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What is electricity useful for if you have land?

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Gueyog8a7

Solar Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 17, 2023
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665
Location
UK
The only think I can think of so far is a water pump.

What else can electric be used for?

I mean outside of the stuff I already have in my van for charging laptop, phone, heating, cooking and such.

What other uses if you have your own land? Haven't been able to think of anything really so far.
 
Welders, chop saws, miter saws, band saws, drills, plasma cutter, compressors, outside work lights, electric chain saws... Isn't it interesting how the more we have the more complicated it gets. If you rely on other folks for services, pretty much nothing, but having a small place to work out of opens up the possibility for tons of luxuries, like a steaming hot jacuzzi in the middle of the woods, in winter... Perhaps it comes out to what one wants out of life or what one must provide for others.

I can say the older I get, the more I value simplicity though.
 
Gueyog8a7 said:
The only think I can think of so far is a water pump.

What else can electric be used for?

I mean outside of the stuff I already have in my van for charging laptop, phone, heating, cooking and such.

What other uses if you have your own land? Haven't been able to think of anything really so far.
Click to expand...
Without it you'd be sitting in the dark in your mom's basement instead of using it to find a job and make some money to buy that land. And what phenomenon do you think made that van, laptop and phone?
 
The difference between a few hours of light after dark has made in the lives of those that didn't previously have it makes a pretty good argument for it.

Mission & History | Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF)

The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) uses the power of the sun to fight poverty and climate change, with a focus on innovative solutions and scalable outcomes.
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Let's see what I use power for on my 20 acres...

Welder, lights, TV, coffee maker, fridge, battery chargers, air compressors (nail guns and blowing water lines), laundry room, computer, well pump, water line heater for winter, starlink, fans, some day a small water heater in the shop, charging cordless tools, chop saw, diesel heaters,

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head...
 
Mike 134 said:
Without it you'd be sitting in the dark in your mom's basement instead of using it to find a job and make some money to buy that land. And what phenomenon do you think made that van, laptop and phone?
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Totally missed the point.

I was not, as you imply, saying I have no need for electricity and no one should be using it.

I note in the OP even if you bothered to read it, that I am not including the daily things like laptop and phone, I already use electrics for in my van. The question was asking what ELSE I can use it for. Not that I find electrics useless as you seem to be accusing me of in your poorly thought out reply.
 
greasemonkoid said:
Welders, chop saws, miter saws, band saws, drills, plasma cutter, compressors, outside work lights, electric chain saws... Isn't it interesting how the more we have the more complicated it gets. If you rely on other folks for services, pretty much nothing, but having a small place to work out of opens up the possibility for tons of luxuries, like a steaming hot jacuzzi in the middle of the woods, in winter... Perhaps it comes out to what one wants out of life or what one must provide for others.

I can say the older I get, the more I value simplicity though.
Click to expand...
That is a good practical list.

I was thinking to still avoid AC though as I prefer the simplicity of DC but also do not want the added risk factor that AC would bring. Also I don't have any desperate need for the power tools and that. I plan to use hand tools for my labour work. I also prefer being closer to the material I am working with using the manual tools. Sure much less efficient but I didn't get into this lifestyle for efficiency.
 
Aaahhh, misunderstood the question then.

Your question is more "I have land to use, what should I power?"

Well pump comes to the top of the list, having running water is a game changer. Work shop full of power tools and a laundry room also are right up there. Not having to use the town laundromat that only has 3 machines and closes at 5pm will make a laundry room jump quite a few places on the Wish List! 😉
 
Rednecktek said:
Let's see what I use power for on my 20 acres...

Welder, lights, TV, coffee maker, fridge, battery chargers, air compressors (nail guns and blowing water lines), laundry room, computer, well pump, water line heater for winter, starlink, fans, some day a small water heater in the shop, charging cordless tools, chop saw, diesel heaters,

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head...
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That was all I was looking for. Not sure why people are seeing it as a philosophical statement I was making against the use of any electric. I clearly state that I use it in the van and want to know other practical uses on the land, not that I am arguing against using electricity.
 
As for avoiding AC, there comes a point where trying to find and support DC equipment isn't worth the cost and headache. Sure, I'm sure Somebody makes a DC washing machine, but it's gonna need some honkin wire AND they're gonna charge a fortune for the privelidge of washing a shirt and socks OR trousers but not both. DC fridges fall into this category pretty quickly.

Another thing power is handy for is a deep freezer to get your food in bulk.
 
Rednecktek said:
Aaahhh, misunderstood the question then.

Your question is more "I have land to use, what should I power?"

Well pump comes to the top of the list, having running water is a game changer. Work shop full of power tools and a laundry room also are right up there. Not having to use the town laundromat that only has 3 machines and closes at 5pm will make a laundry room jump quite a few places on the Wish List! 😉
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No your answer was fine. :)

Btw, it is a tangent but loosely related to power and heating, of which you mentioned diesel heating.

