[workinman]

Great news everyone, my wife and i are moving to a new home finally!

the best thing is that i will be working to make the home nearly off the gird! the main way i will be acheiving this is using the decent sized stream that is flowing throught the front yard.
i will be installing a 'micro hydro turbine' system that produces a nice amount of constant electricity. it is vastly superior to solar and wind power as it is CONSTANTLY producing as long as the stream is flowing! the kit and intertie system is a few thousand dollars so i will possibly be installing it next spring!
i am currently building a garage (well, starting in two weeks) that will have a green roof! i'm going to use the roof as a garden! i have desiqned it to carry the extra weight of the soil. it took awhile to convince myself to spend the extra money but i want to do this right from the start!
i also have access to some woods to cut fire wood for the wood burner. i plan to replace each tree with a new seedling each spring. i read that this will form a natural balance as the new tree cleans the air over its lifetime that the dead tree created by being burned...
i will have pics posted of everything i do.

[tater03]

Congratulations on your new home. That is so nice that you can start from the ground up and get off of the grid. This would be a dream of mine to build a new home and have it all green.

[Green-Moo]

Fabulous news. I hope you'll keep us up to date with your progress. I'm particularly interested in your water turbine. My new place will be solar, as the water might not be constant in the height of summer.

[horselover]

That's awesome news.

The stream wont freeze over in the winter though?

[Green-Moo]

Originally Posted by horselover

The stream wont freeze over in the winter though?

I'd be more concerned about lack of water in the summer. That's what happens with ours, it's just not oging to be consistant enough in the summer months, particularly with these more drought like conditions we're having.

[RFL1986]

Good luck with everything and kudos on taking the initiative to get something like that off the ground. It's a great display for other people to see how possible it is to make big changes let alone the minor ones that we can all do.

[workinman]

Originally Posted by Green-Moo

I'd be more concerned about lack of water in the summer. That's what happens with ours, it's just not oging to be consistant enough in the summer months, particularly with these more drought like conditions we're having.

the stream slows in the summer but not to much. and it does not freeze in the winter. it has a lot of flow and a decent amount of fall along the property which is key for micro hydro electrical production,

the green roof on the garage is the first main project and i will be starting it in 2 weeks so pics will be coming!

[tiberiustibz]

Hell, so what if it ain't perfect. Great job.

[stav]

workingman, it sounds like an amazing project. You must keep us up to date with each stage. Will be looking out for all the details

[Green-Moo]

We're intending on putting one on our chicken shed, to disguise it and also to help with insulation from the sun. A little project to start off with, and we'll see how it works. I'll be watching for your photos with interest!