Over the years, my wife and I have started to see a rapid decline in quality made goods. During a heat wave, we did not want to be looking for a fan to replace one that shorted out, rattled apart, or melted all due to it being plastic. One hot summer, my wife and I … Continue reading Beat the Heat: Purchase a fan that will last
Solar
Off Grid electricity is NOT free.
I believe I am guilty of promoting free energy on the off grid homestead, and during the summer months it appears that way. However, during the winter months cloudy skies make solar energy creation improbable, and it's the battery bank that keeps the home's electricity going from day to day. When the fog and inversion … Continue reading Off Grid electricity is NOT free.
Snow Storm Hits and the Solar Panels Quit
During the winter gray skies and snow defeat our solar panels' power production. This is the time of year we rely heavily upon our backup generator once the battery bank is spent. Removing snow from the panels, isn’t too bad, but if left undone it can become a real problem if the snow melts into … Continue reading Snow Storm Hits and the Solar Panels Quit
Determining Off Grid Power Needs
When we started planning our off grid solar system for our home, we began planning what electrical appliances we wanted and weighing that against what we could afford. The following video are our non-negotiables. We determined what we wanted for our home and planned the size or our solar system and battery bank accordingly. My … Continue reading Determining Off Grid Power Needs
Why Live Off the Grid?
The two main reasons we began to consider living off the grid were the constant rise in the cost of electricity and the storms that seemed to knock out our service each year. Living off grid didn't start to become an option until we lived on the Oregon Coast and lived through the Great Coastal … Continue reading Why Live Off the Grid?
Tankless Water Heater Install & Northwest Fires are Affecting our Solar Panels
It seems this summer, that firewood and the tankless water heater were the majority of my progress. The weeks have passed by rapidly. Family has come to visit and days have been filled with which project to do next. Having the tankless water heater working has been a blessing. After a long day working in … Continue reading Tankless Water Heater Install & Northwest Fires are Affecting our Solar Panels
Our Off Grid Home Business Powered By Solar Energy
We would like to introduce you to our off grid business, Pauper's Candle Company, where we create soy wax candles with the solar energy we create on our homestead. How fun is that? Here is a little video talking about Pauper's Candle Company. Our scented soy wax container candles are all hand poured. We … Continue reading Our Off Grid Home Business Powered By Solar Energy
I cannot “generate” the words to express my frustration…
A month ago I posted "Generating Repairs," and after it was all said and done the generator worked great until, not even, a week later. My wife and I were procrastinating on starting the generator hoping for the next sunny day, but to no avail we were socked in with clouds. While sitting on the … Continue reading I cannot “generate” the words to express my frustration…
Off Grid: Having a Washing Machine
When Mark and I were talking about living off grid, we decided early on that we wanted to have as many modern conveniences as possible. We both did not want to have to hand wash our clothes. So, having a washing machine was on the list of appliances that we wanted to have. When Mark … Continue reading Off Grid: Having a Washing Machine
“Generating” Repairs: Winter requires more than just solar.
Living off the grid and relying totally on solar power is not a great idea. There are days and even a month or two in the winter in which only a few sunny days will appear. If we only had solar to rely on for electricity, it would become very unnerving seeing our battery bank’s … Continue reading “Generating” Repairs: Winter requires more than just solar.
