'Life without Electricity'

[mobbsey]

Article best summed up by one of the later paragraphs --
The non-electric way of life that Fujimura suggests is not just a lifestyle without electricity. It also incorporates his philosophy on leading a happy and affluent life using appropriate technology without depending on energy and money.



P.

http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/ ... 31327.html

Life without Electricity - Pursuing a Pleasant, Electricity-Free Lifestyle

Kazuko Kojima, Japan for Sustainability Newsletter No.109, September 2011


It is not all that long ago when we began using so many electrical appliances in everyday life. Japan's first "pulsator-type" washing machine, a prototype of current models, reached the market in 1953. Its popularity exploded as it was a convenient product that considerably reduced household work loads. Full-scale television broadcasting also started in 1953. This year set a precedent for the expanding use of various home appliances; so much so that it was later referred to as "year one of electrification."

Among these new appliances, the washing machine, refrigerator and black-and-white television set were called the "three sacred treasures" (referring to the Imperial regalia of Japan, the sword, mirror and jewel) that everyone longed for at that time. With incomes increasing as a result of rapid economic growth, consumer demand for these home appliances skyrocketed. By 1973 most households had purchased these 3 appliances.

Japan's electricity use steadily increased starting around this time. Even after the "oil shock" of 1973, electricity use increased about 2.5 fold during the 35 years to 2008. The most substantial increases occurred in the consumer/household and transportation sectors. The increase in household use was partly due to changes in social structure, such as an increasing number of households, and also by changes in private lifestyles demanding more and more convenience and comfort. This was a time of "individual electrification" when each individual, rather than each household, came to own a set of electrical appliances.


Establishment of the Atelier Non-Electric

Despite these social trends, Yasuyuki Fujimura, a doctor of engineering and an inventor, has been advocating a "Non-electric" lifestyle that intentionally avoids the use of electricity. The phrase, "Non-electric" may sound a little unfamiliar, but it is different from "anti- electrification" that condemns electricity on principle. The phrase "Non-electric" is meant to communicate the idea that it should be possible to live happily and richly while enjoying a moderate level of comfort and convenience without depending on electricity.

Fujimura has a PhD in physics and originally got a job at a major equipment manufacturer. He was an elite engineer involved in the development of advanced technologies including plasma processing machines, cogeneration systems and gas heat pumps. His turning point was when his newborn son was diagnosed with allergic asthma. As he found out, at that time, in the 1980s, there was a surprising increase in the number of children with allergies. As he continued his research, he learned about environmental problems. He realized that the environment was deteriorating and harming the health of children as one of the down sides of rapid economic growth fueled by the vigorous promotion of scientific and technological advancement and the pursuit of more and more convenience and comfort.

{SNIP}

[adam2]

A bit silly IMHO.
We should seek to reduce the waste or needless use of electricity and other fuels, but I dont see the point in going without entirely.
It would be well to prepare for a future without electricity, but so doing should be regarded as a disaster prep, not something to look forward to.

Candles, gas lights, and oil lamps all have theire uses and in certain circumstances may be peferable to electric light. However in most circumstances electric light is the cleanest, safest, and most convienient available.
If used sensibly, the power required for electric lighting is very small indeed, 100 watts is ample for a large house, and as little as 5 watts will give better lighting than candles or small oil lamps, and with less trouble and almost no fire risk.
A small PV module that should last decades, and a battery that should last several years will provide basic lighting.

An electric fence is a cheap and easy way to contain livestock, and again uses very little power.

Many trades and large scale DIY work are more productive if power tools are available.

A microwave oven or an induction cooking ring make wise use of electricity, and for certain foodstuffs are very quick compared to lighting a fire.

Telephones and intercomms need electricity, though not much per head.

Battery operated torches and lanterns are extreemly usefull in remote places or in case of failure of other lighting arrangements.

In the longer term, a little electricity is quite easy to make either for individual homes or for a community.
PV modules, small wind turbines, micro hydro, bicycle generators and the like are all usefull.
For larger scale power, steam engines could be considered.

Batteries are easy to make, both rechargeable lead acid cells and Leclanche cells existed long before the oil age.

[emordnilap]

I'm wondering how it can be electricity-free with pv and a wind turbine in the picture!

[adam2]

I'm wondering how it can be electricity-free with pv and a wind turbine in the picture!

Some people say "electricity free" when they mean off grid but with home made electricity.
I know of a public house on Exmoor that claim to manage without electricity, despite the fact that they have two generators !

Some of the Amish people in the USA claim to do without electricity, but still use portable generators and battery operated LED lights.

[emordnilap]

'Off-grid' would be a little more honest.

Good thoughts and ideas in the article, nonetheless.

[jonny2mad]

Ive lived for about 7 years without electricity, basically in the winter you sleep a lot more without electric light .
We had oil lamps and candles and didn't really use them that much, Ive got open fire places and a rayburn so the evenings were mainly spent by wood fire light .
All the cooking was done on the rayburn, we had a Victorian hand crank washing machine and a mangle, technically even thats not entirely without electricity as we had mains water but I think I could get round that .

Anyway electric light is a great thing it means you can do a lot more in the winter months .
But I don't expect it to last I fully expect in the future to make my porridge over a fire in near darkness.....thats if theres any porridge to be had

[Lord Beria3]

What about food jonny2mad?

