Remember the post I put up a week or so ago about green hacking? Well my source is a Do-It-Yourselfer out of Vermont, Ben Hewitt, who is living off the grid. Since his energy needs came from a gas generator (much more expensive than electical bills) and his entire system must be maintained by him alone, he has quite the motive to experiment with energy saving and efficiency methods. In other words, he’s taking it a step farther than your fancy dancy neighbor with a solar panel in suburbia. That guy seems to have everything and make it look so easy. Not Ben. He gets creative and has to do all the work himself. Read his blog at Popular Mechanics’ website. His story of self-sustainability is compelling, and you’ll learn a bit about it too. Oh, and when you see him in the pictures and think he looks a little bit like Luke Skywalker, it’s because he does…

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I just ran across an interesting monthly (so far) blog about green hacking. Never heard of it? Neither had I. Basically, green hacking is modifying ordinary household items into energy saving machines. This is at least a fun blog to read, and at best an exciting way to darken your shade of green and save some bills. You know, keep the presidents in your pocket? Ben Hewitt is a freelance writer who lives off the grid and shares his personal hacking experience. I would call this bit of information a gem of knowledge, which is not quite a treasure chest but much better than a nugget.

My ultimate favorite so far, and there are only three, is the wood stove. My parents have one (see blog “the ‘warm’ fireplace”), so naturally I’m gearing up to pitch the idea to them and collect some awesome data. If I survive the venture, you’ll hear all about it.

The articles are from thedailygreen.com. You’re looking for greenhacks by Ben Hewitt. If anyone actually does any of this stuff, please let me know. I’d love to hear the stories (except for the car one, that’s a little boring).

HousePlans.Info: The latest trends, observations and opinions on all things related to house plans, home design and home building.