Off Grid Energy Essentials for when SHTF
Renewable Energy- is energy from a source that is not depleted when used such as solar, wind, and hydro. These are ideal for off grid energy.
When SHTF and all public services have stopped your fridge will turn off and the food in will go bad, to stop this having an off grid power source is vital. This is where having some sort of renewable energy source is important and is essential when living off grid.
As stated above, the best three options for off grid power are solar energy, wind energy, and or hydropower.
In this post we will go over the basics on how they work and the fundamentals you should know when dealing with them.
- Solar Energy
The sun gives off solar radiation that is collected in various ways through different technologies. The radiation causes chemical reactions, produces heat, and can generate electricity.
For electrical generation solar radiation is converted into electricity by the use of photovoltaic cells better known as solar cells or solar panels. A small electric charge is generated when the sun strikes a junction between two different semi-conductors or between a metal and semi-conductor such as silicone.
This is how the solar panels we see generate electricity either on a small scale for a residents or on a much larger scale such as a solar power plant.
With these and a few other components you can have power when SHTF or you’re living off grid. You can either have just enough solar panels to power essentials like a fridge or freezer or more to power your entire home stead.
In a grid down situation or even just on a hike a useful gadget every prepper should have is a thin-filmed solar cell. These are flexible solar cells made from very thin layers of semi-conductors.
In our next post we will go over the ways to calculate your current power usage and what you’ll need to build an accurate power system.
Another solar technology that is useful when living off grid is a solar heating and cooling system. These are flat-plate collectors made of a blackened metal plate and one – two sheets of glass that is heated when the sun hits it. These systems are used for hot water heaters and or whole house heating.
For one person you’ll need a coverage off at least 400 square feet for them to be efficient. For when the sun is down or covered by clouds there are specially made tanks that are insulated to store the water.
A third type of solar technology that has some special uses for off grid power is CSP (Concentrated Solar Power). In a large-scale operation this is done by a mirrored panel that concentrates the solar light to a specific area that gets to temps’ of 2000-degree Celsius or 3600-degree Fahrenheit that is used to heat a boiler for a steam turbine that generates electricity. In a smaller scale this technology can be used to create a solar oven or used to start a fire.
For when the lights go out due to storm or in a SHTF scenario having a solar system can help keep you out of the dark ages.
- Wind Energy
Now we move on to another source of energy for when SHTF, wind energy. Wind is also another form of solar energy. This one has a bit more technical parts we have to go over as we talk about it. The power of the wind is a good off grid energy to supplement with solar power.
Wind energy is collected by turbines that convert kinetic energy that wind produces into electricity.
Now for some technical lingo. The turbines have propeller like blades around a rotor that catch the wind and causes it to spin a generator that produces the electricity. The wind flows across the blades decreasing the air pressure on one side.
The difference in air pressure creates both lift and drag, the force of the lift is stronger and spins the rotor. The rotor is connected to the generator directly or by a shaft that’s connected to a gear box. This is how the electricity is generated.
There are two main types of wind turbines: the horizontal-axis turbine and you might have guessed it the vertical-axis turbine.
The most common and mainstream turbine is the horizontal-axis turbine, it has 2-3 blades and operate upwind with it pivoting at the top of tower, so the blades face the wind.
The vertical-axis turbines come in various designs and are omnidirectional.
Those are the types of turbines out there but hey can be categorized into three main groups. The groups are based on where the turbines are and how they connect to the grid, they are land-based, offshore, and distributed.
Land-Based Wind Turbines are as it is stated on the land and generate the size of 100 kilowatts to several megawatts.
Offshore Wind Turbines are massive and are taller than the Statue of Liberty and generate multiple megawatts.
Distributed Wind Turbines are the ones used in residential, agricultural, small commercial, and small industrial applications. These ones are often installed on the consumers side of the grid. These are what we would use for off grid power.
The power generated by any one of these depends on the size of the turbine and length of the blades.
Now for the final source of renewable energy we will be going over is powered by water.
- Hydropower
Hydropower use the flow of water to generate electricity. This can be done through a dam or some sort of diversion structure.
It needs to be an unending source of water to constantly recharge the water cycle to produce electricity. Water is not reduced or eliminated in the process, however. Like wind power hydropower is produced by kinetic energy from water flowing downstream.
Hydropower utilizes turbines and generators to convert the kinetic energy into electricity. The amount of energy that can be produced is dependent on the flow of water and the change in elevation from one point to another. The water flows through a pipe called the penstock, the water then spins a blade in a turbine, which in turn spins a generator that produces the electricity.
Sorry for all the technical lingo I have laid but knowing the theories and fundamentals is important. When dealing with a SHTF scenario or living off grid know how these things operate could be crucial. Off grid energy will keep powered up when no one else has power.
These are the best sources of renewable energy that preppers should be using especially when living off grid. Using at least one of these can power just your essentials or your entire homestead, they can also be used in conjunction with one another.
In a later blog post, we will lay out how to build your own energy system and how to store the power they provide for future use as in when the suns not up. You can even use the systems we will teach to recharge car and marine batteries.
Thank you for being here and reading my blog! All the research I do is for you and for your path on the journey to a new lifestyle or improving upon one.