Tuesday, 6 December 2016
How to Live off the Grid in Canada: A Two Season Plan.
After much research I have decided to build a very small Off-grid Cabin on a lake in Ontario or Quebec. I will live here between May and October (6 months) Spring, Summer and Fall.
I am also looking for a very small piece of property anywhere in the Caribbean where there is no Property Tax. I will also build a very small Vacation cottage and live there between November and April. (6 months - Canadian Winter)
I am not sure if I will be allowed to build these "Off the Grid" but if I am not allowed then I will buy a very inexpensive Trailer and live there. Hopefully close to the beach.
I will document my "Offgrid Living" adventure here on this blog through photography, stories and video. Stay tuned and Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://youtu.be/9PkYQt9xHF4
Monday, 5 December 2016
20 acres of Wooded Land in Quebec, Canada $34,900
Ch. du Lac-Tremblant, Saint-Émile-de-Suffolk, Quebec J0V1N0
20 acres wooded land, quiet area and great for hunting: $34,900 ($26 k US)
https://www.realtor.ca/Residential/Vacant-Land/15182743/Ch-du-Lac-Tremblant-Saint-Émile-de-Suffolk-Quebec-J0V1N0
View in early Autumn looking towards Lake.
and Gatineau / Ottawa centers.
View in Autumn looking towards the mountains.
Gorgeous 20 Acres, Wooded land, excellent Hunting and fishing in Quebec. (Near Lac Tremblant)
Moose, deer, rabbit, partridge, trout fishing, pickerel (walleye), perch, bass, pike.
Plenty of Maple trees wood allow tapping and Maple Syrup Production.
$34,900 Cdn $ = $26,000 US.
Maybe we could find 20 people with $1,300 each and build an Off-Grid Village in the hills of Quebec ? Anyone ? 1 acre for $1,300
   | Approximately 1 hour from Montreal, Ottawa, Vermont and New York. |
Amenities Nearby Highway, Golf Course, Schools, Ski hill
Features Cul-de-sac, Sloping, Flat site
View View of water, Mountain view, View (panoramic)
Zoning Type Residential
Realtor.ca Listing:
https://www.realtor.ca/Residential/Vacant-Land/15182743/Ch-du-Lac-Tremblant-Saint-Émile-de-Suffolk-Quebec-J0V1N0
Friday, 2 December 2016
Electricity Consumption reduced to 500 KWhr /mo
So we have been able to reduce our Electricity Consumption to 500 KWhr per month for the past 2 months... (Hydro Ottawa)
Total Monthly Hydro Bill is $106/mo.
How did we do this ? We basically have turned everything off except the fridge and furnace fan when the heat comes on, but for the past 2 months we have turned our furnace off. We do not use Electricity except to wash clothes on weekends and keep the refrigerator running so that we have food and do not die. This is Life in Ontario Canada.
These are 2 graphs that show daily Consumption:
Thursday Oct 06 2016 --- 10 KWhr /day during the week
Sunday Nov 13 2016 --- 10 KWhr/day on a Sunday when we did not do laundry....
Total cost of Electricty / mo = $50 + Service Delivery and Taxes....
Total Monthly Hydro Bill is $106/mo.
How did we do this ? We basically have turned everything off except the fridge and furnace fan when the heat comes on, but for the past 2 months we have turned our furnace off. We do not use Electricity except to wash clothes on weekends and keep the refrigerator running so that we have food and do not die. This is Life in Ontario Canada.
These are 2 graphs that show daily Consumption:
Thursday Oct 06 2016 --- 10 KWhr /day during the week
Sunday Nov 13 2016 --- 10 KWhr/day on a Sunday when we did not do laundry....
Thursday, 1 December 2016
87 Acres A-Frame cabin for $100 k Goulais River Ontario, Canada
87 acres more or less of Prime Moose & Bear Hunting and recreational property with gorgeous well built A-Frame cabin!
$100,000 Cdn = $75,000 US
At the end of Witrey Road, close to Goulais River.
Animal tracks everywhere on this property, 'Away from it all location!'
Bring your 4 wheeler and explore. Cabin interior will be open and available for viewing in June and July by arrangement, if not sold before. Checkout the inside pictures.
Fire pit, trails throughout for 4 wheelers. Area around cabin is cleared, with drive to road access.
Cabin is well insulated, has DC power wires run. Sleeps 6-8; twin built in beds in loft area, has propane wall furnace.
Large outhouse with storage.
Hwy 552 to Witrey Road West, at turnaround, go right, stay right. Road dead ends at this property ***Witrey Road is across from Bellevue Valley Road
Minutes from Lake Superior - Largest, cleanest Fresh Water Lake in the World.
Some very basic practical tips to keep your house cool in summer.
If your home is well insulated with good vapour and air barrier the house should stay cool all day long. Even when it is 90 degrees outside.
If you live in an old drafty home with little insulation and no vapour or air barrier it may be better to look for a newer house, or build your own with double wall, and double Insulation. I recommend a small bungalow (1,000 sq ft) with a large basement since it is always warmer on a second floor. If possible design your house so that the bedrooms are in the basement, where it is always cooler.
If it is a comfortable temperature in your house and it is hot outside keep the windows closed. If it is cooler outside and a good breeze then open the windows on each side of your house and place a fan that blows out one of the windows. This creates a negative pressure and will draw the cool air into your house.
Plant lots of Maple Trees on the South Side of your house. Not so close that the roots damage your foundation but at a distance so that the mature trees will provide shade to the South side of your house. The October Glory or Autumn Blaze Maple are fast growing trees that will turn a Brilliant orange and red each fall. The leaves drop by winter and allow the Sun to heat your home during the winter.
