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.
batteries
When the Battery Bank Dies…
At the end of this past summer, our battery bank of seven years decided to die. It was an interesting cascade failure event. One batter cell went dead and could not be revived, then another battery flagged a similar problem. Pretty soon I was isolating batteries that would no longer hold a 6 Volt change. … Continue reading When the Battery Bank Dies…
Here comes the sun…
After a dreary month of January, the sun is making its appearance again. We are all relieved and choose our own way to bask in sun's warm rays. The solar panels have produced very little and we have relied on the storage capacity of our battery banks and the back up generator on a weekly … Continue reading Here comes the sun…
A realistic look at the Tesla Powerwall
So what is all the hype about the Tesla Powerwall? Is it really anything new or just a redesign of what is already out there? Is it new technology or just new packaging? Let’s take a fresh look at the Tesla Powerwall specs… Telsa 10 kw Powerwall Lithium-ion Quantity 1 10 kilowatts of stored power … Continue reading A realistic look at the Tesla Powerwall
Electricity: The 411 on the battery bank
The Battery Bank, not a pretty picture, but most battery banks for an off grid home usually are not beautiful, just functional. This is our stored electrical power and how we power the home at night and during cloudy or low solar producing days. What you are seeing is (12) T-105, 6 volt batteries hooked … Continue reading Electricity: The 411 on the battery bank
Electricity: When the backup generator is called upon…
What to do when that sun stays hidden behind the clouds for weeks on end? Well, the answer is a backup generator powered by non-ethanol, high octane fuel. To take the batteries from 35% of discharge to 100% full is about four hours of generator time on our 6,800 watt Rigid generator from Home Depot. … Continue reading Electricity: When the backup generator is called upon…
Living a Sustainable Dream 