Building a Resilient Homestead: Alex Wilson’s Net-Zero, Self-Reliant Model
Discover how Alex Wilson's Vermont homestead blends net-zero design, food self-sufficiency, and disaster resilience for a sustainable future.
Alex Wilson, founder of the Resilient Design Institute and BuildingGreen, is recognized for pioneering strategies to make homes not just sustainable, but truly resilient in the face of climate change, natural disasters, and resource disruptions. His own Vermont homestead is a living laboratory for how individuals and families can achieve energy independence, food and water security, and a comfortable lifestyle even under challenging conditions.
What is Resilient Design?
Resilient design is the intentional planning and construction of buildings and landscapes to withstand, adapt, and function through extreme weather, power outages, and other disruptions. Unlike conventional green building, which focuses primarily on reducing environmental impact, resilient design emphasizes continued livability and self-sufficiency during emergencies. This approach is becoming increasingly relevant as climate change intensifies the frequency and severity of disruptive events.
- Passive survivability: Ensuring buildings remain habitable without power or heating fuel
- Multi-layered infrastructure: Backup energy, redundant water supplies, and storm-ready construction
- On-site food and water: Providing security for extended outages or supply interruptions
- Climate adaptation: Withstanding floods, storms, and temperature extremes
Designing for Net-Zero and Independence
Wilson’s homestead in Dummerston, Vermont, exemplifies net-zero energy design. This means the house produces as much energy as it consumes each year, primarily through solar power. However, the focus goes beyond energy savings; it addresses the challenges of grid outages, severe weather, and resource constraints.
Key Features of the Wilson Homestead
- Highly Insulated Building Envelope: The home is super-insulated, requiring minimal energy for heating and cooling. This thermal envelope allows the house to retain comfortable temperatures even during a prolonged power loss in winter.
- Solar Power with Smart Backup: A large photovoltaic (PV) array provides power for the household’s needs. Importantly, one inverter enables direct use of solar electricity during daytime grid outages, so essential loads (such as refrigeration and lighting) can be maintained.
- Electric Vehicle Integration: Excess solar energy is used to charge the family’s Chevy Volt, making local transportation fossil-fuel free and further reducing dependence on the grid.
- Water Resilience: A developed spring ensures potable water is available even if electric pumps stop working, with the ability to manually collect and transport water as needed.
Ensuring Water Security
One challenge during disasters is maintaining access to safe water, especially when wells require electric pumps. Wilson’s homestead includes multiple strategies for water security:
- Developed spring: A well-protected natural spring, accessed by gravity, provides a reliable backup to the main water supply. Containers can be filled by hand if needed.
- Pond and overflow management: Spring outflow is routed to a pond, providing additional irrigation or emergency water, and helping buffer the property against drought.
- Potential for hand pump installation: Wilson has considered adding a manual pump to their deep well, for redundant access during prolonged electric outages.
Adaptation to Extreme Weather and Disaster Readiness
Vermont has faced record floods (like those from Tropical Storm Irene), hurricanes, and ice storms. Designing for resilience means anticipating these risks and building solutions into the homestead.
- Siting outside flood-prone zones to minimize the risk of inundation.
- Managing stormwater runoff with swales and drainage that direct water away from buildings and garden spaces.
- Strong, durable construction — the home’s shell is designed to withstand high winds, severe snow, and extended winter power outages.
- Passive solar and day-lighting to maximize comfort when grid electricity is not available.
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Planning for Power Loss Scenarios
True resilience means maintaining critical functions during outages. The Wilson home exemplifies several best practices:
- Ability to run essential systems directly from solar during the daytime, without relying entirely on battery storage or the grid.
- Wood stove as a backup heat source, using locally available, renewable fuel in the event of extended grid failure.
- Low-tech tools and manual systems like gravity-fed water for basic needs and the potential for hand-pumping water.
Food Self-Sufficiency and Local Production
Resilient living means not relying on distant food systems. The Wilsons have systematically increased their food independence through:
- Vegetable gardens: A half-acre plot provides the majority of the family’s fresh produce for much of the year.
- Fruit and nut trees: Another half-acre is devoted to perennial food crops designed to supply both immediate and long-term nutrition.
- Small livestock: The addition of chickens (planned at the time of documentation) supplies eggs and helps maintain soil fertility.
- Preservation and storage: Root cellaring, canning, and drying practices help ensure food availability during winter or supply interruptions.
Balancing Sustainability and Practicality
Wilson argues for a balance between high-tech solutions (such as photovoltaic panels with sophisticated inverters) and low-tech, time-tested methods (like wood heat and gravity-fed springs). This blend maximizes independence while minimizing both environmental impact and vulnerability to a single point of failure.
