Power and Stone

A hallmark of true farmers everywhere is their self sufficient nature. Growing up on a small family farm, even in the late 1970's and early 1980's we were fairly self sufficient. I fondly remember several times during wintertime when we could not get out for groceries. It wasn't an issue.

The freezer was full of meat and frozen vegetables from the farm. The cellar was full of canned corn and beats. Bags of onions hung from the ceiling and potatoes filled the storage bin. Water came from our well. There was even an old handle water pump in case the power failed; and it did rather often.

For years, heat was generated by an old heater powered by oil. We graduated up to a wood burning stove in 1980. To survive we needed no electricity or petroleum. In the long term, additional inputs may have been necessary, but on the short term, we could survive quite handily.

Could the same be said of the typical urban dweller? Probably not.

When I do finally move to the country, I would like to be as self sufficient as possible. Several things are on my list. Some include a wood furnace; indoor vegetable growing area or greenhouse; storage cellar; and a wind power system.

Why wind power? Well, direct solar is currently too expensive, and wind power is fairly simple. The house and buildings will be wired for three voltages: conventional 110v AC; 12v DC; and 24v DC. Why? Well, most of the electrical items I use, operate on one of those three voltages.

And... I HATE those "wall warts;" those annoying little power supplies that plug into a wall outlet and convert the 110 AC to 12v or 24v DC. Last week I cleaned up my little storage shed and ended up with an entire box of these things!

So, I am going to start researching small scale wind power a bit more. One thing I haven't read much about is wiring a house for DC. Anyone have information on such a thing? Please leave a comment. More on this later.