Powering An Led Light Using The Force of Gravity Why Tesla's battery for your home should terrify utilities Earlier this week, during a disappointing Tesla earnings call, Elon Musk mentioned in passing that he’d be producing a stationary battery for powering the home in the next few months. It sounded like a throwaway side project from someone who’s never seen a side project he doesn’t like. But it’s a very smart move, and one that’s more central to Musk’s ambitions than it might seem. To understand why, it helps to look not at Tesla, but at SolarCity, a company chaired by Musk and run by his cousin Lyndon Rive. When you have a lot of solar, you need a lot of batteries Fueled by financing systems like SolarCity’s, government subsidies, and a rapid drop in the price of photovoltaics, solar has been growing fast. That’s part of the reason that California, with one of the most aggressive renewable energy mandates in the country, recently declared the most aggressive energy storage mandate as well, with a goal of 1.3 gigawatts of storage by 2020. Forecast storage market from GTM Research.
Cohabitat - Photos du journal untitled Zeer Pot Instructable - Simple Off Grid Refrigeration Technique Transforms Food Storage In Africa If you found yourself stuck without power following a hurricane, earthquake, or other disaster, there is no reason anyone should be without this kind of knowledge. In this day and age where we can share the knowledge around, I love this idea. Be sure to watch the video on its use and effictiveness as well on the second page of this article, and share it around to all of your loved ones. A zeer pot is an evaporative cooler used in rural Africa and the Middle East to keep vegetables fresh. Here are the supplies used to build it. Zeer pots were re-discovered and popularized in the early 2000s by the Nigerian teacher Mohammed Bah Abba. Unless the air is very dry and the pot is exposed to a constant breeze, they generally do not become as cold as a refrigerator, but they will keep vegetables fresh for a couple of weeks. Think of it as an open-cycle refrigerator. In the under-developed parts of Africa and the Middle East, zeer pots use custom made pots prepared by local potters.
Trying out the SunRocket Solar Kettle - Living Big In A Tiny House | Living Big In A Tiny House In our Tiny House, we are going to be completely off grid. For that reason, we are especially interested in anything that will help us to save energy and fuel. We’ve been really interested in solar cooking for a while, and when we stumbled upon the SunRocket Solar Kettle, we were really keen to give it a go. The good people at Solar Cooking Australia sent us one to try out, and this is what happened. I'm a film-maker who is currently in the process of designing and building an off-the-grid Tiny House and filming the whole journey to help others who would like to do down the same path. John Wells: Fascination Fuels A Life Off The Grid | Unlikely Lives John Wells and the Field Lab, his 128 square foot home in Southwest Texas Many tiny house enthusiasts want to get off the grid, and design their homes to run on solar power and catch rainwater. Living off the grid in a rural area has a special romance to it – be independent, financially free, and escape the rat race! John Wells wanted to use his time and talents to create his shelter and food directly, instead of using them to make money to pay for food and shelter. “I Was Ready For Something Different” John and “the Field Lab” may look familiar from Lloyd Kahn’s “Tiny Homes, Simple Shelter”, his 2011 New York Times Profile, and coverage on popular blogs from Apartment Therapy to Boingboing. John worked in New York City as a photographer and prop builder until he tired of New York’s pace and crowds, then lived in a large house in upstate New York until he felt consumed by bills, taxes and debt. The interior of John’s little house. On why he wanted to live off the grid:
Fifty buck fridge keeps your food cool without electricity We often say that Small fridges make good cities, but perhaps tiny fridges that don't need electricity are even better. The appropriately named Coolest Gadgets shows the Mitticool Fridge that Mansukh Prajapati designed as an evaporative fridge that would look good in your kitchen. We have shown many other evaporative fridges, but there are some interesting features on this one, including the trendy plastic door that lets you see what is inside (as it allows some heat gain, there is a price on everything.) Prajapati describes how it works on the Mitticool site: Water from the upper chambers drips down the side, and gets evaporated taking away heat from the inside , leaving the chambers cool. According to Coolest Gadgets, it sells for between $40 and $60. Build your own Instructables/CC BY 2.0 There are a lot of designs for evaporative fridges; you can build your own more traditional one out of two flower pots with this Instructables. © AZ Prepper The operation of this refrigerator is simple.
