More garden pics and installation of 12 volt panel

Far right is my 12 volt set up,2 more batteries will be added making a total of 900 amp hours for lighting.





Hi,

here we have a Fire salamander,walking through the garden,stunning,and various fungi and moss

My French garden flora and fauna

I am going to post pics of the animals and plants I find in the 'garden' of my house, I prefer natural wildflower gardens and do not like to have a neat and tidy garden,which is just as well because it would take a lot of looking after!
Cannot identify this mushroom,hopefully it is edible!
Some type of banded snail

Periwinkle plant,have carpets of them,lovely.

12 Volt DC board

These are the bulbs I will be using for the main rooms,12v,11 watt,really good light,bought from an ebay seller's shop,I will use some 12 v spotlights in the kitchen area mounted into shelves.I have 4 marine gel batteries,of 220 amp hours each,here are just two.



This is my 12v dc set up,mounted on board ready to put in.On the board are a fusebox,two busbars, (positive and negative),a 45 amp solar controller for solar panels,and large guage wire for feeds.I will be using this setup for lighting but may use it for the odd 12 volt appliance later.I have not purchased the solar panels yet,so will have to charge up batteries with a generator for a while.

Compost toilet

Hi,
this is my compost toilet,I made it out of marine ply,having a beer fermenting bin for collection,and using a similar design shown in the 'Humanure Composting Book' by Jenkins,box fresh yet to be used! It's not in situ yet,will have it installed soon and ready for action,cover material will be mostly sawdust from local sawmill.I have bought 4 of the same fermenting bins so they all fit into the toilet, they are 25 litre, and can be carried to the composting site when about 3/4 full.

Starting out

This is my first ever blog and I have decided to write about my project in France,I own a very small cottage and will be trying to run it on an 'off-grid' basis,using 12volts DC,composting toilet(s),rainwater collection,e.t.c.
I will post various pics to show how I go about the project but would like any suggestions and feedback on ways I could improve any part of the subjects covered,thanks