Posts tagged as:

off-the-grid

The Zen of Chopping Wood

by Andy Greene on January 14, 2010

Swing. Thwak! Swing. Thwak! Swing. Thwak!
Chopping wood is time-honored tradition on many homesteads. You’d think there would be more complaining about the intense work involved. But if you ask seasoned wood choppers, most will shrug, and smile a little as they admit, “I like to chop wood.”
Take a few [...]

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Solar Thermal vs. Photovoltaic (PV) – Which Should You Choose?

by Andy Greene on May 9, 2009

When most people think “solar,” they think in terms of solar power – electricity!  Solar electric systems, or photovoltaics (PV for short) allow you to power your home with the sun as fuel.
But if you’re shopping for your first solar system, it pays to do your homework.  PV isn’t the only type of solar energy [...]

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Build a Homemade Wind Generator – Video Product Review

by Andy Greene on May 6, 2009

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To Grid-tie or Not to Grid-tie

by Andy Greene on April 23, 2009

We Rednecks are an independent bunch. We like to do it ourselves and owe it to nobody, and this holds true when we start using solar and wind energy. So it’s not surprising that for many of us, the idea of living off the grid is attractive. But before you invest in enough batteries to light up your homestead like a Wal-Mart parking lot, it pays to stop and reason out exactly what your needs and priorities are. The most common reason to be off grid is location. If you’re way out in the boonies, you may not have a choice. Here are some other things to consider:

Efficiency – When your batteries are full, they’re full. No matter how hard the wind blows or the sun shines, you can’t harvest anything more. A grid connection allows you to harvest all the power from your system. When you have extra, you sell it to the grid so someone else can use it. When sun or wind is scarce, you tap in and buy some back.

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