How did Neil and Ona manage to be the “Biggest”, “Smallest” and “Best” all at once?
Firstly, they were not big energy users to start with. The month before the challenge, they used only 298 kilowatt-hours (kWh), compared to the average 1,000 kWh/month for San Juan County residents.
Then, their “experimentation” with low energy living resulted in a drastic 99.7% reduction in power usage! Their OPALCO meter reading barely changed (showing usage of only 1 kWh) during the entire month of the contest (October – November). That's less than eight cents worth of electricity at current rates.
Neil and Ona accomplished this jaw-dropping feat, not by taking a holiday elsewhere, not by any sort of technological trickery. Rather, they took on the Energy Challenge as “the perfect opportunity for a practical experiment that would spare [them] from another frantic reaction to a no-electricity event”.
The single kWh of electricity consumed came from the pilot light of their propane oven used only during bread baking sessions weekly. But other than that, they did not use electricity or propane. They essentially turned off the mains breaker!
To meet energy needs for cooking, heating, cooling and lighting, they relied instead on “really low-tech existing and readily available tools”.
They cooked on a wood stove, a biomass cook stove (using scrap wood scavenged from a disposal burn pile and hauled by bicycle) or a blanket box (to finish off cooking). They also used techniques such as grain soaking to minimize cooking time.
For refrigeration, they tried many techniques (including using rocks left outside at night!) but what “really worked” and was “fun” to make and use was a Nigerian “Zeer pot” (two nested earthen pots with moist sand between them that provides an evaporative cooling effect). Lighting was challenging but they managed with the help of solar lights and kerosene lanterns.
There were of course some mishaps, like Neil “pouring a jar of Ona's salad dressing into the nutritional yeast jar (ruining both) in a very low-light situation” or scalding himself twice when he washed himself and misjudged the temperature of the hot water heated by their woodstove.
Non-electric living also brought wonderful surprises to Neil and Ona's lives. They enjoyed the absence of background droning sound of electrical appliances and having more time to read and learn to play the clarinet and accordion.
In fact, they found the experience to be “very positive” and their lives improved in most regards that they saw “no reason to suspend the experiment” after the challenge ended and decided to completely disconnect their OPALCO service!
To me, Neil and Ona's “experimentation” was nothing short of a courageous experiment in truth. And truth it did reveal. That we do not need to wait for a technological breakthrough to lead a gentle, low-carbon life. That solutions are already here. That it can be done and with such joy. I am very grateful for Neil and Ona for alighting hope and inspiration for us.
You can read Neil and Ona's full story below, for inspiration or useful technical details.
(Written by Chom Greacen, this article first appeared in the Islands Weekly in March.)
Now we need to help them find an old gas stove that doesn't use a glowbar to light the pilot light.
ReplyDeleteSee also this article from the Sacramento Bee:
No power, no sweat -- but no rebate
By Carrie Peyton
Bee Staff Writer
(Published Aug. 25, 2001)
Sometimes, when Margia Jacobs walks into her bedroom, she still flicks the light switch.
Then she remembers, and smiles at old habits. There has been no electricity and no gas in her West Sacramento home since February.
Jacobs likes it that way.
What began as an experiment after an alarmingly high power bill has become a lifestyle.
"I'm doing fine," she said of her decision to end gas and electric service. "I have the solar cooker. I have plenty of hot water. ...There's nothing good on TV anyway. ... What else do I need?"
(I'll send you the whole article, Chom, since this blog doesn't allow me to post that much.
Reuben Deumling