Tim Novine

5/8/12

ENSC195

Whole Systems design is a firm dedicated to designing human habitats and infrastructure that are self-sufficient and don’t rely on the grid. One of the key elements of this idea is investing in present day resources to prepare for future events such as food shortages, energy supply disturbances, and other events both climactic and economic.

My work at Whole Systems changed with the seasons. In the winter my work was mainly hauling, splitting and stacking wood, which is used to heat the workshop as well as fuel for the hot water system. We learned proper techniques for stacking wood to avoid wood rot and stack instability. We have also learned how the different types of wood yield different amounts of energy. In the spring we began planning and planting for future biomass. We learned the different benefits some plants have. Black locust, for example, is a nitrogen fixer. This tree’s roots add nitrogen to the ground, which helps the other plants around it. Black locust is also an efficient fuel source because of its density. Ben also showed us different things around the workshop that reduce their dependency on the grid. Some of these systems include: a solar hot water heater, both of his vehicles were fueled on used vegetable oil, a solar powered electric fence, and the workshop was designed to utilize sunlight as well as conserve heat.