This article was written by Daisy Luther and originally published at The Organic Prepper.
Editor’s Comment: It is indeed difficult to imagine life in the United States without power, and with such severe shortages that the government would have to excuse away the shortfalls, and divvy out what remains with an iron fist… or is it?
On a daily basis, we here about how divided the world has become, how impoverished, and how close the economic system to collapse. Could it… really… happen here?
Venezuela Shows Us What an Electricity Shortage Looks Like
by Daisy Luther
The SHTF might be a lot more subtle than an EMP or a massive natural disaster. We preppers tend to think in black and white, but there are some gray threats out there that few are considering. What if, instead of a total power outage, our country suffered a serious electricity shortage?
That’s exactly what has been going on in Venezuela, since they don’t have enough problems running out of food and other supplies in a previous development of the excruciating economic collapse of the country.
In the latest installment of collapse propaganda, bus-driver-turned-Venezuelan-President Nicholas Maduro offered some beauty advice. He wants the women of Venezuela to stop using hair dryers to save electricity aside from special occasions. He said, “I always think a woman looks better when she just runs her fingers through her hair and lets it dry naturally. It’s just an idea I have.”
This sage advice came along with announcements of further cuts and suggestions. State employees will now have Fridays off for at least the next two months, and he also recommended that citizens make small changes, like “embracing the tropical heat and hanging clothes out to dry instead of using tumble dryers.” (source)
The electricity shortage has been going on for almost a year.
This isn’t a new issue, but a worsening one. In May of 2015, they tried to sugar coat the rationing of electricity by saying they were just being green. Vice President Jorge Arreaza explained:
This is, of course, linked to global warming and the excessive industrialization of capitalism, which never stops, nor has ever stopped, for the effects that it can have on the climate, on society and on Mother Earth.
When the electricity concern began, public employees saw their work hours cut to 6 per day. Businesses were required to reduce their usage by 10% and new laws permitted police visits to inspect the businesses to ensure that they weren’t exceeding their allotments.
In February, citizens who were already facing shortages and long lines for items like cooking oil, laundry soap, diapers, and food were absolutely stunned when shopping centers were forced to shut off power from 1:00 to 3:00 pm and again from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in a measure to save electricity.
The rationing in Venezuela is a cautionary tale.
Here’s why we need to pay attention to what’s going on in Venezuela: It provides a modern-day glimpse into what an economic collapse really looks like, much like the collapse of Greece was a cautionary tale. These are both direct case studies of what happens to the middle class during an economic collapse.
Previously, I wrote about how it could happen here. (Excerpt)
These mandated power rations, the limited amounts of food, the government-funded snitches, the tracking, and most of all, the propaganda, are all what await us in an economic collapse situation. While the Venezuelan government will be facing no limits on their use of electrical power, the people will only be allowed allotted amounts.
Do you think it can’t happen here? Consider the forced rationing of water amidst the drought in California. Rationing that only applies to regular folks, not wealthy people or massive corporations.
It’s obvious that the state really is in the midst of an epic drought. But conservation mandates are not applied equally, much like the electricity rationing in Venezuela.
Golf courses for the rich and famous remain lush and green, while wells across the state run dry. Ordinary people aren’t allowed to have lawns or to even have vegetable gardens, and newspapers are calling upon “good Samaritans” to snitch if they feel someone is wasting water. There’s even an app for that, and Smart Meters are in place to target wasters. (Unless they happen to be wealthy corporations, of course. They have different rules and snitching on them will do no good.)
One small community, Outingdale, just received word that strict rationing is now in effect. Residents will be allowed only 50 gallons per day, per person, and no outside watering of any kind will be permitted. This is not good news for folks who rely on their vegetable gardens for food. Meanwhile, the Nestle corporation is busy pumping out the state’s remaining water, bottling it, and selling it back to people for an enormous profit.
Anyway, back to electricity.
I’m reminded of the series, The Hunger Games
With the widespread installation of mandatory Smart Meters, how difficult would it be to forcibly ration our electricity here?
They can already remotely turn off appliances they deem are using too much energy. At the press of a few keys on a central computer, our electricity usage could be monitored to make sure we stay within the designated limits, strictly slotted to only certain hours of the day, or even cut off entirely if we exceed our rations. It may not even be direct rationing that cuts us off, as it is in Venezuela. As prices of electricity keep climbing, how extreme is it to think that one of these days, electricity might only be for rich people?
