Sustainable Living, Renewable Energy In Rural Thailand

[basilic13]

Does any one have experienced advice or comments or could redirect me on more info on the following:

1) use of solar energy for a medium size house in rural thailand? does it make sense economically when compared to main electricity supply? what are the off-the-shelves solutions?

2) use of dry toilet (to avoid the need for sceptic tank and minimize water usage). The residual mix can be composted and used as fertilizer

3) grey water natural treatment using pond and natural plants

4) rain water collection and use: tricks and pitfalls...

5) any other smart and meaningful insight in respect to sustainable living, renewable energy in rural Thailand

Thanks!

[jandtaa]

Does any one have experienced advice or comments or could redirect me on more info on the following:

1) use of solar energy for a medium size house in rural thailand? does it make sense economically when compared to main electricity supply? what are the off-the-shelves solutions?

2) use of dry toilet (to avoid the need for sceptic tank and minimize water usage). The residual mix can be composted and used as fertilizer

3) grey water natural treatment using pond and natural plants

4) rain water collection and use: tricks and pitfalls...

5) any other smart and meaningful insight in respect to sustainable living, renewable energy in rural Thailand

Thanks!

Hi there b13

you can find a couple of good manuals on dry toilets here jandtaas docs - humanure 

hope they help

regards Jandtaa

[Maizefarmer]

Does any one have experienced advice or comments or could redirect me on more info on the following:

1) use of solar energy for a medium size house in rural thailand? does it make sense economically when compared to main electricity supply? what are the off-the-shelves solutions?

Possible - but not easily done: the capital outlay for photovoltaic panels to produce sufficient power to run utilities as you would in a home with AC, is very high - and will not be re-couped over the life of the panels (that is, as panel efficiency/costs currently stand)

2) use of dry toilet (to avoid the need for sceptic tank and minimize water usage). The residual mix can be composted and used as fertilizer

Possible - but its all relative to the amount of food you are producing - can you use it to produce enough to live off? In Thailand, with the climate as it is you can cope without having to add fertiliser of any sort.

3) grey water natural treatment using pond and natural plants

Yes - but its a lot of management

4) rain water collection and use: tricks and pitfalls...

Good idea - loads of folk do - very popular in rural areas: a filter on top of the tank is essential - and ensure the mozzies can't get into the tank.

5) any other smart and meaningful insight in respect to sustainable living, renewable energy in rural Thailand

We could talk all day on the subject - the oppurtunities in Thailand are great. Solar Panels are taxed quite heavily coming into Thailand - its a pity, because its the one energy source that performs fantasticly here, yet the government has provided very little by way of incentive to encourage its use.

Hot water panels also work very well here

The idea of total self sufficiency is very honourable - speak to people who do, they all say a lot of hard work and careful planning goes into the lifestyle.

Thanks!

[Smithson]

Sustainable living in something I'm very interested in. For many reasons I think it's easier to do over here than back in the West, however if you try to use methods popular 'back home' you may find it difficult and very expensive.

Here we are lucky not to be bogged down by a heap of regulations, which makes it easier if you want to build your house from bamboo or mud or want to install a composting toilet.

There is plenty of sunshine, so heating isn't necessary and food can be grown all year. Houses can also be designed more 'minimally', there isn't as much need for walls etc.

Regarding gray water, a common practice here is to just let shower and sink waste run onto garden areas. Probably not the best method, but simple enough.

The only future is a sustainable one, personally I don't think this means we'll all be driving round in hydrogen cars and enjoying solar powered air con. Instead we'll be leading simpler lives and learning to do without many of the luxuries we've gotten used to.

This is a very interesting

with one of the permaculture pioneers talking about a sustainable future . Edited March 19, 2009 by Smithson

[basilic13]

I found this very interesting manual on simple grey water treatment system:

http://www.small-farm-permaculture-and-sus...dbed_design.pdf

[stevehaigh]

sage). The residual mix can be composted and used as fertilizer

3) grey water natural treatment using pond and natural plants

4) rain water collection and use: tricks and pitfalls...

i dump grey water from showers and sinks directly onto my trees and the love it. grow about 3m/year.

i collect rain water in no real down side to it. just remember to have an overflow drain on the tanks for when it rains to much and remember that the first 10mins of so of water from the roof are pretty dirty if it hasn't rained for a while so set up a system to throw away rain gutter water until it runs clean.

steve

[jandtaa]

Hi B13 nice PDF I've sent you a PM so please check your messages 

 for others there's discussion of this topic in the organic farming thread if you're interested 

cheers all Jandtaa

[teletiger]

I found this very interesting manual on simple grey water treatment system:

http://www.small-farm-permaculture-and-sus...dbed_design.pdf

Why reeds? Put your tomatoes in there!

Regards.

[basilic13]

Thanks Jandtaa but I haven't received any message....

[Pond Life]

Hello Ballistic,

I dont have much to add, I agree with most of what has been said already.

