Economic Off grid ideas.

[unknownjulie]

OH, I am so glad to hear this! What neighborhood is your house located in? How did you get this to pass? With so much rain it seems like overkill in puna to use greywater, but I used to live in Albuquerque and it was commonly done there, with and without permits. Like, I daresay the majority of people were watering their yards with their shower water and washingmachine water.

[elhewman]

Thank you for the honest and prompt replies! My intuition is now to move over and check things out like suggested. The list of variables to consider is a little much to digest from a distance. It also looks like the dream of purchasing land with economic cabin/yurt is just going to be more expensive than thought (permitting process/infrastructure ) or otherwise illegal. NIce to Know another former SE AK resident is doing well.

Thanks again everyone!

[EightFingers]

I bet the first thing you're going to hear is "How much do you want to spend?"

[ericlp]

that always helps... how much do you want to spend and how many acres do you wanna buy. It's the best start.

[james weatherford]

quote:

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Originally posted by unknownjulie

OH, I am so glad to hear this! What neighborhood is your house located in? How did you get this to pass?

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Our house is in HPP.
We finally found an engineer who would cooperate and a plumber who likes to do innovative stuff.

[unknownjulie]

Was the engineering expensive? Did the total cost of your greywater system cost less than 2650 (cost I've been quoted for covered cesspool) plus permit (not sure but maybe 100)? Thanks for the info and for spreading the word. What kind of toilet do you use?

[james weatherford]

Has been more than 8 years, so do not recall exact numbers, but the cost of our compost toilet and greywater (engineering, plumbing, materials) were roughly equivalent to installing a septic tank.

[john the architect]

Jim, did you mean a cesspool in stead of "septic system"? (the acre lots in HPP can run with that if they are away from the ocean). One benefit of a composting toilet is that you have your compost to carry on agriculture (HPP is all zoned as "ag lots" after all). Kudos to you for getting it done outside the traditional box.

Now, back top the original post. Unless Mr. Weatherford or some other enlightened designer figured it out, anything existing for sale in HPP is substandard in terms of sustainability and overall long-term value. Do your own project from scratch and get something you can rely on. Solar anything should be designed-in and not "stuck on" to a compromised design. Solar PV has come way down in cost so you can go off grid if you are precise and careful. You can get solar hot water and more ( I did solar air heating for our clothes dryer) to further distance yourself from grid-tie. Reduce your overall size demands, go for quality and design it to allow expansion easily later on,

John Maloney
310.562.0362
johnmaloney3@me.com
Hawaii Architect AR8082
www.jmagreenbuilding.com