However it goes down you can be sure that no one in the government will admit to mismanagement or a desire to enhance control and dependency. It will be couched in warm, fuzzy terms of saving the planet from carbon emissions, much like the propaganda coming out of Venezuela. It’s easy for us to see it when it happens to them, but many people here are so deeply entrenched in cognitive dissonance that they’ll swallow the green pill with a smile, moving into their Agenda 21 microhomes and martyring themselves for the good of Team Green. (Find the original article HERE)
So…what if electricity was only for rich people?
It’s not that far-fetched, and if you don’t fall into the category of “rich people” it is definitely something you should prepare for.
What if the Big Event isn’t an EMP, but that no one could afford to pay the electric bill? Power prices are going up – what if they rise to the point that it’s a choice between food and electricity? What if the lights in the middle-class neighborhoods just start going out?
Let’s face it, if you really had to pick, you’d choose to feed your kids over having the lights on, right?
What a control mechanism that would be.
What better way to return to a “Lords and Serfs” lifestyle than the strong visible delineation of who has power and who does not?
The rationing of electricity or the lack of affordability would change life as we know it. Our society is incredibly dependent on the power grid, not only to keep us comfortable, but also to keep us entertained. We’ve grown soft. As well, we depend on others having access to electricity to make our lives easier by keeping us fed and clothed, and by making the things we purchase easily accessible to us.
Here’s how to maintain your independence throughout an electricity shortage.
You don’t have to return to serfdom, though. The steps you take and the things you learn now can help you overcome any hardships presented by the lack of affordable “necessities.”
Learn to provide your own food.
If the stores are closed or supplies are limited because manufacturing plants can’t produce food, you’ll have to provide for yourself.
- Grow a garden
- Raise chickens and rabbits,
- Join a food co-op,
- Try hydroponics or aquaponics
- Sprout seeds for added nourishment
- Grow salad veggies in the windows
- Preserve your harvest through canning and drying
- Save your seeds so you can do it all again next year!
For more self-reliance information, be sure to check out this round-up manifesto with more than 300 resources!
Reduce your dependence on the power grid and use less.
If prices skyrocket, there are lots of things you can do to cut your usage. Before anyone starts arguing that this is “caving in” to the demands of those who are rationing power, (because there’s always someone who says that) sometimes it’s a matter of personal economic survival. Whoever survives, wins.
If it’s a matter of the price of power skyrocketing, your ability to use minimal electricity may allow you to still afford to use a freezer, a laptop, or a medical device. It only makes sense that the less dependent on the grid you are, the less you will be affected by a shortage.
- Lights: Solar garden lights, candles, kerosene lights
- Cooking: Wood stove, nutritious home-canned meals that only require reheating, stock up on buckets of meals that only require the ability to boil water, cast-iron dutch ovens to use on the wood stove, sun oven, outdoor fireplace, meals that don’t require any cooking.
- Refrigeration: Pack a large cooler with snow in the winter and use it indoors, get a plastic storage bench that is lockable to be used outdoors in the winter (the lock is to keep 4 legged critters out of it), root cellar for summer, using a spring or creek to keep perishables cool, change of eating habits in summer. (See how this family lives without a refrigerator entirely.)
- Water: Back-up manual or solar pump for your well, 1-month supply of drinking water stored, water filtration system with extra filters, buckets along with a wagon or wheelbarrow for hauling water from a nearby source, rain barrels to collect water, direct the gray water from your washing machines to reservoirs for flushing or watering plants (Here’s a link to my book on water survival.)
- Laundry: Hand wash, hang dry.
- Entertainment: Solar chargers for small devices, read books, play games, engage in productive hobbies.
- Heat: This assumes you have power. Without electricity, see the suggestions in the next section. Run the heat briefly to take the chill off. Keep blinds open if there is some solar gain, otherwise keep windows insulated against drafts to keep the heat in.
- Keeping cool: Check out this article for ways to stay cool without using an air conditioner.
Find other ways to stay warm.
If you can’t afford to run your central heat, it’s important to have back-up methods for staying warm.
Methods that use fuel:
- Wood Heat: Everyone’s favorite off-grid heating method is a fireplace or woodstove. The fuel is renewable and you have the added bonus of an off-grid cooking method. If you have wood heat, make sure you have a good supply of seasoned firewood that is well-protected from the elements.
