Water and electricity

Years ago, I thought it would be best to use water to generate energy for the house I was planning on building. For that to actually work, I'd have to have access to a stream, where I own both sides of the land. Now, I know there's water on my folks property, but I've never heard of or seen a stream.

A while back, my father had a pond built out in his backyard in Florida. He knew the water would evaporate, so he had a well dug that would feed the pond. Not just any kind of well, mind you, an artesian well. According to the dictionary, an artesian well is usually one "of small diameter and often of great depth." I have no idea how deep it was, but it was only about an inch and a half in diameter at the end. Also, this is not a lot of water, and will not be able to run anything but a mouse sized generator. To drill this sort of well takes, a bunch of capital.

One crazy idea a friend of mine came up with to place a small generator in your water main. It would almost constantly generate a small amount of energy at a very low cost. Again, it was a small amount, but more importantly (I found out after living in several different houses), is that this method will reduce the water pressure in your house. Hmmm...

So, I suppose the only remaining possibilities are:

o Buy a fuel type generator and run it when it is needed
o Hook up to the local power grid
o Go without electricity

Now, the third option puts a cramp on blogging and air conditioning. But I am thinking there is a way to cool a house without conventional air conditioning. More on that at another time.

So, you must have water. Gotta drink, bathe, wash, cook, and clean. But what are ways to do without electricity?

Until later


Mike