by guest contributor Jessica Gonacha
It is HOT, HOT, HOT here in Georgia these days! Which has gotten me thinking about how I can put that sun to good use. My solution? A solar-powered outdoor shower. No, I haven’t built one, but I’ve been trolling the internet searching for a DIY version that seems like it could actually be doable, for a novice (like me). 🙂
Flickr, as always, holds some inspiring examples and there are some great instructions around the Internet for how to make various types of outdoor showers, from easier to more complicated versions. The photo above is from kelland’s Flickr photostream and is the outdoor shower at the Tuscon, Arizona home of Brad Lancaster. It also supplies greywater to the garden.
The images above are from jesse_n_debbie’s flickr photostream, they built an incredibly awesome solar-heated shower in the backyard of their Florida home, and when Ryan and I buy a house I’m totally going to convince him to help me build something similar.
This is a photo from Chip Gallo’s Flickr Photostream of the outdoor solar heated shower at the Blackburn Trail Center on the Appalachian Trail near Round Hill, Virginia.
The image on the left is from The Green Lane’s Flickr photostream and is a shot of the outdoor bathroom at the Cob Cottage outside of Coquille, Oregon. The image on the right is from Natacha201’a Flickr photostream in Bordeaux, France.
If you are interested in learning how to construct your own solar-powered shower like I am, here are some online resources that seem pretty great:
4. Treehugger
5. And then there is this inspiring example of a solar-powered water heater made from beer bottles and hosepipes, built by a Chinese farmer farmer of Qiqiao village.
GREEN CHALLENGE:
Take a walk and draw 5 different flowers, and find out what they are! Post your drawings to the Indie is the New Green Flickr Group.
About the contributor: Jessica Gonacha is an artist from Atlanta, Georgia who is endlessly creating. Her work includes paintings, drawings, illustrations, and paper goods and is vibrant, colorful, and charming. Her work can be found on her site, in her Etsy shop and in the Indie Fixx Shop. You can also read more about Jessica and her work on her blog.