1. I have had a solar system running for about 4 years.

It works good, but is not economicaly viable, a moderate system will cost minimum 150 k B. Mains electric is very cheap.

Good imported panels are available from www.leonics.com, their service is good, but I do not recomend their own brand inverters or charge controlers.

2. Get yourself a copy of the humanure handbook, downloadable free online.

3. check out

http://oasisdesign.net/

Their book on greywater is mainly aimed at desert invironments but has plenty of useful tips & ideas.

The main point that comes out of the book, is dont store grey water, use it within 12 hours.

& the simple way is just to pipe it onto the garden.

4. Oasis also do a great book on water storage, including full instructions to build ferrocement tanks, excellant. I've built 2.

best to order thru Amazon they deliver to Thailand quick & easy, no customs.

5. Read up on biogas generators for cooking.

You dont have to speak Thai to understand this short video.

Chok Dee

[Gerontion]

As others have said, solar power is expensive here. If you're on the coast, you may get enough wind to be viable but otherwise renewable power is relatively very expensive. That being said, if you buy land which isn't yet on the grid, you're going to have to pay for connection so it may be cost effective; it just depends on where you are. You may be better off attacking things from the other end - minimize use. Solar cookers are simple to make (there's ton of stuff on the net but I've just been getting my daily dose of energybulletin so look at http://www.energybulletin.net/node/48370) and intelligent design of your house should dramatically reduce cooling needs. Solar heated water is also very simple. I've seen dry toilets here and they work fine as well as simple grey-water systems that deposit waste directly to banana trees. Rainwater catchment is - again - simple enough. Go to the villages and you'll see that many houses have rainwater tanks.

I'm interested in the reed-bed waste water treatment. Has anyone built one in Thailand? Any tips/problems/suggestions?

[Gerontion]

Not really farming related but to do with the OP: Has anyone tried rainwater collection from thatch (those 7-baht panels you get everywhere)? The water would be for plants only so the inevitable bits of straw that ended up in it wouldn't be a problem.

[ozzydom]

Not really farming related but to do with the OP: Has anyone tried rainwater collection from thatch (those 7-baht panels you get everywhere)? The water would be for plants only so the inevitable bits of straw that ended up in it wouldn't be a problem.

7 baht, Geez am I being seen off, they are 16 baht each around here.

But as to your question ,yes its feasible , I dont collect it but I have guttering on a couple af thatch roof cabanas to divert the rain water into our fish ponds and it works ok.

[C-sip-degree]

Regarding solar energy,

A basic set up like in the pics is around 65,000bht.

To achieve the next level or what youre talking about you would need to triple up.

I leave it up to you to figure out$.

regards

C-sip

[Gerontion]

^ How much power does that produce?

[Gary A]

^ How much power does that produce?

Unfortunately, if you do the numbers, it will not produce enough enough to pay for itself. The Thai government deserves to be criticized for profiteering and not subsidizing this fledgling industry.

[yotspeed]

I apologise in advance if this is old info but their name did not come up in a search.

We are a boat building company in southern Thailand and solar battery charging is generally a standard item on most cruising yachts. We have found a Thai company Bangkok Solar that produces the panels here in Thailand. They have an excellent brochure with various system set ups. Please PM me if anyone wants an e-mail copy.

The pricing on their panels was pretty much comparable with the cheapest wholesale prices out of the USA on a quick net search. So once you add the freight, duty and VAT......... We are looking to fit their panels to some of our customers boats and also on some solar powered boat projects we are working on.

They produce the amorphous silicon panels which are supposed to be more efficient.

From a personal point of view I am also looking at fitting some of their panels on a house build I am hoping to start this year some time.

Also looking at the new generation wind generators with the spiral (vertical) blades as opposed to the more common propeller type - again, more efficient, but not yet investigated the pricing.

Like I say - apologies if they have already been covered in TV.

[C-sip-degree]

^ How much power does that produce?

Gerontion,

Wind gen 200watts

Solar 120watts

Battery 200amps

24v system

Excluding the wind package.

Solar, this is the time you laugh or cry but ok. On paper looks like 720watts.

But in reality over the last months average is 500watts per night.

So the norm would be a grand x2 20watt 2’ fluorescent lights @11-12hrs run @ cow shed.

Including the wind generator if consistently turning, add on another 200watts per hour.

So this is quite handy as when we do have power cuts it's normally windy so 4-5 extra lights can be on.

regards C-sip

[Gary A]

I researched this quite seriously about a year or so ago. The three solar energy suppliers I managed to get quotes from apparently fix prices too. The systems were identical and the prices were identical. To make a long story short, it would have taken about 12 to14 years to get a payback. I'm sure the system would have failed long before then. Batteries will usually not last more than 6 years even if cared for properly. I quickly came to the conclusion that a bank of batteries with a Kubota diesel and generator would be much more efficient. If you are really serious about living off the land, you could make your own bio diesel for the Kubota.

[Gerontion]

I've looked into this in the past but I keep hoping that things have changed. Alas, not.