Please add your tips in the comments below ....
Monday, 28 November 2016
Hydro One CEO receives $4 Million Salary while 60,000 families have their power turned off.
In many rural parts of Ontario the costs are even higher since Ontario Hydro companies can charge higher costs for "Delivery" of the electricity along wires to each home.
In many cases Hydro Bills have gone from $100 a month to over $500 per month. That's $6,000 / year for electricity needed to run lights, refrigerators, stoves, heating and cooling. Some people who made the switch to Geothermal heating and cooling are seeing Hydro Bills above $1,000 per month since the pumps needed to circulate the glycol are run on Electricity.
This year the Hydro companies have turned off the power to 60,000 homes for not paying their Electricity bills ....
Meanwhile, this guy - Mayo Schmidt the New CEO of Hydro One has decided to pay himself $ 4 Million dollars a year Salary ! For what ? Extracting every last penny from the poor people of Ontario ? Please, tell me this is just a really really bad joke.
People in Ontario can no longer pay their Hydro Bills and are having their Electricity turned off and this guy gives himself a $3.5 Million dollar raise ?
It is Winter here and many people still heat their homes with Electricity, and now this guy, who elected to pay himself $4 Million a year is turning off their power ? Something is very wrong in Ontario.
No wonder everybody in Ontario wants to get off the grid.
From the Financial Post:
http://business.financialpost.com/executive/c-suite/hyrdo-one-ceos-pay-of-4-million-with-bonus-approaches-top-end
Notes:
Number of disconnections
According to the OEB, nearly 60,000 residential customers were disconnected from their hydro services in Ontario for non-payment last year – 9,772 of which were Hydro One customers. The OEB claims utility providers reconnect 99 per cent of households within two business days of disconnection. However, closer analysis of the data provided by the OEB shows that for Hydro One, this figure is significantly lower.
Of the nearly 10,000 disconnections performed by Hydro One last year, only 7,269 were reconnected, or roughly 75 per cent.
Why do our Hydro Rates keep climbing ?
Hydro rates going up again, the Ontario Energy Board says. OEB says milder winter is to blame for rate hikes.... Only in Ontario would customers be penalized for Reduced Electricity Consumption.
We do the things we are supposed to do: use smart meters, turn down the temperature, use the dryer dishwasher on off hours, turn off lights and yet we still get screwed."
As a result of lower usage, Regulated Price Plan (RPP) prices did not recover the full cost of serving RPP customers. One of the main reasons prices have increased this last May is to recover this shortfall." With the salaries shown below, it would appear the main function of the electricity system, supposedly supplying electricity to us, is just an incidental activity.
This is where your increased Hydro payment are going ...
HYDRO ONE - MAYO SCHMIDT $1 Million + 3 Million Bonus CEO
OPG - THOMAS MITCHELL $1,720,774 President & Chief Executive Officer
OPG - WAYNE ROBBINS $920,714 Chief Nuclear Officer
OPG - JOHN MURPHY $910,870 Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives
Hydro One - CARMINE MARCELLO $728,571 President & Chief Executive Officer
OPG - DONN W. HANBIDGE $670,930 Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
OPG - FRANK CHIAROTTO $616,741 Senior Advisor, Joint Ventures
OPG - PIERRE F. TREMBLAY $596,510 President, Canadian Nuclear Partners
Hydro One - MYLES D'ARCEY $566,834 Senior Vice President, Customer Operations
Hydro One - SANDY STRUTHERS $566,364 Chief Administrative Officer Chief Financial Officer
Hydro One - PETER GREGG $565,272 Chief Operating Officer
OPG - PAUL PASQUET $534,538 Senior Vice President
OPG - WILLIAM ELLIOTT $523,400 Senior Vice President, Nuclear Engineering & Chief Nuclear Engineer
OPG - BRUCE BOLAND $519,636 Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations & Environment
OPG - GLENN JAGER $513,163 Chief Nuclear Officer
OEB - ROSEMARIE LECLAIR $509,223 Chair & Chief Executive Officer
OPG - MICHAEL GRIFFITHS $504,992 Control Room Shift Supervisor
OPG - TONY KOKUS $497,993 Senior Thermal Station Engineer/Officer
OPG - BARBARA KEENAN $474,236 Senior Vice President, People, Culture & Chief Ethics
OPG - CHRISTOPHER GINTHER $454,386 Senior Vice President, Law & General Counsel
OPG - BRIAN DUNCAN $452,164 Senior Vice President, Darlington
Hydro One - WAYNE SMITH $449,489 Senior Vice President, Planning & Operating
OPG - DIETMAR E. REINER $439,547 Senior Vice President, Nuclear Refurbishment
OPG - MICHAEL ALLEN $428,682 Deputy Site Vice President Hydro One
More .... http://www.ontario-hydro.com/salaries-2014
Salaries Related to Ontario 's Hydro Costs between the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), Hydro One and the Ontario Power Generation (OPG) (all three Public Sector Agencies) there are 11,879 employees who make more than $100,000/Year! These top earners draw combined annual earnings of over 1.6 billion dollars. There are 626 making more than $200,000/Year.
According to the Globe and Mail, a whopping 77.5% of Ontario Power Generation employees make over $100,000/Year. Over 70% of
Hydro One employees and over 60% of Ontario Energy Board employees make over 100K. Here we only show the top 182 who are in the Million Dollar Country Club.
Have you ever seen such ridiculous bloated job titles? And they want the customers to pay more!?
Pass this along to those that you think might be as pissed off as you are.....
Copy and paste to your own Blog or Web Site.
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