The Hodge Family
Cornwall, Vermont.
The Hodge family lives off-the-grid, nestled behind ...Orchards in Cornwall, VT. They are a young family of 5 (mom, dad, two daughters, and one dog) who made a decision to live alternatively while retaining all of the creature comforts of a "normal" house. They not only made the decision to build, but did it themselves (with a little help from their wedding party).On brisk, sunny Fall day we headed down a windy dirt road lined with blooming orchards and piles of fallen apples. At the end of the driveway sat a medium-sized, wooden framed farm house with solar panels and a wind mill. We were met by Christina Hodge, who introduced herself and shared a bit of her family's story--how they came to their lifestyle decisions and how they continue to make it work with two young children and a lot of laundry...........
Inspiration: Christina Hodge grew up in a passive solar house in the quintessential New England setting of Martha's Vineyard, MA. The house was actually a greenhouse converted into a home with the intention of living a "softer life on the land". After meeting and marrying her husband,......Hodge, they decided to continue this traditional of sustainability. The idea of living off the energy grid appealed to them as a way of living in a manner which promoted a consciousness of their energy consumption. Considering the cost of hooking into the Central Vermont Power energy grid ($11,000), they gladly decided to research the feasibility of renewable sources to meet their energy needs. Economic incentives worked in tandem with their environmental concerns and soon they laid the plans for their future home.
The House: The Hodge family made the decision to live more traditionally than the greenhouse which Christina had grown-up in; they decided to build their own home, maintaining the architectural tradition of Vermont: the farmhouse. They poured the foundation of their now nearly completed house in 199. In fact, the first beams of their wooden framed house (which were recycled from a local, no-longer-in-use barn) were raised with the help of their wedding guests--after they were married in what is now their kitchen before it was anything more than a concrete foundation. Many factors went into the construction of their home, including southern orientation, with the longest the longest axis oriented from east to west (traditional methods used in passive solar heating). The downstairs is all open, as to allow heat to circulate freely without the constriction of walls. The upstairs is essentially a loft. Heat air, therefore, rises upstairs along the southern side of the house where it gives off heat to the bedrooms, cools down, and returns along the northern side. This convection cell of warm air allows heat circulation without the modern convention of vents along each wall of the house. To ensure efficiency, they use tight insulation (Rvalue=30) and used well sealed windows.
Sources of Power: The Hodge house is primarily powered by a 80 ft. tall windmill. With the wind energy meeting the majority of their needs, they have only a few solar panels out front to meet the rest. As their energy needs have risen with the births of their two children, they have had to supplement these sources with a propane-powered generator, which they restrict the use of unless Mother Nature deems otherwise...segwaying to another aspect of their lifestyle: an unavoidable, everyday connection with outside elements--a lifestyle existing within the natural limits of their surroundings. Ecological awareness is an aspect of even the most mundane of actives. Laundry, for example, is not an exercise limited to the on and off a switch, but requires thoughtful and educated consideration of wind speed and solar intensity. Nature does not exist wholly as an "out there conceit", but rather an integral part of even mundane activities
The Hodge family is a great model for families who feel that additional energy consumption by children will make the feasibility of an off the grid lifestyle unrealistic. It has been, as it will continue to be, a learning experience for their entire family, as well as a lesson in conservation.