- Propane Heaters: I own a Little Buddy heater
. These small portable heaters are considered safe for indoor use in 49 states. They attach to a small propane canister and use 2 oz. of fuel per hour to make 100 square feet extremely warm and toasty. A battery-operated carbon monoxide alarm
provides an extra measure of safety when using these heaters indoors. This isn’t a great long-term option though, since propane might also be hard to come by.
- Kerosene/Oil Heaters: Kerosene heaters burn a wick for heat, fuelled by the addition of heating oil. These heaters really throw out the warmth. A brand new convection kerosene heater like this one
can heat up to 1000 square feet efficiently. Click here to read more information about the different types of kerosene heaters that are available.
- Natural Gas Fireplaces: Some gas-fueled fireplaces will work when the electrical power is off – they just won’t blow out heat via the fan.
- Pellet Stove: Most pellet stoves require electricity to run, but there are a few of these high-efficiency beauties that will work without being plugged in
.
If you have no secondary heat source, no fuel, or limited fuel, the following options can help.
- Heat only one room. One year, our furnace went out the day before Christmas. We huddled into a small room with just one window. We closed the door to the bedroom and used a folded quilt at the bottom to better insulate the room. If you don’t have a door to the room you’ve opted to take shelter in, you can hang heavy quilts or blankets in the doorways to block it off from the rest of the house.
- Cover your windows. You can use a plastic shower curtain and duct tape, topped by a heavy quilt to keep the wind from whistling through your windows. Take down the quilt if it’s sunny outside for some solar gain, then cover it back up as dark falls.
- Light candles. Even the small flames from candles can add warmth to a small area. Be sure to use them safely by keeping them out of the reach of children and housing them in holders that won’t tip over easily.
- Use kerosene lamps. Those charming old-fashioned lamps can also add warmth to the room.
- Use sleeping bags. Cocooning in a sleeping bag conserves body heat better than simply getting under the covers.
- Have a camp-out. This works especially well when you have children because it adds an element of fun to an otherwise stressful situation. Pitch a tent in your closed off room, get inside with a flashlight, and tell stories. When you combine your body heat in a tiny space like that, you’ll stay much warmer.
- Get cooking. If you have a propane or gas stove in the kitchen, your cooking method may not require electricity. So bake a cake, roast a turkey, or simmer a soup. You can use it to warm the room while making a hot, delicious feast.
- Heat some rocks. Do you have a place outdoors for a campfire? If so, put some large rocks around the edges of it. They retain heat for hours. When it’s bedtime, carefully place the rocks into a cast iron Dutch oven and bring this into the room you’re going to be sleeping in. Be sure to protect your floor or surface from the heat of the Dutch oven. The stones will passively emit heat for several hours without the potential of a fire or carbon monoxide poisoning during the night.
Prep.
An electricity shortage doesn’t end with lack of lights at the flick of a switch. It can have very broad ramifications, such as a harsh cutback on manufacturing, transportation, and retail outlets. Make sure you have your preps in order withlong-term emergency food, a well-stocked pantry, back-up plans, and non-food necessities. Take lessons from the way folks survived the last Great Depressionand use their hard-won wisdom to survive the next one.
The great thing about prepping is that your general efforts will see you through a wide variety of disasters, even those which gradually creep up on you, like energy shortages.
Do you have any suggestions about reducing your reliance on the utility system? How would you foresee an electricity shortage affecting the average person? Share your insights in the comments below!
Please feel free to share any information from this article in part or in full, giving credit to the author and including a link to The Organic Prepper and the following bio.
Daisy Luther is the author of The Pantry Primer: A Prepper’s Guide To Whole Food on a Half Price Budget. Her website, The Organic Prepper, offers information on healthy prepping, including premium nutritional choices, general wellness and non-tech solutions. You can follow Daisy on Facebook and Twitter, and you can email her at [email protected]
Also From Daisy Luther:
The Prepper’s Blueprint: A Step-By-Step Guide To Prepare For Any Disaster
Here’s How You’ll Die When the SHTF (and How to Prevent Your Untimely Demise)
How to Prepare for a Cyber Attack: ‘These Systems Could Be Completely Inoperable or Breached’
San Andreas for Preppers: 12 Essential Survival Lessons from the Movie
12 Bad Strategies That Will Get Preppers Killed
Lock and Load: Are You Prepared for Civil Unrest?
You’ve Been Warned: Why You Need to Be Ready for Total Grid Failure
I’d like it! We waste too much the way it is!
