I have a solar panel that runs various small electrical devices instead of the mains. The batteries I store the power in came from the junk batteries pile in a boatyard.
During the winter months I use a 'passive fridge' (an old chest freezer (freezers have better insulation) with a large plastic water container filled with rainwater, and a convection circuit built into it). It sits outside the back door, the water provides a thermal mass which slowly freezes when the ambient temperature is below freezing, and slowly melts when it's above. The convection circuit carries heat out of the box when it's cold outside but doesn't carry the heat back in when it's warm. I used this from the beginning of last November (when the weather turned cold) to the end of march
I use a wood burner for heating and hot water during the cold months - fired using wood harvested of the land.
in the summer months I use a solar water heater I made from an old central heating radiator painted black and put in a box constructed from salvaged timber and covered with polytunnel plastic. Getting the hot water into the tank automatically does require a bit of technical know how though, and it only provided hot water on very sunny days - usually I have to top it off with the immersion. Still reduces the immersion running time by 2 though.
I splashed out on a modern economical vehicle for work (2nd hand - from the car auction). This car uses less fuel 'urban cycle' than my old van used on a motorway cruise. cheaper to tax too. When I worked out how much I was spending per year on my old van, I realised this car would pay for itself in less than two years.
And the piece de resistance:-
This one's rather dependent on who you know and how much they trust you, but I live in a house rent & council tax free - the owner lives elsewhere, but by letting me live here he gets free on-site security and the property is maintained. The downside is that one day I will get my marching orders, and will have to buy my own place - but I should have a decent deposit saved by then
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Question:
does anyone have an idea how to turn twigs into a useful fuel?
I have piles of hedge trimmings and it seems a waste to just make a bonfire out of them, and breaking them up small enough to go in the woodburner is VERY time consuming. I have a small wood chipper but that's as slow as snapping them by hand and makes chips that are too small.
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