I realize at a few points in this solar-power series, I have said a component is absolutely essential to the system. While this may seem hyperbolic, in actuality, it is because most parts of the system I outline are truly essential to its success. While this next component may not be technically essential to collect and store power, it does serve the purpose of making that … [Read more...] about Solar Power Finale: Inverters
Battery Types for your At-Home Powerplant
If you’ve stuck with us this far concerning solar-powered setups, congratulations! If not, perhaps consider going back to review the other articles on solar systems that have brought us here. This week, we’re continuing the series with a discussion of batteries, the primary source of power storage for your system. While they’re heavy, expensive, and can be a real pain, … [Read more...] about Battery Types for your At-Home Powerplant
Soap Suds Symposium
As I’m sure many of you know, we’ve mentioned goats and their uses a time or three on this website. From browsing bushwhackers to cheese creators, goats’ uses are legion. You may begin to find, however, that if you have more than a few goats, and you’re not selling anything you make, you may begin to have more milk and cheese than you know what to do with. So today, let’s talk … [Read more...] about Soap Suds Symposium
Charge Controllers
So, you’ve selected a sunny place, laid your panels and fastened them down. Next, you ran all the wiring and hooked them all together into one clean, combined unit. From here, you decide all you need to do is wire in the battery! After all, sun shines on panels, panels emit energy, energy is stored in the battery, right? While that is in some senses true, unfortunately it is … [Read more...] about Charge Controllers
Catchin’ Crawdads
If your homestead is located anywhere near water, particularly the flowing variety, chances are you’ve wet a line or two, and made yourself better acquainted with several varieties of aquatic wildlife. In doing so, you may have stumbled across some strange critters lurking along the bottom, particularly under rocks--critters that look a heckuva lot like a miniaturized variety … [Read more...] about Catchin’ Crawdads