Black behavior has nothing to do whatsoever with those in power balkanizing us, nor with jobs and opportunity, nor even with EBT payouts.
90% of all interracial crimes in the US are committed by blacks against whites, sez Eric Holder’s own department of justice.
Blacks kill 2.5 times as many cops as cops kill blacks.
Black on white violent crime equates to 10x the murders and 50x the rapes as white on black.
The average black American IQ is 80. Their testosterone levels are also 20% higher.
If only whites lived in New York the crime rate would be 90% lower.
Blacks are 85% more likely to molest children than whites.
If all blacks were deported from America:
The prison population would go down by 37%
There would be almost 50% less gang members
Overweight and obesity percentage would go down by 10%
Average IQ would go up 7 points, putting the USA tied for third with Japan
SAT scores would go up by about 100 points
ACT scores would go up by 5.5 points
AIDS and HIV would go down by over 67%
Chlamydia cases would go down by 50%
Gonorrhea would go down by 69%
Syphilis would go would go down by 58%
The average income would be over 20k more per year
The amount of people in poverty would go down by over 30%
Homelessness would go down by 57%
The number of welfare recipients would go down by about 40%
Our experience is that once a city gets to be about 30% black, the implosion of civilization is inevitable.
When you put white people in Africa you get Rhodesia, South Africa, and Namibia.
When you put Africans in America you get Detroit, St. Louis, Baltimore, and New Orleans.
We’ve played this fucking game now for decades. Blacks start destroying a city, whites move out and build a new city, blacks bitch and moan about exclusion, wash rinse repeat.
How much fucking longer is this charade about race going to go on before we whites finally fucking grow up and state what is patently obvious?
We need to segregate ourselves from the blacks completely.
At a standard deviation of 15 points in the IQ scores, there is no significant difference between whites, Asians, and Ashkenazim, but there is a very significant difference between the aforementioned and the other races.
This is the rationale for segregation.
We never should have integrated society.
Pass on this knowledge to your children. God knows nobody taught me but myself. Our 60 year experiment with diversity is a miserable failure.
And there would be fewer children named Chlamydia.
Umm, hello?
Rolling Brown-Outs from 2000 and 2001 in Commiefornia, anyone?
Been there, done that, got a lesson. 🙂
What lesson was that? To make your own power backup? Were talking about the united States not Kalifornia lol.
To be truthful the likelihood of “economic” power shortages in the US is going down rapidly. The US now has the capacity to generate over 60 Gigawatts of wind power. Actual operating costs are very low. Biggest holdup on wind power is transmission lines. Solar is growing very quickly. Venezuela’s problem is few rains and dependence on water power. Which is kind of stupid for the country with the worlds largest oil reserves. US plants that use coal are being shut, but we still have coal, so I see no reasonable way we can get into a lot of trouble. Local short term yes; otherwise no.
Or kids named shanaynay lol. You think it’s fooked with all the blacks just wait till the mooselimbs take a good hold. Didn’t Russia say they would help us if we wanted texas to succeed? Get Putin on the horn and git er done 🙂
No more kids named Shithead (ShiTheed).
Knew a woman named Quisha, boy did she cry when she found out real men don’t eat quisha!
Abe Lincoln had a bright Idea after Emancipation Proclamation to Ship all the Africans back to Liberia Africa. Then he was shot. What a horrific experiment that was, to bring in forced black labor to pick cotton. Just like bringing in a family of cockroaches in the kitchen to keep an eye on the loaf of bread. Any find their way out to my place, are good as dead. Then Gator Buffet. We don’t call 911 out here in the swamp.
~WWTI…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foE1mO2yM04
Awesome new song that needs to be a smash hit.
Do you old people even know where Ibiza is?
Victimless crimes aren’t crimes.
I have the right to put anything in my own body that I fucking feel like. Thomas Jefferson agreed with me.
That was a waste of time.
And yes, we know Ibiza is a dinky-assed island off the coast of Spain.
AE: feel free to get a fricken Nazi tramp stamp on your face.
He isn’t a nazi. He is telling the truth. Can you refute what he said? Segregation works, as witnessed by the last 60 years of the shit we have now.
In fact if you want, move to a place inhabited with a bunch of dark ones and see for yourself lol. I have been there done that and never again will I subject myself to being mixed with the darkies. Please report back how that works out for you, I moved to a very white place and it is peaceful, low crime, cops aren’t pricks, people get along great, murder is unheard of, most people have guns, my own slice of white heaven lol.
