You don’t need a DIY solar panel system kit to go 100% solar power. After two years of work today I threw the switch and went 100% off grid with solar power. It really works! What is surprising is it cost less and was easier to do than expected. That being said I had a lot of help from Al YouTube.com I will break down all the components the reason behind why I bought these items, the cost, wiring and how I installed the system. As of right now, if the power goes off today, we’ll have lights tonight.
Awesome, I may be here one day, lol. Its nice to know life will be somewhat normal when and if things happen outside of our control. Cant wait to see your solar breakdown video
Great videos, can’t wait for the rest.
I love the Idea of Solar so I am looking forward to how you did it.
cool….
With regards to grounding a Faraday cage or not the jury is out at the moment. My thoughts are if the energy runs through the cage (shorts) to earth, it is good. Just my $.25
Were we are we don’t get snow, we get heat, heat and more heat so we need refrigeration all the time, however the up side to this is more sun. I guess if you go fully off grid you need a system that will cope in winter time for your geographic location.
But I guess regardless on how big or small the system, it’s nice to keep the dollars in our pockets instead of giving it to the power companies.
as do I since I supplement my AC with ceiling fans. I’m able to keep the AC at 78 and the ceiling fans keep the air circulating so I use the AC far less than I would otherwise. Oh yeah I’m in the south too and have had heat index of upwards of 108-112, so the fans definitely help.
my point was to your earlier comment “The only possible EMP susceptible component of a solar panel is the back rectifier. You can buy spare ones at Radio Shack. The entire rest of the panels do not have any electronics and are EMP proof.”
When the EMP hits and fries the back rectifier in the solar panel, all the components at RS would have been fried as well.
Thanks for your reply and for all the info.
My batteries are 12 volt each 100 amp hours, thanks again blessings Anna.
Watch my next video I cover that. Its up now.
We are thinking along the same lines. I do the same. I do need to get some diodes but other than that I have two of everything and I store my electronics in my Faraday cabinet.
Watch my next video. Its up now. You’ll understand then.
I hope you watch my next video I go over why I am not selling power back to the grid and why I don’t go off-grid completely.
You can definitely do this on a permanent basis. It just take some changes in how you live. Probably good changes at that.
I paid around $435 per panel and I got a great deal on my batteries around $100 each for the 6 volt 215 amp hour golf car batteries.
I will share the real story what does and doesn’t work. I have no pride to be hurt in this. I”m just trying to share what I have learned and done. I hope it helps.
I agree. That is why I don’t have any long runs of wire on my faraday cage, ie no grounding wire. It acts as an antenna. If you haven’t seen my faraday videos you might check them out.
LOL. I hope you are not waiting for an EMP to buy your components at Radio Shack. I’d get them now and put them in a faraday cage or wrap them in foil.
I promise they are coming. And they will break it all down. These videos are to help everyone interested in solar and to save them time and money by not making the same mistakes I did. I hope you enjoy them.
If you are really interesting in knowing why watch my next video. It is up now.
Yup, I know what you are talking about. It is a “green” scam to sell houses and make people feel they are saving money and helping the earth. People want solar so they can have power when there isn’t any grid power. Having a grid-tie doesn’t allow you to do that unless you have two (very expensive) controllers. I’m sorry to hear your friend fell for this. But I’m glad to hear they made it work.
We were blessed (prepared) when hurricane Ike hit us square in the face here in Houston. I had power for my whole house, except our A/C and enough power to share with my five neighbors. Even though we didn’t have A/C we have ceiling fans in every room. My neighbors were so grateful when we gave them power and floor fans. They made all the difference. It wasn’t like having A/C but man what a relief they were.
I know first hand how much difference they make. That is what we used for two weeks when the power went out with hurricane Ike. They make a huge difference.
Yes, I go into detail on that in my next video. Go take a look.
I have. I decided at this point not to do it. Maybe later.