15 Mar 2008, 4:18 pm
The difficulty and cost of implementing solar,hydro,aero, and other alternative energy systems are vastly over estimated. Building the actual building would probably be the most difficult part, as it would be large. The easiest and most efficient method is by building it into the ground, working against gravity is one of the silliest things most people do while building. It would also protect it from wind,fire,floods, etc. MUCH easier to heat and cool, once you get a few feet under ground the temps stabilize and stay in the mid 70s nearly all year. Plumbing really isn't that bad either especially considering the level of chemical reactions present in septic tanks, free energy could be gathered from this as well. Common sense and thinking outside the box go a very long ways in construction, a few people could build a very nice, nearly 0$ upkeep living facility very cheap. There are some materials that can be made without factorys,labs, etc, really nice ones at that. I don't know how but you could research it and make your own materials for walls,etc that would probably exceed industry standards by a mile.
The location would be very important, running water,land suitable for building and small scale farming,hours of sunlight available, wind, many things would have to be taken into account if you wanted an independent energy system. The building permits and zoning nonsense could be bypassed by having a native american on board and using land either granted to them or their own personal land, not to mention you could always open a casino if times got tough. 
I quite enjoy the thought of living "outside of the system" and i am pretty confident that you guys could do it with some thought and effort. I would do it if i had money and wasn't being killed by college. 
