Yellow Submarine: Energy and Water Examination

Kevin has maintained a private database for about a year, tracking 4-5 years of electricity, natural gas, and water usage at the property they currently reside at. The intent behind this is to better understand how energy use changes throughout the year, right down to the day or even the hour. This will be important when considering the specifications for off-grid electrical and rain harvesting systems. This data will help determine how large a battery bank to build, how large an inverter to install, and how much water storage capacity will be needed.

Equally important is to understand the energy and water harvesting potential of the property, which Kevin has also been researching. This information will help determine the size of the solar panel array that will be needed to recharge the battery bank within a limited seasonal window.

Project Yellow Submarine has made this information public! Check it out here:

Have any questions about the project? Let us know!

Home Design Considerations

Planning has started for each of the teams future dwellings at Papineau Homes.

Bernice and Alain from Project: Red Carr have a rough design that they’re ready to take to a draftsperson for detailed drawings to get approved by the local municipality.

Kevin and Emily from Project: Yellow Submarine, having the benefit of more time, are taking a slightly different approach. They want their home to be entirely off-grid, and possibly incorporate rainwater harvesting. They have been carefully documenting their electricity and water usage to assess the system sizes they’ll need.

Each team will share more details over time, and we’ll continue to produce videos at each significant milestone.

What questions do you have about building a rural home? What about off-grid and rainwater harvesting? Let us know!