Overall, Africans destroy everything they touch, and everywhere they inhabit. “Diversity” is code for White genocide.
Genius, AE is a typical narcissist. If you want to join up with an a**shole like him, go ahead. Take your chances. He is the kind of psychopath that will get useless idiots like you to follow him and then kill you because you pissed him off. Go ahead Follow that trainwreck to your death.
P, I don’t follow anyone least of all AE. But when someone tells the truth I will defend it. I am not defending him just his post. I cannot refute it and I doubt you can either. I have been around the dark ones and believe me, it is true. I have no desire whatsoever to team up with AE or ever meet him. How does defending truth make me a useless idiot? Kind of the other way around I think lol.
Agree with Genius at least AC has the guts to tell it like it is. Pissosopher, go haunt another site troll!!
Acid is spot on.
Hey I read where Venezuela has conservative Friday’s, when they shut down power on that day of the week to conserve energy.
My solar panels and system out at my BOL are producing twice the electricity, than I use daily. I am basically wasting free electricity by not using it. I’ll have to break out the disco ball and have a “Party like its 1999” again.
I am not that worried about a grid collapse. I have figured out that I can put Thick Black Plastic construction Trash bags over my windows to have a black out, from the lights inside. Oh how I wish I had a night vision tools. I would like IR vision actually. Mounted on my Battle Rifle. Anybody got a spare $4500 they don’t need?
~WWTI…
PP: feel free to turn of the main breaker at your house including your WIFI router and unplug that Internet connection while you are at it. Your phone? Turn that off too.
I am guessing you would last less than 5 minutes before you turned all of your gizmos back on.
Speak for yourself about being wasteful.
I’ll speak for you Philosopher and America. We waste so much and so many resources, it’s sick!
BTW, I own a cabin with gas lights, wood stove, well pump, and an out-house where I spend many weeks during the year. Don’t pretend to know me.
Again Pissosopher, go haunt another site witch troll.
Dave Netling… that’s what I’m thinking. Repulsive!
can you handle a dissenting opinion without screaming troll? Or are you a braveheart clone.
well with Ozero and Hitlery killing coal burning electrical generation plants , the lack of electrical power here isnt far off
a few nuke plant “emergencies” could land us all in the dark in the very near future ..
Wait until people find out nuke plants were only designed for a 20 year life span . Now some are pushing 35 years. Then the fuel is removed and they are sealed up to sleep for 100 years when it is believe we will have the technology to cut up and bury them. These nuke plants are starting to all leak now . Game over man game over?
True, and all the waste these plants generate is being kept on site , so it amasses as each refueling happens
the “spent” fuel is still very dangerous, and its still very active, and it is kept on site in large buildings with cooling capabilities
the Yucca Mountain facility was never used for the purpose of spent fuel containment ,,it never was “up to standards”
and all the billions spent on its development came out of our pockets ,, and lined their pockets
each nuke power plant is not only sitting on a bomb( figuratively speaking) as far as the old reactors are concerned, the mass of spent fuel that is still very highly dangerous and radio active , is now in each nuke plant site which are in our neighborhoods .. and dont think im the only one thats aware of this
that waste isnt going anywhere,, as far as the coal ash waste, it was used as a by product and was delt with and is no way as dangerous as nuclear waste .. and we have also developed ways to burn coal very efficiently , and scrubbers designed to clean it from any exhaust of the power plants ..there isnt any true reason to stop burning coal, other than some political agenda
I could go on and on about this all day
I have been told by Ready Mix Concrete in Raleigh, and PLT Concrete in Zebulon, N. C. that they cannot get
Fly Ash to mix in their concrete. Coal byproduct.
Robin Sage
Are you aware that Bush Sr and Jr used depleted uranium in munitions in the middle east? Nuke our servicemen along with middle easterners. I guess they thought it was clever.
Im sitting back watching to see how THEY say Virginia and West Virginia and some of the southern Coal mining states vote for the new dictator of the U.S.
if they say Hitlery, than you are 100% sure its rigged
11kw solar power system here. I’d simply stop backfeeding my excess to the grid and add more batteries to store it and use it at home.
Next problem ?
I’ve often thought of making my own batteries. Glass fish tank lead sheets. Plastic deividers. Pull the sheets out and brush off the sulfur every ounce in a while? Maybe not highly efficient . But long lasting and cheap?
