Living Off The Power Grid

[JJReyes]

Fil-Am friends in California own a 12.8 hectares property in Calamba, Laguna. Relatives own similar size adjoining properties. Previously planted to coconuts, my friends are looking for higher value either by planting a premium crop or starting another one of those subdivisions that's dotting the landscape.

 

The US Federal Reserves and European Central Bank have been printing money. The Bank of Japan and others are joining them. The public is being reassured that governments are closely monitoring for any signs of inflation. Part of the reassurance is the manipulation of gold prices to indicate the lack of inflationary pressures. Everything is contrary to sound economic principles and history. High inflation here we come! Of course, this could be a few years away and by then Fed Chair Ben Bernanke would not longer be in government. Instead, Bernanke would have a cushy, high paying job at some financial institution.  

 

My suggestion is to subdivide the property into 1,000 sqm farm lots and market them to Fil-Ams and other retirees. The package includes a two or three bedroom house. Already planted would be papayas, bananas, pineapples, herbs, vegetables, legumes and medicinal plants. The buyer can select either chickens for eggs & meat or a small fish pond. There is a river next to the property for gardening water. It can be filtered for drinking water and household use. 

 

Because the power companies are never shy about raising their prices, especially during an inflationary period, one idea is to include either solar, wind or biomass generators as part of the package. Does anyone know what the equipment prices are in the Philippines? It should be sufficient to provide power for one household.

 

This won't be a doomsday preppers community. A bunker, food storage facilities, guns & ammo are not part of the package, although I thought about it for a couple of hours. Potential buyers are Fil-Ams and other retirees who need reassurance they can live off their pensions and savings even when the purchasing power is diminished by inflation. One way is to own a modest home, grow some of the food and live off the power grid.

Edited July 9, 2013 by JJReyes

[FlyAway]

I have not had a chance to fully research this site. At the bottom of the page there is a link to a pdf listing suppliers.

 

http://amore.org.ph/be-part-of-amore-story/join-the-renewable-energy-business-in-mindanao

 

http://amore.org.ph/uploads/pdf/RE-Company-Profiles.pdf

[Curley]

Looks as though a plot of land to raise your own food would not be a bad idea  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYVZKpH3pnM Also applies to the states I believe

[Bruce]

In looking at the costs and unknown variables and financing and defaults if you hold paper on the plan to divide and build multiple 1,000sqm lots.....

 

Add all the costs up per lot including the land and add in a profit to get to your actual asking price.

 

Now suppose you just sold the 1,000 sqm lots. How much would you get? How easy is it to sell a 1,000 sqm lot at XXXXX pesos and how many potential buyers at that price.

 

Compare this to the plan you have with all the buildings done, septic in, well in (I don't think drinking Philippine river water is a good idea) and adding in a high maintenance (word not in the Philippine vocabulary!) water filtration system that adds xxxx costs to the lot...and lot planted and misc things needed means your actual selling price is going to be in the 7,000,000 peso and up bracket. And less potential buyers are in that bracket as compared to selling the 1,0000 sqm lot as is only?

 

I think that you are spending money which eliminates many from the buying pool. Selling as is usually means a quicker sale, less issues and less liabilities than the house and improved lot.

[JJReyes]

I have not had a chance to fully research this site. At the bottom of the page there is a link to a pdf listing suppliers.

 

Thank you for the links. Would you have any idea as to the number of watts needed for a two or three bedroom home in the Philippines? Cooking will be gas or charcoal in the dirty kitchen and there won't be air conditioners. Power is needed for lights, refrigerator, television, a radio or stereo, computer and a few electronic gizmos including a cellular phone.

 

 

 

Looks as though a plot of land to raise your own food would not be a bad idea 

 

The Money Week video was very powerful. I need to show it to my wife. The escape route for us if the US economy collapses is a transfer to the Philippines and perhaps become one of the residents of the proposed farm lots. I recall my father mentioning that during the WWII Japanese occupation of Manila many families left the city for rural areas to be closer to food sources. 

 

 

 

I think that you are spending money which eliminates many from the buying pool. Selling as is usually means a quicker sale, less issues and less liabilities than the house and improved lot.

 

It is easier to follow the norm, but that's not fun. So far, my research shows there are three large property developers offering 1,000 sqm vacant farm lots. The developer prices are:

 

P3,100 sqm - La Finca in Batangas

P3,100 sqm - La Huerta in Laguna

P4,600 sqm - Timberland in Rizal

 

If anyone knows about other similar projects, please let me know. 

 

To build a home on the lot requires following the developer's architectural designs or hiring the developer's contractor companies. You also have to spend money for the edible landscaping. Timberland informed me it's okay to have chickens -- let the neighbors suffer from early morning rooster crowing -- but pigs are not permitted. These are gated communities with imposing entrances, security guards and huge clubhouses with swimming pools, wedding & banquet halls, party rooms, restaurants, etc. I think the developers spend too much money for their clubhouses. This might be necessary for entertainment and socialization if you have children especially teenagers. We need a meeting place, but not a clubhouse for retirees.

 

I am working backwards in preparing the feasibility study. The maximum all inclusive price is P6 million or $150,000 based on a PHP40 to USD1  It would be better if we can get it down to P5 million.  

 

In the 1970's the United States experienced a shortage of nurses and medical technicians. This was the first large migration of Filipino medical professionals. Renewed contracts resulted in qualifying for permanent residency visas after five years; followed by applications for citizenship after an additional five years.