Batteries - Lowimpact.orgLow impact living info, training, products & services What are they? They are units containing various combinations of metals and chemicals, between which occur reversible chemical reactions to store and then provide electrical power. Some of the metals and chemicals can be quite nasty and toxic (e.g. cadmium). A single 2-volt, lead-acid traction cell, as used in forklifts (a 24-volt forklift would use 12 of these, and a 48-volt forklift, 24). Although other chemical reactions can provide more electricity, the lead-acid battery is proving to be the most successful, because of its affordability, availability, and the fact that it is so robust. In a discharge situation (when giving out energy), elements of the electrolyte react chemically with elements of the plates to release energy in the form of electrons. Testing the specific gravity of the electrolyte in a cell with a hydrometer. Alessandro Volta (who gave his name to the volt) invented the first electric battery in 1800. There are 3 kinds of lead-acid battery: What are the benefits?
23 Ways To Make Fire Please Share This Page: Google + stumbleupon tumblr reddit If you are a first-time visitor, please be sure to like us on Facebook and receive our exciting and innovative tutorials and info! Photo – © volff – Fotolia.com – Fotolia.com When it comes to basic survival tips, creating a fire is always top priority. As I was going through the list, I noticed that most of the ideas used are based on two main principles: the lens and friction. The lens methods basically use the rays of the sun to concentrate light on a particular surface, thereby increasing its temperature. Another unique way to create a fire using lens principles is by using ice. And of course, who can forget the coke can and chocolate method? The next principle of creating fire is by the use of friction. If you’ve already collected a bunch of wood, always store it in a covered, dry place where rain cannot reach it. Ok, here’s the link to the list of 23 awesome ways to make fire:
A pedal powered washing machine - Homestead Notes You need an old washing machine drum and an old bicycle gears. Looks like he built a seat on a frame that attaches to the washing machine drum. Think about building a washing machine like this, a way to wash clothes off grid. Off Grid Living: Solar Myths Debunked posted Categories: Solar Power Solar power is a beautiful renewable resource, and so are hydro and wind power! So many Americans really want to become more independent, more self sustainable but instead believe the myths that they cant do it! Really? Everything comes with a price tag. I am amazed. The encouraging part of the new found coverage is a variety of ideals, opinions and tips are surfacing in the comment section.Many have shown to be be very thought provoking and inspiring to read . I always tell people to bing it or google it if they have a issue with what I am saying. The one thing these comments have made me ponder more closely is the camps that are forming out there which have so many different views and ideals about what off grid is all about. The first thing that surprised me was the incentive hype . Off Grid living is about getting back to the basics! The other distortion still comes down to the cost. Going off the grid is more then just unplugging. via Youtube
Realities of Solar Power - A Tiny House Story posted Categories: Home Stories Solar power. It's a great idea. But it does have a few issues. First, think about what are your particular reasons for wanting to go off grid? Then consider the other possible ways to have power and be off grid. So now you've decided for whatever reason or combination of reasons that you do indeed want a solar installation. Unless you want to install a large and very expensive system, you might want to consider how important high power use items like a cable TV box, toaster, coffee maker, vacuum, curling iron, clothes dryer, microwave, blender, hair dryer, etc are to you and possibly forgo them completely. Do you want to run everything in your house on AC power or DC power? Solar power works when the sun is shining, not at night, not (or very little) when it's raining, snowing, cloudy, etc. Next, to have power all the other hours of the day when the sun is not shining, you'll need a battery bank of some kind to store the power you've generated.
14 Projects To Cut Your Energy and Water Usage posted Categories: DIY These are projects to consider for your off grid homestead, whether you’re building a cabin in the woods that’s disconnected from any power or water sources, or just want to reduce your utility bills, going partially or totally off grid can be done on the cheap with a little creative thinking. There are many small ways to reduce your electricity and water consumption and even do without a septic or sewer system. Mini Wind Turbine Setup (image via: thekevdog) Think a wind turbine is out of reach? Outdoor Wood-Fired & Solar Ovens (images via: i love cob, ecofriend) In the summertime, it’s too hot to cook inside, anyway. Rocket Stoves (images vía: yuichiro hag, rootsimple, the DIY world) Rocket stoves are another great option for outdoor cooking. Collecting Rainwater (image via: darinmclure, museum victoria) Simple Greywater Treatment (images via: greywater.com, waterqualityinsingapore) Want to skip the sewer or septic system?