Peri Coombs

All great advice, Timothy and Rebecca! Thanks so much for weighing in

Timothy...good to know you are located in Ontario and were allotted 5,000 litres per day! I realize this will most likely change according to district and body of water, but it's good to have that knowledge.

Rebecca...sounds like you're living an amazing life out in the Himalayas! While I agree that it will be difficult, Glen had mentioned that you either need a slope or speed to harness the water. That gives me hope that it can be done because finding a piece of property that has a river ON it AND a head is going to be very, very tough. I'm praying the stars align on all of this. When I think about it, part of me gets so excited and then the next minute, I can be so dismayed. The majority of me thinks there are too many barriers involved to make this happen. BUT...I'm determined to will it. And yes, life without a skate sharpener is...well, like life without a toaster (or a corkscrew )!

UPDATE: As you know, I called the Ministry of Natural Resources who suggested I contact my town first. So, I called the Chief Building Inspector who spoke with my husband when he returned my call. End result, it would seem our town has no regulations because he really had no idea what we were talking about. My husband said obviously this is the first inquiry he's had about hydroelectricity for a homeowner. I was THRILLED to hear this!!!

**Happy Dance**

Glen, you're an angel! Thank you for taking the time to look that up and respond. I skimmed the website and it looks great as a starting point. Cheers!

I contacted the Ministry of Environment to check on regulations and they said to start locally, so I am waiting back to hear from our town's Chief Building Officer. Will post an update when I have one, for those interested.

Thanks so much for the replies!

Glen...we want to use the water to run the house, as any average, energy conscience household runs, with two teenage children living in it. We need to rely on the internet for work and some play, and my husband will need to run his tools in a wood working shop, but again, we are cognizant of our usage and minimize where we can.

R Ranson, I DEFINITELY came to the right place. Love this site and am so grateful I found it! You're advice is on point...I'll be contacting my town and then the MNR for further guidance.

I wonder if anyone would have handy some links to online information about using water for energy to run an average size house? I'm very overwhelmed with the reading I've been doing, so if someone could help narrow down my search efforts to an article that would be a good starting point and explains things to the layman, that would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks again!!

My husband and I are researching our off the grid options in the hopes of building next spring in Ontario, Canada and I've officially hit the "holy this is overwhelming!" stage. I think that's because I have a few land plots in mind and am trying to gear the information I'm finding around them, to help decide which one to buy. So...I'm looking for a little clarification on the following:

Plot A is a level lot that slopes gently down to a FANTASTIC river (it's a very fast river...flow should not be a problem at all. Sustainability of flow should not be a concern either as it's coming from quite a large lake). It's about 50 feet from the edge of the flat land to the river...and the river is below the building site (again, a gentle slope) so we'd have to pump it up (sigh). And, this river does not run through the property, so I'm not sure at this time if we'd even be able to tap into it (have yet to make that inquiry).

Plot B is a level lot, but the river runs right through the property. I have not been out to see it yet, so I don't have much to go on unfortunately. Just thought I'd mention it.

Plot C is level with a fairly large pond. Not sure of the depth.

I have a feeling this is asking a lot, but with what little information I have provided, would anyone be able to point me in the right direction on how to get started researching what we would need to make this happen? I guess really, all I'm looking for is the most economical way to harness the water that is downhill and what you would need for that and then in contrast, the most economical way to harness water on level land from a standing pond.

This is a big ask, isn't it? I'm just so overwhelmed with all of the information floating out there, thought I'd take a stab at throwing out what we're looking at in the hopes of getting some kind of clarity.

Thank you for any information you can provide (even if it's a cheerleading statement urging me not to give up! LOL).

PS - a huge thank you to the moderators and all of the contributors on this forum! I'm SO excited to have found it and can't wait to delve into the other topics. Hopefully I'll be able to pay forward some advice