Looking at the list of principles compiled by various Permaculturists (I put together here), one will notice that both Holmgren and Pittman made the management of energy one of the most important aspects of Permaculture. Not surprisingly, energy is how life, or rather matter in all its manifestations affects us, and vice versa. So how do we make the most of it? By capturing and storing it, of course. But to do that, we first need to be aware of what energy actually is.
Solar Panels and Batteries
Nowadays, when mentioning energy storage, most people would think of a battery to store electrical power. And certainly, in a world where more and more of our infrastructure depends on electricity, this is an important aspect, though by far not the only one. And while photovoltaic panels have made immense progress in their efficiency in recent years, they remain a poor secondary use of solar energy, compared to the old, time-tested ones.
Thermal Mass
Earthshipers and other natural building enthusiasts would probably think of passive solar houses right now: using the sun's energy to heat a thermal mass. Certainly, this is a much more efficient way for using heat, than any electrical heater, even if charged by solar cells. And it's not restricted to indoor use, either. A pile of rocks can do wonders to the micro-climate of a garden, by capturing heat and giving it off gradually. Still, as wonderful as thermal mass is, it remains only one of the many ways solar energy is stored in nature.
Biomass, One of Nature's Own Batteries
Looking at the natural world, especially in temperate zones, we see plants grow from Spring to Fall. As humans we have adapted to harvesting this accumulated energy over the colder seasons in form of firewood. Technological advances in the last centuries have additionally given us access to the energy stored in ancient biomass underground, in forms of fossil fuels like coal. Since our culture tends to use up these resources much faster than they were created, the essence of this Principle becomes more important: we need to capture and store the energy ourselves, and then make the most out of it. For example, making sure that more wood grows in a year than what we burn is nice. Burning it in the most efficient way, as in a rocket mass heater, is even better.
Other Ways Nature Stores Energy
Coming back to photosynthesis, we know that plants convert sunlight, water, and CO2 into carbohydrates and oxygen on a large scale. This in turn is used by animals who convert it back to CO2 and water, along with metabolic energy. Meanwhile, trees grow large and animals grow fat, and we as their human stewards can benefit from these forms of energy. We can even learn to maximize it, by creating abundant ecosystems where each element can grow in size and numbers, as well as the overall system in its diversity. Just like burning wood in a campfire, these are ancient practices. Just like with the rocket heater, however, there are always more efficient ways to do the same thing.
Energy in Water
Not all forms of energy come directly from the sun, or are heat related. Let's think about the weather for a second: the sun evaporates water, which becomes clouds while creating the wind that drives them. Atmospheric and temperature changes cause it to fall back to earth again as rain, making plants grow or causing massive floods and eroding the landscape (depending on the situation). Even once it has fallen, water is a formidable force in the form of rivers. Harnessing the wind or water for energy is also an old concept that has been practiced long before the discovery of electricity. Since nowadays they tend to bring to mind hydroelectric or wind turbines, I'd like to address them a bit.
Unlike PV panels, water or wind turbines are easier to construct, even in home-made projects, but they each have their own drawbacks. A micro-hydro solution requires a stream on the site that preferably runs all year round. Wind turbines in turn rely on the wind, which can be one of the least reliable factors. However, a lot can be done with a combination of water tanks, depending on the differences in elevation one has at their disposal. Using the wind to pump water up into a high location, from where it can be gravity-fed through a water turbine below, the combination of the two systems could even out each other's deficiencies. A great idea...
Though even better is, not to let the water flow down (so fast) in the first place. This is where swales come in. Of course water will always find a way down, so let's make sure it is the longest possible way. Along the way it can irrigate our plants, be soaked up by our top-soil, feed ponds and wells, not to mention evaporate into improving our atmosphere. Also, if we slow it down it won't have the energy (!) to erode our landscape.
Metabolic Energy for Physical Strength and Fitness
Sun, wind, and water are just the surface we are scratching in terms of energy, even though they seem to be the most important ones. But how about the previously mentioned metabolic energy? How can we make the most out of eating a big breakfast? We could go play a round of squash and use it up for a good time, or we can dig some swales, which in turn will have their own effect on the energy flow on our site. I don't want to discredit squash (or any other sports) here. In fact, building up our muscle strength is a great way to invest our energy in future projects of physical nature. It beats growing fat on the couch, in any case. But how about all the metabolic energy around us? Think about chicken tractors, or letting pigs root around in a plot. Harnessing their energy in a way they would be using it naturally, but with a further purpose planned behind it, now that is true ingenuity.
Energy in Chemistry
Widening our scope, we can't leave the energy derived from chemical processes unmentioned. One of the simplest examples is the heat generated in a compost pile. While it may seem benign to many, composting can be taken to its full potential in such applications as the Jean Paine method, which not only heats water for household use, but also generates methane for fueling a truck. Talking about methane, by the way, hooking up a human toilet or an animal pen to a methane digestor is an excellent way to create gas for cooking.
Information Energy
Finally, let's consider all the energy of our ancestors that went into the domestication of plants and animals and the diversity of varieties, each for its own purpose. Let's think about all the work preceding scientific discoveries and technological breakthroughs. All the tinkering that went into creating tools that saves so much energy for us, all the time and effort it took to come up with the theoretical concepts we use to understand our world around us, all these are forms of stored energy. The food that these scientists ate, the material they used, the fuel burned for their light and warmth, may have been used up and reverted into the great cycle of mater a long time ago. But the information derived from their work stays with us to this day. I couldn't think of a way to make more out of the energy we capture and store every day. So how can we make the most of this information? By learning and applying them, of course.
To see my discussions of other Permaculture Principles, take a look at these posts:
Permaculture: A Starting Point
David Holmgren
- Observe and interact
- Catch and store energy
- Obtain a yield
- Apply self-regulation and accept feedback
- Use and value renewable resources and services
- Produce no waste
- Design from patterns to details
- Integrate rather than segregate
- Use small and slow solutions
- Use and value diversity
- Use edges and value the marginal
- Creatively use and respond to change
Bill Mollison
- Work with nature, not against it
- The problem is the solution
- Maximum effect for minimum effort
- The yield of the system is theoretically unlimited
- Everything gardens