Tag: solar-panels
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Heating A Well House With Simple Clean Solar Electric Power! Thermal Energy Storage / TES
I made a video about this project – blog article continues below: Stopping A Well House From Freezing When I moved to a homestead farm in the country, one of the things I dreaded was the well house freezing. A well house is a tiny wooden “house” built over the top of the well head,…
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PV2L-MG: My Low Voltage DC Residential Micro Grid Goes Live! Direct Solar Photovoltaic
It’s live! After several years of testing and research, then a long and grueling move to the countryside, I installed the first Low Voltage DC wall outlets in my house. A full length multi-episode video documentary is in production to document the system. Within hours these outlets were powering up one of my DC cooktops,…
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Solar Hot Water! Semiconductor Immersion Heating Elements – my research project
Solar panels do so many things very well, but there is always room for improvement and new ideas. One application I find interesting is to directly drive a Hot Water Heater (HWH) heating element in a water tank with PV DC solar panels. But are there better ways to do it? I made a video…
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14 Watts Can Do WHAT? Getting smarter about solar power, efficiency and high-tech survival
Hi folks, most survivalists know how much food & water they need to survive “X days” in the jungle”. That’s because they are smart and take time to think things through! But have you ever wondered, how many slices of toast can that 12-volt 10 amp-hour lithium battery make?? Note: this article is about an…
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Solar panel has voltage but no power – what’s wrong? DIY Solar Troubleshooting Skills
Introduction Hi folks, in this blog post (and associated video) I am sharing some of my first hand experience in over a decade of working with solar power and electrical systems. A problem that a DIY solar power enthusiast may someday face is to find a solar panel [or a whole solar panel array] has…
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Mini Peltier Freezer Powered by Solar – solid state refrigeration prototype (plus video)
For the longest time, I’ve been fascinated by those small Peltier based fridges and coolers for sale on the internet. They generally drop the temp to something pretty “cool” but they often fall short of an actual “refrigerator”, let alone freezer. (Video of my test freezer – article continues below) What I’d really like to…
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24 Volt car radiator fan, 50 watt solar panel – A Perfect Match for Solar Shed Ventilation?
Are 24 volt car radiator fans a good option for solar shed ventilation? Sheds tend to get very hot in the summer, and my two sheds are no exception. For the past several years, I’ve been using simple configurations of solar panels connected to fairly powerful DC fans to cool them off. This video shows…
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Video: PV-to-Wall – Direct DC Solar Power – Direct Drive Solar
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Solar Air Conditioning – Direct PV DC – Project Updates and Video
Note: ongoing project updates will be posted towards the end of this page. Thinking in terms of a grid-down scenario, besides food, water and shelter, air conditioning is one of the most important modern benefits to society. There is nothing that can boost morale like a good cold AC and a place to rest after…
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Insulated Solar Electric Cooker – simple DIY! affordable off the shelf option plus video
An insulated solar electric cooker, sometimes referred to as “ISEC” is an insulated container that takes a direct solar panel input to cook food. These appliances are generally a DIY project and not something available off the shelf. A good example is my small solar electric cooker which I used to boil an egg with…
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Off Grid AC and LiFePo4 Battery Upgrades for my Solar Workshop – ongoing updates and videos
Update 8-11-2024 – the upgraded off electrical grid system has been operating for a few weeks now with no problem. I can run my air conditioner all day, shop tools, air filters, lights and everything else. However I still use a lot of direct solar electric power, bypassing the batteries, inverter and charge controller wherever…
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Pure 12V Off Grid Cooking With a 200AH LiFePo4 Battery! Article and video
A larger 12v lithium ion battery offers a renewable energy source for cooking. In fact, such a good sized battery can replace the fuel tank typically used for cooking in some scenarios. Recently I received a sample of Power Queen’s 200ah deep cycle LiFePo4 battery. I put it to the test by simultaneously operating three…
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Solar DC Direct Drive 12v / 24v / Series car radiator fans – Bench Test with video
In this article and video I compare the performance of different car radiator fans in a direct PV DC driven (PV-to-Load) shed ventilation scenario. Overview A 50 watt solar panel and a simple car radiator fan makes an extremely simple and robust DIY shed ventilation solution. 12 volt fans are very common and affordable, but…
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Pecron E600 LFP – solar generator endurance test and review
A solar generator is a great way for people who are new to solar power to get started without much effort. Just plug in the solar panels and go. Over past years I have collected, purchased and repaired over 40 solar generators and portable power stations of various kinds – definitely enough to experience their…
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Building a Solar Powered Ryobi 18v Battery Supercharger x3 – Project Overview plus DIY video
If there’s one thing that has changed DIY over the past few years, it’s cordless lithium ion powered tools. I use a lot of Ryobi 18v batteries to run tools and have become addicted to their flexibility and affordability. But the charger usually is plugged into an AC outlet. Why not simply plug a solar…
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Nichrome and fuses melting at 1800x magnification – video
Recently I was asked by Joyalens to review their JL246MS digital microscope. I accepted in order to look at Nichrome and fuses up close. (Note I don’t receive any commissions for sales). Interestingly this microscope is USB 5v powered, so it’s easy to run even off of a battery pack if needed. Nichrome wire forms…
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12V Toaster Oven! Build your own for about $25 DIY / HOW TO Video
12 volt toaster ovens should be very cheap and readily available – the world needs them. I’ve been working on a 12v DIY volt toaster oven prototype project for over a year in the solar workshop. Wouldn’t it be great if the DIY solar power enthusiast could build a portable 12 volt toaster oven in…
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Direct Solar Electric Cooking vs. traditional methods – A Grid Down Scenario
It’s happened, The Grid Is Down. Roads are closed. No gas stations are open. Nothing works. Electrical power and communications are gone. Chaos is slowly breaking out. But the Off Gridder feels fairly secure; solar panels on the roof, 20kw of batteries, a wondrous integrated inverter with bluetooth, MPPT charger all crammed into one giant…
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