Site Selection | sustainableliving

Site Selection for an Energy Efficient Off-Grid Home

Ideally, it will be a place that enables the best use of the available renewable energy — sun, wind or micro-hydro. It will be a south-facing slope with a small- to medium-sized lake at the foot of the slope. Alake or well will be deep enough to supply domestic water. Down one side of the slope, a stream will flow all year into the lake. The slope will be mostly devoid of trees except for a few deciduous trees in an area from the southeast to the southwest. The rest of the area will be covered with a mixed coniferous forest, except for the top of the hill, which will be bare of trees. The surrounding mountains will be close enough to provide beautiful vistas but distant enough that they won’t block the sun on the shortest days of the year. As an added bonus, the winds at the top of the hill will average six to seven metres per second. The components of a site like this are commonly referred to as aspect, slope, ground cover, exposure and view. While these rarely combine to form the perfect spot, careful analysis of your location should provide the optimal site and layout for your off-grid home.

If you look at slopes you will notice that the vegetation on south-facing slopes tends to be composed of species more adapted for drier, warmer conditions. You will also notice that the snow disappears earlier in the spring. This is because of warmer southern winds and the amount of sun a south-facing slope gets compared to a north-facing slope. Obviously, if you want to use the sun to warm your home and to produce electricity, building it on the south side of a hill is best. Aspect is not as important a consideration for maximizing your wind resource because a wind turbine can rotate to face any direction.

Slope

A sloped site may make construction of a house more difficult, however, you can dig the house into the hillside and benefit from the insulating properties of the ground. Placing it there may also provide some protection from cold north winds and reduce heat loss from the house. The slope may provide a route for water tumbling to a micro-hydro turbine. The top of that slope could be a good site for a wind turbine.

Ground cover

Coniferous trees on the north side of your house provide some protection from cold north winds in the winter.

Deciduous trees on the south and west sides provide shade in the summer but, when they lose their leaves in the

fall, allow the sun to shine into your house.

Exposure

Clear, unobstructed access to whatever energy source you are using is ideal but rarely achieved. Topography (hills, mountains, valley orientation) and ground cover (large trees) often get in the way. A small hill or ridge may be tall enough to block the low winter sun if it is close enough to your photovoltaic

panels, while a higher mountain may not be an obstruction. The key is the distance between the obstacle and your photovoltaic modules. Under certain circumstances a lake can be an obstacle. When the weather is cold and still, mist can form and, if the lake is sufficiently large, rise off the water high enough to block the sun. In order for a wind turbine to work as efficiently as possible it needs a laminar, or smooth flow of air through the blades. Hills, ridges and trees cause the wind to become turbulent. A turbine needs to be raised nine meters above any obstacles within 90 meters of the tower.

View

The view from your windows may not affect how well you harvest energy for

your home but it will affect the pleasure you get from your surroundings. You

will get more solar energy for electrical generation and passive heating from

the south but, if you have a beautiful view to the north, by all means, put in a

window that will allow you to enjoy that view. It would make sense, of course,

to make that window as energy efficient as possible. Don’t be afraid to put

windows on the north side of your house to enjoy the view. An open area in

front of a house is good for solar exposure and better wind flow

(“www.livingoffgrid.com / ", nod., Para 1-5).

Figure 1: (Right) An open area in front of the house is good for solar exposure and better wind flow. http://www.livingoffgrid.com/

Unfortunately, the dream of an off grid Eco-Home can be challenging due to zoning restrictions and finding inexpensive land. Finding a cheap plot of land without overbearing zoning restrictions isn’t always easy. There are some places around the country where you can get land for free, or almost next to nothing. Of course, you probably won’t get a large amount of land as you would during the 1862 Homestead Act but most of these places the trade off might be worth it.

In Marne, Iowa for example has several lots available for free for a traditional or modular home and it needs to be at least 1200 square feet and be approved by the Housing and Development website of this city. There are a few small towns in Kansas provide free lots to build on. They include Atwood, Marquette, and Lincoln. Requirements vary from town to town, but these places are looking for new residents to firm up their small communities. The small town of Claremont, Minnesota has been trying to give away free lots for several years and simply wants to build a base of taxpayers and increase business in the community. New Richland is another small town of just 1200, also offering free plots to build on. The catch here is they want your help paying for the development of streets, sidewalks, and water/sewer infrastructure. They estimate the cost at $14,000 per household after tax deductions. Alaska with its huge amount of land, Alaska has plenty of acres to spare and it has been a popular choice for settlers ever since the original Homestead Act. Check out the Alaska state land offerings where they provide cheap auctions for land and remote cabin site staking and purchase at market value. In rural locations from North Dakota to Alaska you can find land for as cheap as $1000/acre or less. Of course if you want a place with fertile land and a warm growing season check out the Ozarks in Missouri, certain areas of Vermont, and Texas. (“http://tinyhousefor.us/news/5-places-free-land/"

nod., Para 1-5).

http://tinyhousefor.us/news/5-places-free-land/