Mike,

It is getting there, my college does a lot with the technology ( www.sustainablehouse.ca/ plus 3 of the design projects this year were solar based) and while its not prefect (ie cheap enough), its there enough depending on the need. Going strictly Solar is foolish. Power from the grid is much cheaper over the life of the system. Its more for rich people who are fans of Green Peace, or educational institutions that just use government money.

Using it as a back up for things like your fridge, microwave, etc, things that would be nice to have in case of a power outage is not too bad. Plus it can provide you with emergency lighting if the power goes out.

Sharp produces cells now that can provide 10A in a foot print about 5ft by 2ft which on its own can power most solar fridges I've seen including the one you posted with plenty of power to spare to charge the battery bank as well. For a cost of about 750$. Put 4 of these panels on the roof, and I figure you'll get enough power for the basic necessities of life if another black out or ice storm happened. Over all system cost, including the couple of appliances would still be under 10,000$ more or less.

Dimitri

Vince
I live within city limits and due to local fire laws I cannot have an open burning pit. As far as solar panels go, I have built 1 so far and will be building a few more. The one that I built uses the newer type solar cell which puts out almost 1.3 times the amount of energy verses the original type solar cell. The pic below shows the first panel I built using the newer cells and to the left of the panel shows the older type cells which are more fragile then the newer type.

The total output of the panel is between 34-36 watts at 17.5 volts dc. I built the panel using cells bought from a solar company out of Texas and made the glass and frame and store bought aluminum. The total costs for me was $45.00. Now I'm working on a small regulator with room to spare for additional panels.

All the regulator parts will be bought from radio shack. Remember, if you build your own, it will be cheaper, but more labor intensive. I think the next panel I build since I have enough cells will be a 200 watt panel which will use up all my cells, after that I can look at buying more cells to get in the 500 to 600 watt supply.

Dimitri wrote:

But things like computers and washing machines will be off the 120V.Dimitri

There is still loss for using a DC-DC converter, but far less loss than using an inverter to ramp it up to 'something like' AC power and then use that original power supply to re-convert that noisy signal to DC again. Remember D, the power supply converts 120volts AC to 12vdc and 5volts DC.

solar water heating costs less than $10000 to install when building a house and does 99% of needs in sumer and 80% in winter over here. the average power bill has 50% of it made up of water heating. we have loads of 3 way camping fridges 12v/gas/ mains power. they are reasonably priced but not for me.

Ominivision1 wrote:

Remember D, the power supply converts 120volts AC to 12vdc and 5volts DC.

While true, and while my current computer, the one I built for my college project, doesn't consume more then approximately 100W in total. There are even power supplies that accept DC input for computers such as this one, mini-itx boards, and with Intel Atom's the CPU and motherboard (excluding RAM, HDDs etc) only consumes 20W or so for a dual core 1.8Ghz CPU. However most desktops using full sized components and 3.5" HDD's not 2.5" like my small one, end up needing 400W + minimum to do the exact same thing. Add a bit of gaming and you'll need a few dedicated panels just to turn the thing on.

I'd be using a solar system as a back up for more or less life required items, such as food storage, basic heating and cooking over being able to play on the computer. I always have my cell phone (with a 12V car charger I purchased) to email out if I need to.

I'm actually talking the girlfriend into it slowly. She likes the thought of having a power back up, shes just not sure how much need there is for one. But I figure if I take her out for winter camping this winter, she might appreciate it.

Dimitri

As I see it,
I got plenty of tradable commodity ie home protection 12G. Theres plenty of fish, deer etc, I'd knock up something for water etc....shouldn't be too much of a problem just the non prepared who will want what you have....but they aren't getting it!

A few years back we suffered a severe winter storm that knocked out all the power lines. We were out of power for 23 days. I had a wood burning stove and plenty of firewood ( nice maple). Being winter, we did not need a refrigerator since the outside temperature was oscillating between -10C and -25C.. We had a good supply of food on the shelves, enough for a couple of months if we were not too fussy. I had a generator and had about 200 U.S gallons of gas for emergency use only. We also had four 20 lbs tank of propane and three Coleman propane lights. We also had a good supply of batteries for flashlights and radio The worst part was the solitude. Playing cards with the wife for hours on ends and listening to the radio is fun the first day than it starts to get boring. And after the power was restored it was a pleasure to go out and eat in a restaurant and talk to people.
The government suggest that we should have enough supply to keep going by ourselves for 72 hours, I personnally beleive that one month is the minimum for my wife and I.
During that crisis I was fortunate enough to have enough supplies in order to supply my two neighbours and their families (6 children).
People that left in a hurry had a surprise when they came back and found all the water pipes ruptured from the cold.
We had no insurance claims since we had no damage.
It was an experience to remember and to learn from. Be prepared......

eeyouelder wrote:

It was an experience to remember and to learn from. Be prepared......

