Living Energy Farm: a community outside fossil fuels thanks to low-tech ?

🇬🇧 During the American stopover of the Nomade des Mers, we travel to the green plains of Virginia to meet the Living Energy Farm. An intentional community of a dozen people who have achieved an impressive level of energy and food autonomy thanks. Alexis Ziegler, one of the founders, presents us in this video the main principles of this energy autonomy and in particular their learning about the use of direct current.
👉 More details on this community and their approach to energy autonomy: lowtechlab.org...

[@Brians-Easy-Low-Tech-Solutions]

I live in Victoria BC Canada. How about a low pressure "pneumatic grid" too? The weather here is rainy from October to April, a bit of rain in May and June then no rain till mid September. I abandon most of the garden in Summer to save water. I try to use rainbarrels and rainwater as much as possible and cycle the water round raised pallet gardens to water storage, a rock planter (shaped like a boat) with water in its "hold" and 2 greenhouses with water stored under the greenhouses. To power the pumping of water up from the holds and to the plants, I use a low pressure "pneumatic grid" that runs at about 1.4 psi (10kPa) to power "airlift pumps". There are currently 11 little airlift pumps spread across my property (just tubes joined together) running off one dual diaphragm air pump in a shed. People ask me why I don't just have water pumps, but really one air pump works nicely, and when you cycle water, it often gets a bit dirty. Airlift pumps can deal with dirt fairly well, while blocked water pumps can burn out. If you have a river or stream on your farm, you might be able to use a "trompe" to compress the air to something like 2 psi, to run greenhouse hydroponics, etc. This is easy to do, and you don't have to deal with turning the water power into electricity.

[@EastWindCommunity1973]

Super cool! I visited shortly after you, and have interviews with three members being published for anyone interested. Bon voyage, Sumner

[@MrVrikak]

Merci pour ce reportage ! 👍 Super vidéo très instructive sur le sujet, qui est malheureusement peu abordé sur KZbin...

[@franceole1]

C'est tout mon discours depuis le début que je m'intéresse a tout ça ! il faut comprendre qu'il faut aussi dépanner les appareils lors de pannes et que ça fait un cout phénoménal ! surtout avec de l'électronique ( la boite noire pour beaucoup de monde ) alors restons sur de la simplicité , et tout existe presque !

[@kikorisan]

I'm interested to know how he insulted the roof. Any clue?

[@livingenergylights1687]

Blown cellullose - Alexis

[@martinrevel638]

Un cartésien assurément

[@low-techlab2411]

L'expression "bon sens paysan" prend tout son sens ici ;)

[@AndiGS94]

Thanks for the interesting video! However, I was quite astounded by what Alexis said about electricity. It seems as if he lacks the basic knowledge of the differences between AC and DC and has a wrong understanding of why the things that he builds work the way they do. DC can be transferred just as far as AC when converted to higher voltages, it's just that transformers don't work with DC. Evidently, connecting solar panels directly to a load is possible, but not a great idea. A) Because they have a maximum power point, a certain load resistance where the most power can be "harvested and B) because all electric devices work most efficiently (and safe) within a certain voltage range. The goal of these off-grid systems is not to look like a grid, it's to provide optimal solar harvesting and a regulated output voltage.

[@low-techlab2411]

You're right but we can assure you that Alexis Ziegler is well aware of that. Don't you think that losing a little yield to avoid the use of expensive, complex and short-lived equipment seems acceptable ? Without change, solar energy will remain unsustainable and inaccessible to a large part of the population.