To be truthful; my advise is research the topic and BUY the best you can find. Most people would be far better off spending the time they would put in, working for minimum wage wherever, and let the pro’s do the job. People recognize a “do it yourself appendectomy” is a bad idea. So are most things that are out of your expertise and critical. I don’t want to be any Doc’s or mechanic’s first customer. Experiment on noncritical stuff.
TN Andy, the BOL already has a full solar power system for backup and can be switched over to whenever we lose the grid. My cousin just recently added some more batteries to store the excess power. No backfeeding to the grid, period. When the grid goes, we’ll still have power.
Next problem
No batteries
the Oloser shut down our largest lead smelting operation in the US..
Batteries use lead ..
prices for batteries can and will get out of your reach soon, especially when we hit hyper inflation
not to mention when we are at full scale 3rd world war,,, you wont be able to buy any lead acid or OGM batteries
and.. they dont last forever
Over the long term, I don’t plan on storing power from solar. I’ll just use it during the day and sleep at night. The chest freezer will stay frozen overnight.
Das iz un guud idea mien hier! But be careful, not sharing your power with the free shit army is racist and you will be called a nazi….
Nope , the free shit army will deal with people like that at 2300fps
It’s not popular , but it’s reality
There won’t be any solar power after the shit hits the fan
Too many reasons to get into it here , and jmo
Obama said that he would necessarily cause the cost of electricity “to skyrocket.”
I know some areas where it is illegal to use a woodstove unless that stove is your only source of heat. People will tattle on you and they send out the fire department to inspect your house and make sure that the only source of heat you have is a woodstove.
There are people that have no respect for fire and leave fires unattended in wind conditions. Also they burn whatever they can throw in the barrel to include plastics that give off toxic fumes. No idea of what seasoned wood is and the types of wood. I do agree there will be LOTS of Tattler’s until it gets bad and they will be over to have you warm their asses up. All forgiving.
Maybe when they see coal fired electric plants are better than freezing you ass off.
Americans are ate up with the dumb ass.
Shortages of electricity are nothing new for our neighbors south of the border. Virtually every city between EL Paso and Chile suffers from brown outs and blackouts for a few hours ever single day of their existence. Again, it’s nothing new (hair dryers blowing or not). Brownouts here in America might do us good and wake people up to the fact that the grid is not invunerably omnipotent. thanks
I find it strange that Venezuela finds itself in such a downfall. Just a few years back the poor were said to be elated when Chavez gave them hope and a better standing in their lives. The wealthy controllers were pissed right on up to Washington DC and killed off Chavez and created the current situation where all the profit was reaped by themselves and giant global corporations. To say this all happened because of lower oil prices is farcical in my opinion. The greedy rich are the problem there just like here in the US.
A: you are clueless. The reason Venezuala is so screwed up is because of communism. Chavez did what the commies at the top always do: he lied. But suckers like you are a dime-a-dozen and eat up the BS they spew about “rich people.” Who do you think the “greedy rich” are in Venezuala? in Cuba? in North Korea? in Russia? in China? Some useless idiot like you? Give me a fricken break! But they need morons like you in order to keep a whole country enslaved. Why not take a little trip to Venezuala or Cuba? The land of “equality” where the “greedy rich” have been banished (in your little delusional fantasy.) As for realty, time to wake the f*ck up and grow up.
Philo… Spoken like a true fascist.
Looking for advice/suggestions.
Have a well at our mountain house. I do have a back-up LP generator for short term (not to infrequent in my area) power outage but looking for ideas on installing solar back-up that would take care of basic power needs (well pump, refrigeration). The well is on a 220v circuit, most everything else is 110.
Here is a pdf for system sizing. This company is very good and helpful with questions also, good luck.
ht tp://pdf.wholesalesolar.com/Download%20folder/System_Worksheet-extinct.pdf
take out the space between the t’s
Just remember to avoid trojan batteries and magnum energy inverters and use the right size wiring. If your well is deep and you want to run it on batteries you might look into Crown industrial forklift batteries. Outback, Midnite Solar, US Battery are all excellent brands.
fantastic info, Thank You!
Thanks for the link.
Genius,
I’m finalizing my solar design.
Batteries are the hardest thing to choose.
