If the Corona Virus has taught us one thing it is how most of us are entirely dependent on others to survive. This begs the question: what if we experience another virus in years to come which is more virulent and millions are laid off work?
Just to be clear, I’m not saying that we should all go out and buy small homesteads, live off the land and become entirely self sufficient, but what could we do within reason?
Solar Power – Thailand is ideal for solar power and with new developments in more affordable battery storage you could vastly reduce your reliance on the grid. Also other power saving solutions such as LED lighting, Eco swimming pool pumps, invertor motors on air conditioning units and other electrical appliances can all help to reduce your bills and your carbon footprint.
Double Glazing and Over Ceiling Insulation – By replacing your windows and doors with low maintenance UPVC double glazed units and by installing over ceiling insulation, this will reduce your electric bill further as the cool air is retained inside the property and the need for air con is reduced.
Rain Water Harvesting – Save your rainwater by guttering your property and collecting rainwater in a tank which can then go through a filtration system to use within your property. In Thailand we have a rainy season for around 5-6 months of the year.
These 3 items above are installed at Baan Phu Thara, Hua Hin’s number 1 ECO development. www.thaicountryhomes.com
Drinking Water Filtration – There are some very inexpensive and easy to fit drinking water filtration units available for around 5,000 Baht, these can be fitted under your sink in around 30 minutes and have a separate tap for drinking water (when I could see that the situation with covid 19 was becoming more serious it was the first thing I did).
Turn an Area of Your Garden into a Vegetable Patch – Growing a lot of your own food is not only health, it’s also cheap and very convenient. This is something they have done at this solar villa in Hin Lek Fai: https://tchhuahinpropertyagent.com/property/high-spec-ecologically-advanced-pool-villa-in-hin-lek-fai/
So there are 5 ideas above that are not out of reach of most peoples’ budget and would make a prolonged period of self-isolation a lot more bearable, especially if the services that we take for granted are affected.
