Being at “the end-of-the-line” means Pete and his wife Bev are aiming to be environmentally and financially efficient.
They live 10 kilometers outside of Tuatapere in Southland and are a long way from many things.
“In 2013, power companies won’t have to supply remote users like us if it’s not economical to do so,” says Pete.
“We’re trying to get close to being independent of the electricity grid, although we’ve a long way to go.”
They’ve had their 1940s home insulated through the Southland Warm Homes project, use energy efficient light bulbs and have a wet-back for water heating (using wood for the fire as much as possible because that’s a renewable energy source).
The couple has developed a good vegetable garden and a real boon has been the tunnel house put in last year. “We're expecting to get the maximum benefit in winter and we plan to grow veggies in the tunnel house all year round,” says Pete.
Pete has come up with a great way to keep the temperature in the hothouse stable – using 20 plastic bottles filled with water. Pete says this water absorbs 0.7 kilowatt hours of heat during the day and releases it at night.
“While that’s only about 20 cents worth of electricity and doesn't sound like much, here in coastal Southland it's enough to prevent the plants in the hot house from frost damage.“
Pete says they are about 20 per cent self-sufficient now and are better off than they’ve been for a long time.
“We’re in the lucky position of being able to produce much of our own food and I like gardening – it’s fun.”
Pete reckons even people who live in the city should be able to be a bit self-sufficient.
“Even if they are in a high-rise they could grow things in pots like mustard and cress,” he says.
The next thing Pete is looking at is something like a wind generator to help heat the hot-house.
Pete has a background in physics, weather forecasting and electronics and keeps up with the latest technologies, aiming to adapt them into his and Bev’s lifestyle as they become more affordable or cost-efficient.
“Photovoltaic panels will come down in price drastically in the next few years because of some recent developments. You’ll be able to buy them in rolls, like wallpaper, cut them to size and generate three or four kilowatts of power for a one-off cost of $2000.”