CALB (Lithium) batteries are awesome, very
long lived, robust, but are expensive, and are
generally only available from the Chinese PLA
Avionics factory. There are USA manufacturers,
(PHI3.4TM Lithium Ferro Phosphate (LFP))
but they are using the Chinese PLA cells.
We have a rabid frothing EPA and the Chinese
don’t. Lithium Ferro Phosphate is real dirty to make.
I don’t even think Tesla cars are looking at this
battery technology.
I’m favoring Powerstride or HUP flooded lead acid,
they are American made, but won’t stand the
abuse a CALB can take.
My choice is down to $0.77 per Watt seven year warrantied life span compared to $1.14 per Watt 10 year warrantied life span.
Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Any prepper comments out there?
relik, depending on your power storage needs a Crown industrial forklift battery is said to last 20 years or so. You will need a large (80 amp) array at 24 volts to equalize it though. You could also use your backup gen to equalize it too. Lithium would be great but like you say, very expensive. I looked at the iron edison batteries and for the amp hours you get it is extremely expensive. Surrette’s are very good and long lasting but for the money US Battery is a good choice. Perhaps consider ordering dry batteries and seperate electrolyte for long term storage to be used when your first bank no longer performs. Check out windsun.com for Crown forklift batteries (you will virtually need a forklift to move them lol).
The Crown 12-125-13 is a heavy duty industrial (fork lift) type battery. These batteries are designed for extremely heavy usage. In a typical solar electric system they will normally last for about 20 years or more. We have been selling these for over 25 years and have the utmost confidence in their reliability. Fork lift batteries have a slightly different plate composition from smaller deep cycle batteries in order to withstand industrial usage. The self-discharge is slightly higher and they should be equalized about once a month. Some solar systems are not capable of putting out enough current to fully equalize these batteries – it will require about 40 to 80 amps, depending on which battery you’re using. Most inverter chargers can supply that much amperage.
http://www.solar-electric.com/batteries-meters-accessories/batteries/crdecyinba1/crinba1/24voinba/crinba24vo93.html
For about 2500 bux (minus core charge) you can get 8- 420ah US Battery l-16’s for a total of 840ah at 24 volts or for 4560 bux you can get a 935ah 24volt forklift battery rated at 20 years. A little more ah and a little less bux for the forklift batt over the rated lifespan. I have a link in moderation, it should appear soon…
Keep in mind the core charge for the L-16’s is about 50 bux a piece. With the 400 bux you would save in core charges would help a lot with the shipping on the forklift battery. If you have a local (or nearby) forklift shop you could probably order it from them (as long as total cost was close).
You certainly got my attention!
We have forklift people here, I’ll check into it.
My solar array will end up at 10kW per hour for a 6 hour
insolation so I think I can handle two forklift batteries.
P.S. no core charge for L-16 from my supplier.
it is a Hawaii thing.
ThankX!
R
Your welcome, glad I could help 🙂
Ignore any advise you get. You have not provided enough data for any good conclusions. How deep is your well, what’s it’s drawdown (How productive) how much water do you need, can you store it, lots of questions. First one you need to look at is: Do you need electricity in the first place? If the conditions are right, in a mountain house, a windmill and an upground tank have worked for 2-300 years and all the parts are repairable. Refrigeration; Big difference in the answer between a walk in freezer and a beer cooler. Huge difference depending on what side of the Mt. you are on. You need to talk to a pro and define your problem. Sorry to sound so much of a pompas ass; but Lord have I seen people get into so much trouble because of not defining what they really want to do, before they start spending money.
Boy you really are paranoid huh? For your info The link is to a PRO power usage and solar sizing chart. I have certifications in both on and off grid solar and have done it PROfessionally. I have 20 years of experience with 100% satisfaction rate. What say you now oh paranoid one???
If I had to go into detail about every little thing to setup and optimize a large system it would take an entire page. Of course it is wise to use energy efficient appliances and conservative measures BEFORE buying a system. That is why I gave him a link to a reputable company I trust that can answer all his questions instead of playing post after post here.
Build your self a simple inexpensive bailer bucket for the well. Instructions are on the web. It will work for you when all else fails. thanks
Do the Math:
In 2004 the US natgas supply consisted of +- 60% conventional, 35% imports and 5 % shale. Today shale gas represents around 85% of the total natgas supply.
Today our electric generation depends to more than one third on clean natgas and coal fired generation plants have been dismantled.
In February 2015 the total US land gas rig count was down to 314 rigs.