 

Bruce, I am not sure about the numbers, but I was told these nurses, due to experience, seniority and moving up to supervisory positions means they are earning in the $60,000 to $85,000 range as they reach retirement age. Their Social Security benefits will probably be closer to $2,000 a month. New immigrants have a reputation for saving and I am sure the hospitals that employed them offered either a defined benefit or defined contribution pension. In addition, if they had purchased a home with a 30 years mortgage, they can net $125,000 to $250,000 from the sale. Home prices are recovering except for certain pockets like Las Vegas.

 

The property owners are part of the 1970s migration by Philippine medical professionals. It suppose to be a pretty tight group keeping in touch with each other and even forming their own association. They will contact their friends and colleagues when it comes time to start marketing.

 

If you are a Fil-Am, you can buy a 1,000 sqm vacant lot for P3.1 million or P4.6 million. The cost for building your retirement home and gardens are additional. You still have to pay for electricity, water and common area maintenance to the developer. The alternative is knowing through pictures what the home and edible gardens will look like. When visiting the Philippines, you can touch, feel and eat some of the vegetables growing in your future home.

 

I am still at the early feasibility study stage. The photographs of the property have been mailed to me from California along with the property appraisal report. I also need to visit the location and work out the expense numbers.  

Edited July 10, 2013 by JJReyes

[FlyAway]

Obvious problem with solar is when the sun goes down. Storing the power to stay "Off Grid" means having some sort of battery storage. A good battery storage system is a big expense in itself. Solar panels are cheap in themselves. Inverters and battery system would be the biggest expense.

 

You would need to know what an appliance pulls in power to design a solar system. LED TV's, computers, cell phones and light bulbs are all real low wattage usage. Refrigerators, rice cookers, and especially Aircon is when you really start loading up. 

 

A quick internet search yielded this estimator.

 

http://www.affordable-solar.com/Learning-Center/Solar-Tools/Off-Grid-Load-Estimator

 

[Curley]

There are lots of examples of people living off grid in you tube,. I lived off grid for several years, gas fridge, cooking and water heating plus 12 V lighting but no inverter, just a battery.

[Curley]

Is the land very hilly? Could you run a water powered generator?

Edited July 10, 2013 by Curley

[Thomas]

Because the power companies are never shy about raising their prices, especially during an inflationary period, one idea is to include either solar, wind or biomass generators as part of the package. Does anyone know what the equipment prices are in the Philippines? It should be sufficient to provide power for one household.

Well.

(I made some study a year ago, but in an other point of view (=Be sure my production mashine wouldn't stop if the public electric stops. And I would get a lot of waste material from such production anyway.) My notes is in my broken stationary computer, and I don't plan to buy a new one before I have moved to RP (keeping the HD) so I have just a some notes about this subject in my laptop and a few in my head  :)   Then I looked at needing 15-40 kw/hour depending of mashine during it's running, and skip 

running my own electric production during my mashine isn't running except if emergency if the public electric go down to long time, making it being a problem for freezer.)

 

Anyway:

/Sun: As said expensive batteries.

/Wind: Irregular access and is it windy enough in Laguna? Battery cost problem too, if not having it just as complement to public electric. At least the big systems connected to the public grid can be economical interesting if windy enough.

/Water: Often expensive to build, but can be very good in the long run.

/"biomass generators".  Do you think of any special type?

I looked some at

- steam.  No tar problem. Some explosion risk, the system need to be checked very often. (I suppose it can be made automatic, but then it would cost much more.)

- gas driven (mainly type as was used during WWII in cars too). Tar problem for wooden type of gas. "Any" engines can be used with some adjustments, at least the older car engines.

Both are loud and most types need someone handling it, refilling fuel if producing Producers gas by fireing it yourself. Metan gas from e g pig manure can economical. (Farmers are building one together some kilometers from where I live in Sweden). But I suppose the smell from the pig manure wouldn't be popular in your case  :)

 

(I didn't make the final checking which to prefer depending of I better wait and compare how effective system they make when it's time to start - IF I chose to start that type of business  :) - but in my case the conclusion was better drive the mashine direct by such biomass engine, skiping electric drive (and perhaps add a generator too to get electricity for light and such. Anyway they are loud so I planed to not run the engine(-s) during sleeping hours and no home close to it except the guard house.)

Compare this to the plan you have with all the buildings done, septic in

I don't know what the ecological system would say about soap and such, when living that close as in JJR:s case, but if living more spread then can the septic tank be SKIPED*, if having cesspits toalet type plus a rather simple sand filtering of the water from bath, kitchen and washing mashine. (I have like that now in my villa in Sweden of ecological reasons. In some rural Swedish "baranggays" it isn't even allowed to install new Water Closets because they make problem for the lakes/ocean.) 

Such cesspits solutions add useable fertilizer too  :)   In Sweden such easy handled cesspits cost from around 1000 USD each, but a bit harder to handle types are rather easy to build at least if think of it when building the houses (=tank system, emptied from outside when it's ready fertilizer. The simpler manufactor made ones use buckets, which are easy replaced and stored elsewhere until it's fertillizer. No smell problems inside the house by ventilattion pipe and a small slow fan make it go out. Not sure if it can disturb neighbours if having houses close to each other. If all become vegetarians, then it smell litle anyway  :)

 

*Regulations are hard in Sweden, but my simple and cheap system without septic tank got OK recently.

[ozepete]

Forget solar, it is oversold and provides an alternative only if mains is not available. (Also expect especially poor performance and high maintenance costs in the Phls)

Someone paying p5m to p7m for a home is not going to forfeit the equipment that only the grid can efficiently provide.