I read yesterday someone wrote that you need at least 10 acres of woodland to sustain one household for a year at around 6-7 tonne a year. That sounds extreme. What do you think?

If thinking of self-sufficiency they were saying trying to grow 2 acres or less of woodland would be useless as far too little.

I am guessing the 6-7 tonnes is accounting for using wood to cook even in the warmer seasons. If that were so you could cut that down a lot by using electric induction heating for those months couldn't you?
 
Rednecktek said:
As for avoiding AC, there comes a point where trying to find and support DC equipment isn't worth the cost and headache. Sure, I'm sure Somebody makes a DC washing machine, but it's gonna need some honkin wire AND they're gonna charge a fortune for the privelidge of washing a shirt and socks OR trousers but not both. DC fridges fall into this category pretty quickly.

Another thing power is handy for is a deep freezer to get your food in bulk.
Click to expand...
Well washing machine I by no means see as essential and rather a pointless luxury. Just my opinion. All depends on what you feel you need. I want to strip things back but some things I found essential like laptop in order to access the world of information to learn. Most stuff is low power, phone and diesel cooker/heater.

There is nothing I feel I am depriving myself of right now by not having AC. As said, plan to use hand tools for labour work.

Washing machine would be the last thing I would feel I couldnt do without. I just hand scrub once a month or so the one or two pairs of clothes I have. :) Less clothes and washed less often = simplicity so no need for a machine.

Now a good case could be made for freezer for food preservation. That is all I could see of the things you listed as having valid practical value for myself.

Oh and the other thing I just thought of induction cooking would be very handy to make use of excess solar in warmer months.
 
It sounds like someone was estimating the BTU's gained from burning wood vs how fast you could get trees to grow to replace what you've burned. 6-7 tonnes a year actually sounds reasonable if it's your only source of heat & cooking. That groks.

Add in that if you're doing proper crop rotations you need about 3 acres per person per year for food too.

So yeah, I'd buy that in 2-3 acres you couldn't grow trees fast enough to harvest the 6-7 tonnes a year you'd need.

Fortunately, we have electricity so if you can cook with an induction heater or heat with a heat pump, the only delay in replenishing your fuel source is waiting for those 3 sunny days in August. 😉

I use diesel heaters for a few reasons, mostly that the size and layout of my cabin doesn't allow for a real size wood stove. Yes, I coukd squeeze in one of the tiny stoves for heat but I'd have to be up feeding it twigs every 20 minutes all day and night. The diesel heaters are simple, cheap, and have a small footprint. I can just fire them up, set the temp, and replace the jugs in a few days when they get low. With everything I do up there and the very limited time available, it's just a better option. The fact that half my cabin started life as a travel trailer also meant that I had an existing 12v infrastructure to work with and a 12v heater goes in real easy.
 
Gueyog8a7 said:
the one or two pairs of clothes I have
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Lol! When I'm working on the camp I can soak & dirt through 3 shirts in a day easy! I might get two days out of a pair of pants, but socks are a daily at least. The laundry room came up the list right quick. 😁

As for hand tools, you do you dude. You're still going to want light to see by though.

And the MargaritaMaster-3000 requires AC power. 😉
 
Rednecktek said:
Lol! When I'm working on the camp I can soak & dirt through 3 shirts in a day easy! I might get two days out of a pair of pants, but socks are a daily at least. The laundry room came up the list right quick. 😁

As for hand tools, you do you dude. You're still going to want light to see by though.

And the MargaritaMaster-3000 requires AC power. 😉
Click to expand...
Why do you wash clothes when they are dirty? 🤔 Still perfectly functional to keep the body warm.

My general cue to wash is when I start to feel grubby and the smell of myself gets noticeable. Stopped bothering to change underwear even until I start to smell it and the feeling and smell is getting distracting. I am alone so not a problem. If I had to interact with people then I would do more often. When I lived in a city it was every other day.

I seem to recall reading that the frontier's people of early america, the men at least, maybe the women were more refined, would sow themselves into their one piece underwear for months through the cold season.
 
Gueyog8a7 said:
Why do you wash clothes when they are dirty? 🤔 Still perfectly functional to keep the body warm.

My general cue to wash is when I start to feel grubby and the smell of myself gets noticeable. Stopped bothering to change underwear even until I start to smell it and the feeling and smell is getting distracting. I am alone so not a problem. If I had to interact with people then I would do more often. When I lived in a city it was every other day.

I seem to recall reading that the frontier's people of early america, the men at least, maybe the women were more refined, would sow themselves into their one piece underwear for months through the cold season.
Click to expand...
I now know why we founded an new country a ocean away from Britain 🫣
 
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