What works and what doesn't in the hot, West Texas desert
Of all the tiny house videos, this one really stood out. John Wells moved out of a ridiculously expensive metropolis apartment to find a better life. He helps you appreciate the creature comforts of civilization and shows how much hard work it takes to create a home away from the insanity.
To get set up in the desert, you'll need some money and you'll need to spend it. And you need to be willing to build things yourself, because nobody's out there to do it for you. He's 160 miles from the nearest traffic light.
John has all the basic creature comforts, of course. DSL internet, phone, composting toilet, solar oven, solar electric power (enough to run almost anything you want), water catchment, solar-heated shower, a home-made swamp cooler, a bicycle-powered washing machine, chickens, cattle, a greenhouse that's too hot to grow food, and just $300 per year in property taxes.
And, of course, one of the last places in America with no building codes.
That second roof creates shade so he's not living in an oven. It gets to be more than 101 degrees in the shade.
The cost of photo voltaic solar is so low you can run refrigerators, air conditioning.
More things that don't work out quite like you think they will:
Using wood chips as mulch will do and won't do.
One secret to the Back to Eden method is to listen to observe nature and do what God is telling you, by the way. If you're not doing that, then you're just using mulch.
Alternative to wood chips in parts of the Southern US:
If you get mites and termites in a zone with high pressure, then maybe substitute straw and/or use chickens to eat the eggs, larvae, and bugs, and to turn over the compost for you so you don't have those and many other problems.
With God, all things are possible.
The Double-roof or "cool roof" concept also works in much hotter areas than West Texas.
And at least one Houston contractor thinks this is an excellent, energy-saving idea in Texas.
Be prepared. Because people have tried being unprepared out here and it's miserable.
To get set up in the desert, you'll need some money and you'll need to spend it. And you need to be willing to build things yourself, because nobody's out there to do it for you. He's 160 miles from the nearest traffic light.
John has all the basic creature comforts, of course. DSL internet, phone, composting toilet, solar oven, solar electric power (enough to run almost anything you want), water catchment, solar-heated shower, a home-made swamp cooler, a bicycle-powered washing machine, chickens, cattle, a greenhouse that's too hot to grow food, and just $300 per year in property taxes.
And, of course, one of the last places in America with no building codes.
That second roof creates shade so he's not living in an oven. It gets to be more than 101 degrees in the shade.
The cost of photo voltaic solar is so low you can run refrigerators, air conditioning.
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| http://solarcellcentral.com/cost_page.html |
More things that don't work out quite like you think they will:
Using wood chips as mulch will do and won't do.
One secret to the Back to Eden method is to listen to observe nature and do what God is telling you, by the way. If you're not doing that, then you're just using mulch.
Alternative to wood chips in parts of the Southern US:
If you get mites and termites in a zone with high pressure, then maybe substitute straw and/or use chickens to eat the eggs, larvae, and bugs, and to turn over the compost for you so you don't have those and many other problems.
With God, all things are possible.
The Double-roof or "cool roof" concept also works in much hotter areas than West Texas.
And at least one Houston contractor thinks this is an excellent, energy-saving idea in Texas.
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