Benefits of Multi-Layered Resilience
- Redundancy: Multiple energy, water, and food systems ensure there’s no single point of weakness.
- Adaptability: The homestead can gracefully handle a variety of disruptions, from severe weather to supply chain interruptions.
- Health and Comfort: Even during power outages, the home remains comfortable, and food and water security are preserved.
- Reduced Emissions: Net-zero design and local food production dramatically cut carbon footprint, benefiting both the family and the planet.
Lessons for Other Homesteads and Homeowners
Wilson’s Vermont experience provides a template for resilient design that can be adapted to other climates and regions. Key takeaways include:
- Begin with passive survivability: Ensure that buildings can maintain reasonable temperatures with minimal or no energy input.
- Invest in renewable energy production, but pair it with systems (such as battery backup or direct-inverter operation) that can function during outages.
- Backup water sources are crucial, especially when relying on electric pumps.
- Grow as much of your own food as feasible and adapt cold storage and preservation for year-round supply.
- Plan for realistic disruptions: Don’t assume the grid or supply systems will always be reliable.
| Feature | Resilient Approach (Wilson Model) | Conventional Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | Net-zero, solar-powered, battery/inverter backup | Grid power only, vulnerable to outages |
| Heat | Super-insulated shell, passive solar, wood backup | Furnace or electric heat, dependent on grid/fuel |
| Water | Spring-fed, potential for manual draw, pond backup | Well or city supply, requires electricity |
| Food | Half-acre gardens, orchard, planned livestock | Store-bought, supply chain dependent |
| Storm Prep | Above flood plain, stormwater management, strong structure | Standard siting, minimal risk mitigation |
| Backup Systems | Manual tools, low-tech redundancies | Assumes systems always available |
Challenges and Ongoing Improvements
Wilson’s journey continues to evolve. Among the challenges he highlights:
- Water infrastructure improvements: Considering installation of a manual pump for the deep well to add further redundancy for water extraction during outages.
- Integrating more animals: The expansion to include chickens is a future step, promising further food security and closed-loop fertilization for gardens.
- Continued weatherization and storm prep: Regular review of weatherproofing and storm drainage to adapt to climate change’s increasing volatility.
These challenges are framed as opportunities for continuous improvement — a central principle of resilient design.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What does ‘net-zero energy’ mean for a home?
A net-zero energy home makes as much power over the year as it uses, usually through solar or wind, balancing out any grid draw with renewable generation.
How does a developed spring function as a water backup?
A developed spring collects groundwater from a natural flow, usually in a sealed container or well tiles, so water can be gathered directly, even when electric pumps aren’t working. In Wilson’s case, water can be filled in buckets for essential use.
How is the Wilson homestead protected from flooding?
The property is sited above flood-prone zones. Additional grading, swales, and stormwater management prevent runoff from threatening buildings or gardens during heavy rainfall.
What kinds of food can be produced on a half-acre homestead?
With careful planning: a wide range of vegetables, hard fruits (apples, pears), and nuts can be grown. Chickens are used for eggs, and future plans can expand livestock or perennial crops for greater diversity.
Is it expensive to build a resilient home?
Initial costs may be higher for super-insulation, renewable power, or manual backups, but ongoing savings in energy, food, and water often offset this investment. Wilson’s experience shows the long-term value comes in comfort, health, security, and independence.
Inspiring a Broader Movement
Wilson’s Vermont homestead is more than a personal project — it’s a model for how families, communities, and designers can prepare for an uncertain future. As climate impacts grow and infrastructure strains, the principles of resilient design are becoming essential, not optional.
Simple Steps to Boost Your Home’s Resilience
- Improve insulation and air-sealing to reduce dependence on heating/cooling systems.
- Assess your property for flood and wind risk, improve drainage where needed.
- Plan alternative water sources, such as rainwater catchment or spring development.
- Start a garden and plant perennial crops for fresh, self-supplied food.
- Learn to preserve food for off-season or emergency supplies.
- Become comfortable with low-tech tools — for kitchen, water, and heating needs.
As Wilson demonstrates, the path to resilience is practical, actionable, and deeply rewarding. With thoughtful planning, any home can be made safer, more sustainable, and more independent for whatever the future brings.
References
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FypS4AGUs28
- https://lowtechinstitute.org/2017/01/27/news-roundup-jan-27-2017/
- https://www.resilientdesign.org/creating-a-more-resilient-homestead/
- https://www.buildinggreen.com/feature/resilient-design-7-lessons-early-adopters
- https://www.resilientdesign.org/category/news-blogs/alex-wilson/
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