Notes on off-grid living on the cheap

Over the past more than 20 years we have slowly built a solar system for our home. We started with about 1 thousand watts of panels when the average cost per watt was $6. Now the cost has fallen to around $1.20. We have increased our panels to around 1400 watts and installed a 3kw sine wave inverter. Throughout our past we have maintained a monitor of our power use and reduced our consumption to around 3 killowatt hours per day from 13 before we started paying attention. There are two of us (adults) living in the house and we have undertaken a number of initiatives to achieve our present modest consumption.

Our storage:

We have 6 of 200amp hour 12volt batteries and 80 of 7amp hour 12volt batteries making for a total storage of( (80 x 7) =560 )+ ((6 x 200) = 1200) = 1760 amp hours of storage at 12 volts which calculates to a nominal 21.12 thousand watt hours . All batteries are sealed lead acid. Because our system runs at 24 volts and batteries are wired in series we have (half of 1760) 880 amp hours at 24volts. Notice that both 12volt and 24volt calculate to the same number of watt hours storage which makes watt hours (whr or kwhr) the most useful method of comparing storage.

Theoretically this means we can use 21 kwhr of energy without charging but this is not the reality and its more likely that we can use around 10kwhr before needing to recharge the batteries. Because we use around 3kwhrs of energy each day we can stand around three days without charge. This length of time is slightly extended by dark days giving some charge from light without sun.

Our load:

Energy use is best considered in two ways. Firstly as a peak then as an amount per day or week.

Peak appliances are oven at 1.8kw, vaccuum cleaner at 1.8kw, lawn mower at 1.5kw, coffee machine at 1.5kw, induction cooker at 1.5 kw per ring, hair dryer at 1.4 kw, microwave at 1.4kw, small convection oven at 0.8kw and toaster at 0.7kw. Lesser loads are typically; fridge 0.170kw, 48” led television 0.04kw (run in energy saving mode), micro computers 0.05kw. Various other bits and pieces along with led lighting add up so in our situation we use between 200 and 300 watts when awake and around 50 watts when asleep. With a 3kw inverter limiting our peak load we have learnt to only use one appliance at a time. In practice this means judiciously shuffling the use of appliances when cooking. Breakfast and dinner are the times of heaviest use and only in mid summer is storage helped by the sun at breakfast and dinner times. It is practical to use two appliances together if they are both limited in their energy use. So two induction rings may be run together if one or both are set to simmer. Usually though its one appliance coupled with the background use. Our fridge is very efficient and converted to use an electronic thermostat using around 700whrs per day leaving 2.3kwhrs to complete our daily use.

Making breakfast involves first placing a porridge pot on to boil and later turning on the coffee machine while the porridge is simmering. You can usually hear when an appliance is struggling.

Our inverter:

We have a 24volt 3kw pure sine wave chineese inverter purchased second hand for around NZ$400. The most recent inverters are generally much better than those of a few years back that often broke down. We keep a 1.5kw inverter as a backup.

Our solar chargers:

We use two in parallel because we purchased one before the other but both are the same model. They are Tracer MPPT (maximum peak power tracking) both 40 amp giving us the potential to feed 80amps total to the batteries at 24 volts. This allows us up to about 2kw of solar so we can add more another 500watts or so if we feel the need and have the money along with roof space. Note that the batteries when charging at their maximum can be around 29 volts so the 80 amps limit allows 2.3 kw of charging.

Some of the things we have done:

• We moved from a normal electic range to a modern electic oven using around 1.8kw when the thermostat is active. This results in a real use averaging around 1kw per hour and on sunny days we can usually afford 2 hours of use.
• We use a small convection oven using 800 watts as our most common cooker.
• We moved from a radiant hob to a induction hob and most recently to a mixed gas and induction hob with two induction and two lpg gas. This greatly increases our options as our batteries drain and makes survival off grid likely during the worst of winter so long as we apply strict limits to our load as dark days accumulate.
• We sold our previous LED television (using around 250 watts) as the new ones have become much more energy efficient. We used a portable watt meter to measure the power use before we made our purchase. We usually run the display for a maximum of 3 hour per day.
• When buying appliances it is best to measure their power before purchase. We did have a full induction hob but found it was using nearly 500 watts even when off so have made the change to another brand which uses almost no energy when off.
• We both have computers but use a touch pad as often as possible in prefence. The touch pad can run an efficient HDMI LED display and use an external keyboard and mouse(bluetooth).
• We use an android TV stick to play movies or recorded TV shows on our LED television. Also use the stick for playing music. We have a full digital 5.1 amplifier that is very energy efficient.
• All lighting is LED. We started out using three 150watt light bulbs in our living area more than 20 years ago then moved to compact flourescents and lately to LED. Our energy use for the same area is now about 38 watts. We are inclinded to use a number of smaller lights in place of one big one in our kitchen, bedroom and living areas where feasible.
• Careful power monitoring has become a feature of our living but is no real hassle as the rewards are so great.
• We have been off grid for more than 3 months now but retain the mains power as a backup. Our power bills are around NZ$15 per month for the supply charges. With the addition of the LPG gas rings we should be able to terminate the mains supply completely and are considering this at present.

Why:

Firstly to reduce our energy foot print. Secondly to be self sufficient. We use wood for our heating and this also supplies our hot water through a wet back. We have fires around 8 months a year and are able to run the hot water heater from solar on sunny days for an hour or so. This is enough for our showers and washing.   