[@AndiGS94]

​@@low-techlab2411 No, I don't think that way. Because it is an unsafe manner of using electricity and will cause much more wear on devices. The needed equipment is neither expensive nor complex or short-lived and there's lots of info on the internet. When in an off-grid situation, even a one 12 volt battery with a cheap solar charge controller will suffice to provide a regulated voltage. In on-grid situations, one can just use a VDE-AR-N 4105 (I think France still refers to the VDE 0126, the precursor) compliant grid-tie-microinverter (Envertech, Deye, Hoymiles, ...) to feed solar energy to the house and excess energy back to the grid via a typical socket. Devices within the house can directly use that AC without the need for complex rewiring or further conversion. Excess energy makes the grid mix greener allowing those that don't have the means for solar to use it. Most manufacturers now give a 15 year warranty for their inverters. I think the transition to green energy only works when we're doing it together by using the grid where available to combine all the forms of green energy and making it available to everyone, even if they can't have e.g. solar directly :) I don't mean any offense, I just have a different opinion :-) I'm a tech journalist and I just recently wrote a series of articles on small permission-free PV installations, in Germany they're called "Balkonkraftwerke" but you can do that in many European countries (and others probably too) as well :-) If you'd like to speak about that, feel free to contact me on Instagram. I use the same name there. I'm happy to share my knowledge :-)

[@livingenergylights1687]

We are well aware of the differences between AC and DC power, as well as the "maximum power point" of solar panels. That said, our system costs about 80% less to build than conventional off-grid kits, and will run for the rest of your life with very little maintenance costs. The bottom line is that the global working class does not have access to solar energy because the standard systems are badly designed and battery based (and the batteries wear out). We are now exporting this technology to a number of places, our largest project being in Puerto Rico. Our direct drive DC microgrid works, it works well, it costs a lot less, and it works for a very long time. Alexis -- Living Energy Farm

[@franceole1]

@@livingenergylights1687 C'est tout mon discours depuis le début que je m'intéresse a tout ça ! il faut comprendre qu'il faut aussi dépanner les appareils lors de pannes et que ça fait un cout phénoménal ! surtout avec de l'électronique ( la boite noire pour beaucoup de monde ) alors restons sur de la simplicité , et tout existe presque !

[@barnabyvonrudal1]

Did he have an accident?

[@jonathanwoods9843]

I don't know about any accident, but I was there a day ago and he seems just fine.

[@barnabyvonrudal1]

he had a nasty cut on his face@@jonathanwoods9843

[@1Anto7]

Au moins les Amish ont fait leurs preuves de communautés durable à l'échelle des siècles, comme toute les communautés traditionnelle sur cette terre vivant en lieux reculés. De mon côté, ça sera avec le patriarcat.

[@low-techlab2411]

Pourrais-tu détailler ce qu'à ton sens apporte le patriarcat dans une communauté comme celle-là ?

[@1Anto7]

​@@low-techlab2411Qu'est-ce qu'apporte de se débarrasser du patriarcat ? Le patriarcat est un phénomène de répartition des rôles et des tâches quasi naturel basé sur les différences et inégalités biologiques entre l'homme et la femme. Nous sommes différents mais complémentaires. La femme est la seule à être apte à allaiter et s'occupe mieux des enfants (en règle générale), est plus douce, plus sensible et plus raffiné. L'homme plus fort physiquement est plus à même de s'occuper des travaux durs, partir chasser, prendre les risques lorsque nécessaire, défendre, encaisse mieux les coups dur de la vie, généralement plus visionnaire et également plus adapté aux prises de décisions et aux postes de directions. (tout ceci = tendances générales qui n'exclue pas les exceptions évidemment)

[@marcschlotterbeck8746]

@Antoine. L'homme encaisse mieux les coups durs de la vie? C'est une grosse blague. Regardez le nombre de mecs sans-abris... on est de base plus fragile lors d'une rupture que les femmes.

[@EastWindCommunity1973]

@@1Anto7 Le fort est un raison pour patriarcat? Pourquoi? Les jeunes sont superier de les vieux? Should the strong define our society?

[@1Anto7]

@@EastWindCommunity1973 the point isn't really or directly link about the strengh. The strengh (physical or/and mental) is just one aspect of a more global and large set identity. The youngs are not superior, cuz generally the wisdom is link to the older and in all traditional societies people respect and take care of their olders, except in the western world, where the atheism rules, people send their olders in retirement home and forget them and don't honor them. The youngs have the strengh to build, to work. The older has the strengh to advice yougners because of their experience of life. Everyone, male, female, child, young, older, sickers could get their places in the society and can work all together in harmony but all the new western values want to spill this model of society.