Been a long time, but I needed the space...
Now that we have been actively working on our food stores for over 3 years and our water stores are getting there as well - my wife and I began to consider alternative energy sources.
We have been looking at portable units that will charge a cell phone / tablet / etc. and just purchased the Solar Joos Orange which should be delivered tomorrow.
Now we are beginning to look into higher wattage energy sources ranging from 1500W - 2000W that can be moved around and are looking at the Goal Zero Yeti 1250W with 4 panels.
I am interested to hear from you all regarding your considerations for alternative energy including home based solutions (off-grid).
Look forward to hearing your replies!
Make it a great day!
~AlbertaPrepper
OK, lets get real here. A 2 KW off grid system isn't very 'portable' anymore. It can be done but is far from inexpensive unless you have pretty deep pockets. My system is based on a 'just over' 1.4 KW (+ 350 watt secondary solar system + a few hundred watts wind power) solar set up that could be moved with a tandem axle car trailer with a Tonne + winch and an over loaded 3/4 ton pickup (for batteries alone). Retail on my set up would probably go north of $10K + labor.
Solar panel providers field a ton of calls asking "So, if I put a 150 watt panel on my roof I can tell XYZ power provider to go pound sand, right?". I'm not kidding, it happens a lot. I'm guessing that most of 'those' people run over to a convenience store for a couple of 'prepared, processed and packaged, convenient' ingredients for their supper twice (or more) per week or more when they desire a 'home cooked' meal.
Gathering solar energy is one thing, storing it and converting it into usable AC is another. The panels are the horse. Batteries and inverters are the wagon. Panels can give you energy on demand, so long as the sun is shining. Batteries make 'the sun shine during the night'. Batteries are heavy and usually account for 40+% of the cost of a typical off grid solar set up. If the grid is down you WILL need an off grid set up unless you are extremely gifted at using power for all of your needs when (and only when) the sun is shining. (< that is indeed a period)
Not being nasty, just telling it like it is...
BTR
Than= I’d rather be rich than poor.
Then= I first became hungry then I ate.
There = She is there now.
Their = They have their things.
They're = They're going to the mall.
To = They came to the house.
Too = That's too bad.
Wow, explosive response much?
Look - I am not a deer in headlight type of guy when it comes to prepping and alternate energy. I am fairly well versed in both but looking at ALL alternatives and exploring different setups.
If you want to shit on someone's thread, fine - but I think you mis-interpreted my topic.
No wonder there are only crickets here, with responses such as these you all ought to be ashamed of yourselves!
AlbertaPrepper
C'mon guys, let's take it easy here...
I don't think BTR was trying to shit on anyone's head...just making a point clear.
Let's play nice and stop calling each other names!
For what it's worth Alberta Prepper, I am building a cottage on some of my in-laws land in NS. By necessity, and by preference, it will be completely off grid. This year we have produced the plans, sub-divided the land, done the soil tests for the septic field and have an application in to NS Environment for approval, and have had some advise for a well. Next year we will frame and get it to a lock up state. I am happy to keep you in the loop as to what we come up with for electricity generation.
Cheers,
Antsy
Needs must when the devil drives.
Hello Alberta Prepper,
Although BTR pointed out some of the challenges I can assure you your goals are not that lofty especially considering these projects are getting much more economical.
If you PM an e-mail I will send you some pics of a portable 3kw system I built a while back. The prices for these components have dropped considerably. I am by no means an expert but when I researched this project I was shocked at the plethora of possibilities for the DIYer.
I built the panel/board like a dolly that I can roll around by myself. I then use a real store bought dolly for batteries. The system uses 2 - 235 watt solar panels and a 400w wind back up. I can load the system into my truck in about 10min. I also built a small portable custom 10kw 3 cylinder diesel generator for those calm dark days ahead.
My only suggestion is to buy the best gear you can afford. That said a friend built a small 2kw permanent system for a cabin using all Canadian Tire gear , panels. inverter etc. That was 10 yrs ago. I think the battery bank did 8 years with no issues to date.
Cheers
My bad! I had a look at the boulder Yeti system and will add my 2 cents (ooops! nickle as we no longer have pennies in Canada). I'll see the Yeti rates this system on the total battery capacity, 1250 watt hours or 100 amp hours. I have 2.25 times that capacity (or 2800+ watts as Yeti would call it) in my small holiday trailer, and 1.5 times that capacity (or almost 1900 watts by Yeti standards) in a small solar charged (in house) unit on casters that I built years ago 'just in case the power went out'. Lets not even mention the Renewable Energy (RE) shacks batteries.
This 'wattage' oversight just might be due to the fact that most people who talk real solar energy generally call the wattage of the system based on maximum generating capacity. By those standards the Yeti would be a 60 watt system. I have 1/2 of that generating capacity on my holiday trailer because it is parked most of the time and seldom used. It has time to charge between uses. The storage capacity is usually measured in 'Amp Hours' (100 for the Yeti) but 1250 watts sounds much more impressive. I would dare say that a regular 1250 watt load on a 100 AH deep cycle battery would reduce it's serviceable life considerably. Deep cycle batteries like to both charge and discharge slowly. (roughly 5% of the total capacity per hour, to extend battery life)
Pending the brand of solar panels, MPPT charge controller and 1500 watt pure sine wave inverter, it might be worth looking at, but I think I wouldn't pay that much for a system I could cobble together for about $1500 or less. Based on the 1250 watt rating of a 100 AH battery (which while true, is still discharging the battery at over twice the recommended 'safe' rate) I wouldn't bother to even look at it more seriously.
Again, please excuse my ignorance on assuming that 1250 watt rating was being mentioned as generating capacity which is common and accepted in the RE community.
My bad for not accepting one companies advertizing, over industry standard rating methods.
Please accept my apology Alberta Prepper as I had no clue of what I was talking about.
Than= I’d rather be rich than poor.
Then= I first became hungry then I ate.
There = She is there now.
Their = They have their things.
They're = They're going to the mall.
To = They came to the house.
Too = That's too bad.