Quality of life for people with brain injuries - fire culture

Where a person experiences brain injury after maturity they have often formed some expectations of life and its quality. A key component of this is their social or peer group - people with whom they associate by mutual choice. After a brain injury there often is a radical reduction in quality of life of which a principal feature is the loss of their social group for a variety of reasons; sometimes they have suffered another injury as well which places limitations on their activities or they find that they just no longer fit with the group that they did prior to brain injury. Frequently the only people involved in their lives are family or paid professionals; those on whom a real or perceived obligation is recognised. These associations are not a substitute for the fee associations of their pre-injury life nor are they intended to be.

So the question arises as to what may contribute most to quality of life, what can replace previous free associations? Others who share the experience of brain injury offer the potential for free associations that can have a marked impact on quality of life but they are subject to a number of limitations. People participating in a brain injury group are extremely disparate in many respects; the extent and nature of injury, their prior life experiences and choices among many other factors. If the group is sufficiently diverse then the possibility of encountering a kindred spirit is raised but other factors can mitigate against the success of these encounters in making a positive contribution to quality of life.

One such factor is time; Many people are gathered for only an hour or two at a time. For some this time even if unstructured is the cause of flooding. In groups a longer period of unstructured association is necessary to explore the opportunities for friendship that other members of the group may afford. This is why it is extremely important for those facilitating a group to plan activities of longer duration so that friendships can germinate. Once these friendships become established the need of longer periods together is not so paramount but remains an integral part of the delicate process by which brain injured people can experience greater quality of life.

I have been privileged to be among many gatherings of people around an outdoor fire. Usually in the evening but also in the day. The fire usually begins as a larger blaze forcing people (usually around 30) away for the fire into a large spread of people on the rim of a circle. During this stage of the fire conversions and interactions are mainly between adjacent people in the circle and there is no one group conversation although they can briefly arise.

While this time in the culture is of great worth in generating or reinforcing acquaintances and friendships, the greatest quality for me is achieved as time continues and the fire burns down to mostly red coals. Then the group comes closer to the fire and gradually reduces to a single, sporadic or even no conversation. Onlookers might view this as boring but it can be a time of great peace and communion for the people who have remained (usually 10 or so).

I have also found this fire culture in other groups of people in circumstances not involving fires. It has a recharging effect not able to be adequately described by me but of tremendous power. My hope that this time of calm peace can be available to those whose lives have been impacted by brain injury. It is not always be achieved nor is it something that can be artificially generated. Un-pressured time is the primary ingredient.

BIA: Sacked the victim - kept the bully

I regret that the letter below given to Fiona did nothing to improve things within the BIA Nelson culture.

Once Mena had left the BIA another staff member was sought and Russ Aiton employed without consultation with group members. At first he worked with our Tuesday groups and went also to the group in Blenhiem as facilitator there. After a time it became obvious that this was not a vocation of benefit to all. A new position was created for Russ that including finances and funding, a position never advertised. Previously these activities had been undertaken by Fiona and Mena who were the only two staff. Mena was facilitator for our Tuesday group.

When it was announced that yet another staff member would be employed to work with our group, members asked to have some involvement in the selection process. Three candidates met with members of our Tuesday Nelson group and we all agreed that one of these was the person we most wanted to be our facilitator. This was the first time to my knowledge that the group had any influence in the employment of staff.

Diann was then employed to take over the activities previously undertaken by Russ. Russ was apparently most unhappy at Diann's employment and embarked on a program of harassing and bullying her. The tension within the staff was very apparent to members. Messages given to either Russ or Diann and concerning both were not conveyed to the other. Apparently there was no communication between them. Despite letters to the committee from Diann describing her experience, no effective action was taken to remedy the situation until Diann was "made redundant" some two years after her initial employment. Diann was well liked by all almost all members of the BIA and was clearly a caring and genuine person in the mould of Mena who had previously given her all to the group.

After I had given the letter below to Fiona in March nearly two months followed with no reply and my concerns at the situation with governance issues escalated. I wrote numerous emails and Judith and I met with Fiona and Brett Wall who was then the chair of the BIA committee. Brett agreed to make financial records and funding agreements available to us but later reneged. At the meeting Fiona disclosed that no formal protocol for dealing with sexual harassment or abuse had been implemented.

Finally a reply was sent by Joy Aiton (vice chair and partner of Russ) on behalf of the Committee to me advising that they would not be addressing the concerns raised.

The only response by BIA to these concerns has been a series of formal surveys of the membership with some of these and other concerns obliquely addressed in the monthly newsletter and membership forms. All are very controlling in both their content and absences of serious issues addressed. Where previously matters had been discussed to some extent by the group and aided in the generation of a supportive culture no such activity has been subsequently encouraged.

Financial records of the association provided to meet the requirements of the Charities Act, disclosed for the financial year ending 31 March 2013 that a sum of $1666 was paid under the heading Massey Training Expences. Fiona Price is and was undertaking a degree course there. Attempts to gain details of these and travel expenses of $4742 for the same year have been to no avail. Total income was $87,987 for that period.

Whereas two staff were previously employed with one as facilitator for the weekly groups, two are still employed but neither identified as group facilitator and a call for volunteers has been made. Effectively the position of group facilitator was hijacked by Russ's continued employment in a new position and failure to replace Diann. A student volunteer has been taking group sessions during a 6 month placement. Again a group of vulnerable people have no influence over the people who work with them, are subjected to the instability of volunteers and of value only as a means to ensure the ongoing employment of staff for whom group members have the lowest of priorities.

These and many other serious issues remain. All derive from a lack of effective or strong governance making the organisation vulnerable to exploitation of which the ongoing employment of Russ is an example.

I believe that our group must be accountable to its membership and provide the 'vigilant nurture ' necessary for some of the most vulnerable people in society. The failures of this organisation are shameful and a blemish on Nelsons support community.