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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Friday, February 02, 2007 Practicing what I preach About a year and a half ago, I began to rid my household of things that required electricity. I belong to several alternative energy mailing lists, and one thing that occurs regularly on them is a post similar to the following:I have a four bedroom house with central air and a heat pump, electric stove, refrigerator, freezer, dishwasher, washing machine and dryer, three computers and two tv sets. How much solar would I have to install to power all of those? Would it be very expensive?These new members often disappear from the list after being told that it just isn't possible for the average homeowner to power that kind of energy demand with solar. Cut down on your energy usage first, they are told, and most people don't want to do that. Or they blame the spouse and the kids: I'd be happy to use less electricity, but my wife/husband/kids won't turn the lights off, or won't turn the a/c up, or "we can't get the kids to help with the dishes unless they use the dishwasher."It became obvious to me that the problem was not just too much energy usage, but too much emotional dependence on electricity. The problem, in my opinion, is not how to power the American lifestyle with alternative sources of electricity, but how to get along just fine without needing the electricity at all. [UPDATE--I decided I'd better edit this, because I don't want to give the impression that I think electricity is somehow "bad." Not at all. It's the dependence on electrical gadgets and appliances that is the problem. I use electric appliances and electric lights. But I've learned how to get along without being completely dependent on them.]The clothes dryer was the first to go, easy to give up because I didn't grow up with automatic laundry appliances. By the time I was a teen, we had a Maytag wringer washer and two galvanized tubs that sat in the carport on laundry day, and the standard set of laundry lines behind the house. Before that, we used the laundromat in whatever trailer park we happened to be living in, but we always hung the laundry to dry. So I already preferred hanging my laundry outside.Miscellaneous other small appliances went next--the electric coffeepot, the microwave that I wasn't using anyway, a toaster oven. I replaced the coffeepot with a stainless steel French press pot that does require me to heat water on the electric stove. But I could heat water in several other ways if I needed to, so I'm not tied to electricity to make coffee. There is a dishwasher here but it hasn't been used in years, and will go to the dump when I finally manage to do the kitchen renovation. I make our breakfast cereal by pouring oatmeal or cracked wheat into a thermos the night before, and filling it up with boiling water. These are all little things, but they save money in the aggregate, and more importantly, if the power did go off for an extended period, life could go on more or less as usual.There are only two areas I hadn't yet addressed, and I've just taken care of one of those. Two weekends ago, my helpers and I tore out the vanity in one bathroom and installed a double laundry sink instead. I had already bought a little non-electric washer and a manual wringer from Lehmans. But I wasn't using them all the time. It was just too easy to throw a load into the automatic washer. So today I unplugged it, and offered it on our local freecycle list. I'll use the space for more pantry shelving.I can't get our electrical usage down to zero without major expenditures and renovations, but I am removing the dependence on electricity as fast as I can. posted by Liz @ 6:06 PM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
About a year and a half ago, I began to rid my household of things that required electricity. I belong to several alternative energy mailing lists, and one thing that occurs regularly on them is a post similar to the following:I have a four bedroom house with central air and a heat pump, electric stove, refrigerator, freezer, dishwasher, washing machine and dryer, three computers and two tv sets. How much solar would I have to install to power all of those? Would it be very expensive?These new members often disappear from the list after being told that it just isn't possible for the average homeowner to power that kind of energy demand with solar. Cut down on your energy usage first, they are told, and most people don't want to do that. Or they blame the spouse and the kids: I'd be happy to use less electricity, but my wife/husband/kids won't turn the lights off, or won't turn the a/c up, or "we can't get the kids to help with the dishes unless they use the dishwasher."It became obvious to me that the problem was not just too much energy usage, but too much emotional dependence on electricity. The problem, in my opinion, is not how to power the American lifestyle with alternative sources of electricity, but how to get along just fine without needing the electricity at all. [UPDATE--I decided I'd better edit this, because I don't want to give the impression that I think electricity is somehow "bad." Not at all. It's the dependence on electrical gadgets and appliances that is the problem. I use electric appliances and electric lights. But I've learned how to get along without being completely dependent on them.]The clothes dryer was the first to go, easy to give up because I didn't grow up with automatic laundry appliances. By the time I was a teen, we had a Maytag wringer washer and two galvanized tubs that sat in the carport on laundry day, and the standard set of laundry lines behind the house. Before that, we used the laundromat in whatever trailer park we happened to be living in, but we always hung the laundry to dry. So I already preferred hanging my laundry outside.Miscellaneous other small appliances went next--the electric coffeepot, the microwave that I wasn't using anyway, a toaster oven. I replaced the coffeepot with a stainless steel French press pot that does require me to heat water on the electric stove. But I could heat water in several other ways if I needed to, so I'm not tied to electricity to make coffee. There is a dishwasher here but it hasn't been used in years, and will go to the dump when I finally manage to do the kitchen renovation. I make our breakfast cereal by pouring oatmeal or cracked wheat into a thermos the night before, and filling it up with boiling water. These are all little things, but they save money in the aggregate, and more importantly, if the power did go off for an extended period, life could go on more or less as usual.There are only two areas I hadn't yet addressed, and I've just taken care of one of those. Two weekends ago, my helpers and I tore out the vanity in one bathroom and installed a double laundry sink instead. I had already bought a little non-electric washer and a manual wringer from Lehmans. But I wasn't using them all the time. It was just too easy to throw a load into the automatic washer. So today I unplugged it, and offered it on our local freecycle list. I'll use the space for more pantry shelving.I can't get our electrical usage down to zero without major expenditures and renovations, but I am removing the dependence on electricity as fast as I can.
I have a four bedroom house with central air and a heat pump, electric stove, refrigerator, freezer, dishwasher, washing machine and dryer, three computers and two tv sets. How much solar would I have to install to power all of those? Would it be very expensive?
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
RSS Feed
PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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