WATCH BILL XAM LIVE EVERY NIGHT AT 6:30 PM, EST ON THE ANIMAL FEEDER SETUP SHOW!
Disaster planning should be part of every single household across America, strike that, the world. When disaster strikes, people die or lives are changed. In times of plenty, forego the Playstations and buy extra food. You can explain a lack of toys better than a lack of food to your children.
Three years ago, our home caught fire. I spent time in intensive care and almost died, thus I know from whence I speak.
As we go into our third season of "This Old Shack", disaster planning and survival episodes become more important. After all, that's what alternative energy is - the ability for you to survive without an infrastructure. All of our episodes of This Old Shack and our new show, "CSI:SALINE" will reflect this in 2009. Oh, of course there's going to be laughs and beer drinking - this survival crap is depressing to think about.
So, practice your fire drills with the crumbcrunchers, practice evacuating yourselves, your pets, your neighbors. Learn how to use a fire extinguisher. And watch our videos!
WATCH BILL XAM LIVE EVERY NIGHT AT 6:30 PM, EST ON THE ANIMAL FEEDER SETUP SHOW!
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NAVIGATION
But why solar power?
There were several reasons for the switch:
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Sprinkle of rain = power failure.
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Giving a little back by not using so much.
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Independent living.
Benefits:
- Renewable power.
- Learning about solar power.
- Own stock in the solar panel company. :-)
- I like batteries.
- I can sit around smoking a cigar because I'm an energy mogul!
Drawbacks:
- Maintenance.
- Installation.
- Bunch of black glass panels sitting around.
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Appliances for cabinsMarch 2007 - I'm reducing my inverter loads this year. This is from the 2006 season. I now run my 12 volt fans from a 20 amp hour gel battery; this lasts for 4 days before the battery needs charging.
Some of the appliances that I purchase are 12 volt or propane. For instance, for ventilation and cooling in the summer, I purchased a fan that runs either on 12 volts of D cells or battery bank power. The solar charge controller I got has outputs and adaptors for 12 volts direct from the battery bank. Our lighting consists of two voltages of the same type. I use Compact Fluorescent 12 volt bulbs (5 watts each x 4), 2 from the battery bank and 2 from a small AGM battery. For brighter light, I use General Electric Compact Fluorescent bulbs, which are the best; they use the least power and provide rated light. I've tried several brands but GE seems to be the way to go. My stove is a 2 burner with a grill from Harbor Freight. This works either off of a 20 lb or standard small propane bottle. Currently, for heating water, I use a pan on the stove. Plans are to build a solar water heater and plumb it into a small water heater that uses propane The current television that I have is a small 12 inch that uses 20 watts to start and 10 while running, sometimes dropping below 10 watts. By now you're probably wondering about our well. Well, we don't have one. I store a few hundred gallons of water on site and transport it as needed. The reasoning is simple (to me); when the home was first built the water table was 20 feet. Now it's almost 90 feet because every idiot that builds up here just starts pumping as much water as they can from the ground. ● Email Me ● |
