Education
Natural Home Building and Energy-Producing Homes
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Permaculture
The term permaculture comes from the terms “permanent agriculture” and “permanent culture”. It is a system of design for sustainable environments that function like natural systems, for growing food and human community. It is a way of integrating homes and landscapes in a more sustainable fashion. Especially of interest for our dry BC central interior climate, that means including rainwater collection, greywater collection and use, renewable and sustainable building techniques and planning that takes into account the local microclimate and geography when designing agricultural and home landscapes.
“Permaculture is a practical and scientific design system for the harmonious integration of landscape, ecology and human habitat.” …..
Workshops with Pacific Permaculture are in the planning stages. Please contact us for more information or check back – the website will be updated periodically. Click here to Contact Us
Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Conservation
Many electrical loads will draw power even when they are turned “off”. These “phantom” loads are never completely off and can add significantly to overall energy use due to the fact that they are always drawing some small amount of energy. Common examples are televisions, radios, microwave ovens, cell phone chargers, computers, modern appliances (ie ovens, dishwashers, washing machines) and wifi routers. Anything that has digital features built in or can be turned on with a remote control or uses a “wall wart” – the ubiquitous transformers that plug into an outlet and operate many electronic appliances – are phantom loads. You may think that these loads are so small that they don’t matter – but anyone who has lived off-grid will testify otherwise and if you do abit of math, you can see why. Say that your printer when not in use and shut ‘off’ only uses 1 watt. Only one watt, you say – but that is 1 watt times 60 minutes an hour, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week… you get the idea. And if you have several such devices throughout the home all constantly using power in this way, they can really add up – for the planet, your electrical bill, or, if you are off-grid, for the cost of your system. Why produce or use power that you don’t actually need?
The best solution to eliminating phantom loads is to put them on a outlet which is controlled by a wall switch, or on a power strip that can be switched off. They also can be unplugged when not in use.
Some loads, such as a light bulb, operate continuously when they are turned on; other loads automatically turn on and off – or cycle – when connected to power. Common examples of these loads are refrigerators, freezers, and water pumps. The amount of time these loads actually draw power, called the “duty cycle”, must be measured or estimated in order to accurately calculate energy consumption.
A plug in coffee maker is an example of a load with a duty cycle. The power consumption of a coffee maker may be 1,200 watts and it may be on in the morning for four hours. During those 4 hours, the heating element will turn on and off in order to keep the coffee warm. If the duty cycle is 50%, the calculated energy consumption of the coffee maker would be 2,400 watt-hours.
1,200 Watts x 4 Hours x 0.50 duty cycle = 2,400 Watt-hours