I'm too much of a tech addict to ever de-evolutionize (new word?) to that point.
Well, recently while reading some more about this (read: "feeding the obsession") I came across the term "Off the Grid" which I think more accurately describes the direction I'm interested in.
More importantly, I found a site outlining many of the ideas and concepts I have been thinking of.
It's put together by Glen Hunter, who with his partner started building an "Off the Grid" place in 2002. The house is made of straw, which in my opinion is a whole other issue to "off the grid" but after looking at the progress and final results I must admit I think straw houses are pretty interesting too.
The site Glen has put together outlines many many of the issues and details associated with off the grid living, for the point of view of an owner/builder who also has a 'normal' job (i.e. isn't living off the land and building full time)
Anyway, here is the link to the site. The house is in Canada, and you'll see from the pics they experience 'real' winters of -30deg with good dumpings of snow.
The major 'eco' design factor of the house is using the sun to heat a huge mass during the day, and radiating that heat back at night. On Glen's house this is achieved via a wall of windows, and a bare concrete floor. Even in the winter, the sun streams in and does it's thing.
Along with this form of heating is underfloor radiant heating, and (just recently!) a very small log burner. Electrical power all comes from Solar and Wind....oh yeah.They live over 800m from a possible grid power source, are not connected to it, and living a normal life - that's cool.
I found this site pretty inspirational. Often I feel most people don't quite get it when I mention "off the grid" - this is a great example of what I have been talking about.
The Straw House Blog
My page of interesting links for building a house