[jonny2mad]

we grew a hell of a lot of it and kept goats we also collected wild food.
At the moment I seem to be living either on food that people threw away at various festivals or things Ive grown or found, apart from milk and cheese and butter, oh and apple turnovers I don't really buy much oh yes porridge I buy that .

so now I'm a near freegan

oh yes Tesco value biscuits I buy them I'm having some of those (rich tea 18 p a packet ) with my cup of kenco coffee someones dear mother bought for them and then they left at Glastonbury, the mug I found, the overalls I'm wearing I found ........they were like new overalls just wet when I found them, and my boots found them

I'm living the life of the post apocalyptic scavenger already

[Lord Beria3]

Wow impressive!

I have alot of respect for you, unlike many doomers, you seem to walk the walk! If the hard crash happens, best of luck mate!

[madibe]

Sounds like Johhy will not need too much luck...he is doing it and making it work right now. Amazing.

[sister of mercy]

Have been lurking here since forever, so decided to chuck my two pence in.

As a woman I dread not having electricity. Women in the past needed to stay at home to complete all the chores that are done by machines today.

Canning, spinning, weaving, washing, rug beating, all manner of household stuff. All of these things are very time consuning and hard work.

Women used to spin with a drop spindle almost every waking hour to keep a family clothed, a combination of natural fibres and hard manual work made clothes wear out fast.

Please keep the lights on if possible, posset tubs, coppers and mangles are hard graft.

I don't really want arms like a washerwoman and I hate standing up so I can allow my spindle the drop. I'm not lazy, just soft.

[mobbsey]

Many men didn't have it any easier. E.g., why was the traditional porter so rich in sugars and carbohydrates?; it's because the average stevedore would burn 5,000 to 6,000 calories per day hauling goods around the docks -- about the same amount as endurance sports people can burn in a day. Until the advent of electrical machinery in the 1920s/1930s, work for men was equally laborious and mind-numbing. A Durham labourer in 1900 might have used a similar effort to the labourer in 1700, the difference was that he did do a few hundred feet underground, by candlelight, in a 2' coal seam.

In fact, one critical view of post-war consumerism in the USA sees it as a force to nullify the influence of trade unions by encouraging "the system" to give people health benefits, holidays and better conditions; and in return that greater level of consumption expanded the market and paid for those benefits. However, now that it's more than just a couple of hundred million Americans chasing those benefits, that system can no longer function because it can't draw-down cheap resources in the same way. Arguably that 'post-strife'/anti-socialism model of capitalism ended with Thatcher and Reagan, and the priority since has been to reallocate costs from businesses to individuals through the promotion of 'individual freedom'.

A future with less energy and resources will require us employ more effort in our daily lives than we have done in the recent past; today energy and machines are in many cases cheaper than people, but that does not mean that we need to return to the industrial mode of existence that existed when people were cheaper than machines and energy. That is why, post-peak everything, we'll have to negotiate a new social order that balances the competing needs of present day society -- beyond the simple 'when Adam delved and Eve span' ideas of pastoralism.

[adam2]

Yes, electricity does indeed save a lot of hard labour, both in the home and also by powering factories that make cheap mass produced clothing and other goods.
Large mills and clothing factories dont HAVE to use electricity, but virtually all do. Until fairly recently some textile mills and factories used steam power or a water wheel.

As you point out, hand laundry is both hard work and tedious, and the manufacture of clothing exceedingly time consuming.

It would therefore be well to prepare for a future in which grid power and mass produced clothing are not reliably available.

The laundry problem may be solved by an off grid power source able to work a washing machine. A diesel generator of about 4KW/4.5KW will work a washing machine and allow almost unlimited use of low loading appliances at the same time.
Lighting may be supplied from batteries charged when the generator is running for laundry or power tools etc.
1,000L of diesel would last several years of frugal use.

Alternatively work a washing machine from a RE system, I do !, though you need a large inverter.

For a planned community, a central power source and launderete type washing machines are worth considering as these are long lasting and readily repaired.
For a private house, a spare washing machine might be advisable, though these might be easily aquired after a crash if most people lacked power to work them.

As regards replacement clothing, this is easily solved by large stocks of basic clothing, sheets, towels, blankets etc.
Although any feasible stocks will eventually be used up, enough for a few decades is readily stored.
Sheets for example, last about 5 or 10 years IME, presuming one pair in use and one pair in the wash. Therefore a few dozen spares should last a lifetime.
Blankets last from perhaps 5 years for one used continually, up to decades for those used only for a few weeks of severe weather each year. A dozen spares should last a lifetime.
T-shirts and underwear last from 100 up to perhaps 200 wash and wear cycles, typicly a few replacements per year. 100 should last several decades.
The lifetime of outer wear is more variable depending of course on the type of work done, and how tatty the garments may become before replacement is required. Suitable for an office job ? or suitable for gardening ? Keep plenty of spares.
Remember that overalls are not just for paid employment, but usefull at home, they are durable and easily washed.

[mobbsey]

Couple of Grauniad staff are on my email distribution list; they've just rehashed the original article for Guardian On-line -- http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 ... lectricity

[biffvernon]

Pure woollen socks don't need washing at anything like the frequency of ones made of artificial fibres. Bacteria find wool is a hostile environment.