Never a truer word was spoken mate.

eeyouelder wrote:

The government suggest that we should have enough supply to keep going by ourselves for 72 hours, I personnally beleive that one month is the minimum for my wife and I.

A month is stretching it a little mate...but then again, it depends on the commodity. Tinned goods etc last for many months, but good quality healthy foods are a bit more difficult to keep a large supply of without some dependable form of temperature control.

OV1 wrote:

I live within city limits and due to local fire laws I cannot have an open burning pit.

Necessity has always been the mother of invention. Where there's a will, there's a way mate.

Elvis wrote:

solar water heating costs less than $10000 to install when building a house and does 99% of needs in sumer and 80% in winter over here.

I put solar water heating on my house for less than AUD$2500 Elvis...and I got a $1500 rebate from the Govt for doing it. This system supplies 100% of our needs during summer and about 75% - 80% of our winter needs.

Radar wrote:

As I see it, I got plenty of tradable commodity ie home protection 12G. Theres plenty of fish, deer etc, I'd knock up something for water etc....shouldn't be too much of a problem just the non prepared who will want what you have....but they aren't getting it!

I hear ya Radar...I feel the same way mate...although I will always find a way of helping a child, regardless. Woe betide anyone who tries to take anything that is not offered though...that is when they will be offered a "little lead".

Cheers, Vince

Vince wrote:

eeyouelder wrote: The government suggest that we should have enough supply to keep going by ourselves for 72 hours, I personnally beleive that one month is the minimum for my wife and I. A month is stretching it a little mate...but then again, it depends on the commodity. Tinned goods etc last for many months, but good quality healthy foods are a bit more difficult to keep a large supply of without some dependable form of temperature control.

The effected areas took 2 to 5 inches of ice. Dropping most of the electrical grid, took over a month for the government to fully restore power. About 100,000 were evacuated once the Army started to clear the areas effected, and were provided with food and shelter. Which left a few million without such assistance including him from the sounds of it.

Mind you I bet there is a lot more food in everyone's house that doesn't get eaten every month then most realize. Between the freezer and the pantry, I bet there is enough food in there to last a couple of weeks in most homes. Seems like the fresh stuff gets eaten all more often then the frozen or canned stuff in most homes.

Dimitri

Hello Dimitri

The police and firemen came to my house to evacuate us, but after they warmed up near the stove, had a nice warm cup of coffee and saw how we were prepared, they decided that we could stay in our home. This in my opinion was a better deal than evacuating to an arena, miles away, and sharing all the commodities with all these strangers. Beside no one tried to rob us since I have an excellent burglar alarm/deterrent manufactured by S&W.

eeyou

Every year my brother and I go trapping in the bush for 7 to 8 weeks at a time, depending on the weather. We are some 250km from the nearest village. We bring in enough food to last us all that time. The first things to go are fresh fruits and vegetables (lettuce tomatoes etc). Since trapping season is late fall and early winter the outside temperature is usually below 4C and can drop to -26C. We do have two propane refrigerators to keep our food, but it is more to keep the food away from the mice and other furry animals than to keep the food cool.
We do have an ample reserve of such necessities as beer, gin vodka and wine. We have bags of potatoes, carrots, beets, turnips and cabbage. We have steaks, beef roast, pork roast plus some bacon, cheese and other necessities. We also have some items that we prepared at home before leaving and froze, such as Shepard’s pies, chicken pies and chilli con carny. Bread is another commodity that goes stale very fast so we bring in flour and yeast and make our own. Fresh bread coming out of the oven has a certain odour that compels us to eat the whole bread right away.

I am now dreaming of the next season………….all that fresh air with the ATV and Skidoo running the trap line. We usually are back at camp by 4 PM were we unload the vehicles and by than it is 5 o’clock and time for a little cheer. Than it is cooking time followed by a good meal and then it is skinning time followed at 9 PM by medication to keep away the scurvy that is to say a toddy (hot water, lemon juice, honey, Gin or vodka and cinnamon) before bed and than sleep like a log until 5 AM.

P.S.
There is no electricity at trapping camp only propane. We do have a small 1000 Watt honda generator but it is used only to charge the satellite phone batteries and maybe run a small compressor to inflate a tire or such.

eeyou

I lived like that till I was 18 then Imoved