep the mast absolutely straight.
The bolt goes through the bottom of the mast which will be pulled upright gently by our tractor and secured in place.
We still have a lot of building work to do before we put the generator up but the cement bases should be dry and completely solid by then.
These two 12v batteries are wired in series then in parallel to stock electricity from our 24v solar panels.
An Earthship Biotecture worker fills up the solar batteries with distilled water. The water level in the batteries should be checked once a month. Photo David Dodge, Green Energy Futures www.greenenergyfutures.ca
Members of the Soil Food Web are shown and their contributions to soil health discussed, highlighting the importance of never tilling.
Anna Davidson, Dawn Kinney, Glen Kinney and Duncan Kinney on the roof the Kinney Earthship – 2,700 sq. feet of roof will collect 1,620 gallons of water from one inch of rain that is stored in four 1,700 gallon cisterns.Photo David Dodge, Green Energy Futures www.greenenergyfutures.ca