When the storm hits and the power goes dark, you doubtless have prepared your homestead with a vast array of generators, battery-powered flashlights, and maybe even crank-powered variants. But what if the darkness lasts even longer? Read on for an easy way to may your own candles, to store away in case of emergency. Materials There are many materials to make a candle out … [Read more...] about Candle-Making DIY
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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
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
Combiner Box 2, Electric Boogaloo
So you’ve misdrilled a few holes and gotten your solar panels up, now you’re trying to figure out what to do with all those damn wires. First you try twist-tying them together, but as the first stiff breeze unseats your work, you think to yourself, “There must be a better way!” No? Just me? You actually do your research before taking on projects? Must be nice … Anyhow, this … [Read more...] about Combiner Box 2, Electric Boogaloo
Solar Panel 101
Last week, we posted a little primer on the overall makeup of a solar energy system. That, of course, is only the beginning. Every specific category on that list, from panels to batteries, represents a complex segment of the system that requires serious research before buying. This in mind, we’ll be covering each of these links one by one, to give a more complete understanding … [Read more...] about Solar Panel 101
