Learn about Off-grid systems options and decide if making the move to go off-the-grid is right for you! We’ve designed this course to inspire you about the independence and resilience that are possible but also to help save you time and money. We want you to understand the big picture of how an off-grid home could function, not as a compilation of components but as a wholistic design where thermal performance, off-grid power production, and integrated water systems that all work in harmony.

Messana is a leading expert in radiant cooling and heating technology. These systems can help your home achieve a comfortable temperature through radiant ceiling tiles and flooring. These sytems are probably too enregy intensive for off-grid applications, but can work really well for an energy conscious retrofit. 

Hempitecture is a leader in hempcrete wall systems and hempWoool insulation products. If you're interested in using hemp for your next build or retrofit, we highly suggest scheduling a consultation with their highly knowledgeable staff. 

A cool tool to discover your impact.

This web-based tool predicts thermal comfort according to ASHRAE Standard 55, with visualizations of comfort boundaries within psychrometric or temperature-humidity charts, and automatic generation of LEED documentation for thermal comfort credits. It includes models for conventional building systems (PMV) and also for comfort using the adaptive comfort model, and with increased air speeds (for example, when using fans for cooling).

Based on the equation of the sun's position in the sky throughout the year, the maximum amount of solar insolation on a surface at a particular tilt angle can be calculated as a function of latitude and day of the year. These calculations are also essential in using experimental data from sunshine hour recorders. The following animations calculate the daily solar irradiance, the solar insolation and the number of hours during the day which the sun is shining. 

This quick glossary will help you understand exactly what teachers, techies, and installation pros are talking about. Once you understand the language, it's easier to speak solar.

This site highlights dozens of student-built, off-grid, and experimental projects in Comalapa, Guatemala.

This site is for people looking to build an earthship-type structure in Australia. 

Start exploring solar potential by clicking on the map.

Solar Irradiance is a measure of how much solar power you are getting at your location. This irradiance varies throughout the year depending on the seasons. It also varies throughout the day, depending on the position of the sun in the sky, and the weather.

This is a HUGE resource site and a very cool company that is designing super sustainable large-scale, commercial structures 

An Amazing rescource to find all kinds of materials, and techniques for green building!

For the first time, a Cob Construction Appendix has been approved for inclusion in the International Residential for building codes in the United States and a number of other countries.

These high performance walls are constructed with a system backed by over 25 years of R&D, producing thermal mass and efficiency beyond any other wall system. This combination, along with the SIREWALL® System for quality control and soil blending, builds walls that exceed current standards for energy efficiency and compressive strength.

Pumice-Crete® is a low density concrete made from pumice aggregate, portland cement, and water. It is a mix that succeeds in providing structural strength and insulation in one material. 

SuperAdobe is a form of earth bag architecture developed by architect and CalEarth founder Nader Khalili. Using long sandbags ("SuperAdobe Bags"), barbed wire, on-site earth and a few tools, Khalili devised a revolutionary building system that integrates traditional earth architecture with contemporary global safety requirements, and passes severe earthquake code tests in California.

Iron Shell Material Technologies is an early stage R&D startup focused on innovative iron-based, carbon-negative materials for construction and other industries. David Stone is the founder and the inventor of the first two products that have been developed so far. 

Holistic Indoor Gardening is a distillation of personal experience, research, and education from an Earthship insider's perspective into a practical and straightforward guide. Earthships are a form of autonomous and sustainable housing. There are six design principles to Earthship construction. The principles are building with natural and recycled materials, thermal/solar heating and cooling, solar and wind electricity, water harvesting, contained sewage treatment, and food production.

This book on building with ­natural materials is the first English translation of an international best-selling construction manual. It is ­especially oriented to building in “­underdeveloped” ­countries. It covers basic design, site ­planning, and climatic considerations; ­heating, cooling, water supply —treating waste, and ­irrigation for agriculture. Simple, basic ­materials — including adobe, plaster, rammed earth, wood, reinforced concrete, ferro-cement, cactus, and bamboo. Homemade water‑generated ­electricity, solar water ­heaters, wood stoves, water pumps, water distillers, and cisterns. Septic tanks, outhouses, sand filters, and composting toilets are also covered.

The volume of water on this planet is finite while human population continues to swell. As groundwater aquifers are drained or contaminated by pollutants or salt water, we move steadily towards serious water shortages in the future. Many parts of our planet, including parts of the USA, are already experiencing water shortages. Water from the Sky takes its readers from problem to solution, showing how it is possible--even in the desert--for a home to collect it's water from the sky, use it wisely, and downcycle the wastewater to new uses and treatment through living filter systems.