A typical shale gas well has a decline rate of 72 per cent for the first 12 months!!
A decline in total US shale gas production appears in late 2015.
We are headed into a slow motion train wreck with brown outs and black outs.
As of 04/08/2017 according to Baker Hughes the land gas rig count is down to 89 rigs in operation.
According to Baker Hughes the US natural gas rig count peaked in 2011 with more than 900 rigs in operation.
Yeah , Tom , 11 coal plants biteing the dust in MI this year.
They would like to convert many to Nat gas , but no plans and no money ….But lots of gas here .
“We are going to die, We are going to freeze.”
Die Bitch.
Hurricane Sandy, Long Island.
We’ve superinsulated the windows in one bedroom by attaching plexiglass sheets on the outside of double pane windows and on the inside attaching sections of a thick comforter with pretty fabric to the inside of the windows. The plexiglass provides additional protection against several threats.
We’ve a small PV/charger/battery system to run a CB radio, a long string of LED 12 VDC lights (www.creativelightings.com) and a TecSum PLL 660 s/w ssb receiver. The LED lights are very bright and efficient for the 1st floor. We’ve the same setup at the barn attic and have excellent CB comms between house and barn if need be and CBs in both vehicles. Please not to count on cell phone service. Also have a Uniden Homepatrol1 scanner with an excellent outside VHF antenna and can listen into several counties. When TSHTF independent comms (hams, s/w, scanners, CBs) will be essential.
I bought a 270 gallon food grade water tote and placed on the big rock above the house and can have gravity fed water. Can refill from a spring down the slope.
We can be very selfsufficient in food from our 2.65 acre mini farm. We’ve stored fertilizer and diesel and save a LOT of seeds each year. We do canning and dehydrating in the summer.
Other items we have… functional treadle sewing machines and oodles of thread. Being able to do one’s own clothing repairs will be essential and perhaps a source of income later on. Reloading equipment and supplies would also be a great home business later on.
Consider the Ryobi 18+ Plus one tools and their charger which can run off a 12 VDC battery. The Ryobi reciprocating saw and a Skil Saw long pruning blade is extremely handy.
Tennesean, Good on that! I always recommend a couple of s/w recievers with ssb capability. I have a DX440 and a DX360 both made by sangean and a small grundig G6 aviator with ssb. I looked at the home patrol scanners and they seemed very cool and easy to use. I have a grecom trunking scanner but it takes a freaking degree from MIT to use the damn thing. I like FM radio compared to cb, it has a lot less static and longer range (baofeng) and is programmable. I also have a ryobi 18+ impact gun and love it. 🙂
I think it will if a Socialist gets into office this time around we will see it.
There has been too many things stopped from Coal mines to Oil out of Canada and North Central USA.
I have been working with Solar and I have found that I have cut my electric bill by around 30%.
Little things like solar flood lights in some rooms and on my front and back porch to light it up until I walk out of the room or off the porch. Why turn on a light in the bathroom when you are only in there for about 2 minutes. Now if you are taking a bath or shower you use the regular light. When you walk into the kitchen to get a drink out of the Frig, why turn on a light you are only there for seconds. Let the Motion Solar lights work for you.
Sgt.
I save an average of $40 to $50 a month on my electric bill but just not using a dryer.
Hang clothes inside in winter/outside in summer.
You could also hang your wet clothes in the (open) windows during summer for an air cooling effect. 🙂
Genius
I hang my clothes to dry in the bathroom… it brings up my 7 percent humidity.
There is a big misconception out there. Obama and the government is not against coal. They are against American coal. Why? Because many fat cats in the US government are invested in foreign coal companies. I remember Bill Clinton ordering the shut down of a coal mine in the western US because it competed with an Indonesian coal company. Some current and former US government higher ups are invested in Kosovo coal companies. Gen. Wesley Clark and Madeleine Albright come to mind. This isn’t your country. And it certainly isn’t your government. The 2 main parties openly admitted that you only get to choose from the candidates they let you vote for. And you still vote. “They” win every time you vote.
Yea, BUT…
Socialism isn’t the cause of the shortage in Venezuela.
The main hydropower reservoir is almost at dead pool.
Much like California, they are having a record drought. Much like Las Vegas and their soon-to-be water crisis. No matter how they spin the story, they have no choice.
Before the Colorado was dammed, there was desert…and that’s exactly what it is going back to when they hit dead pool in a couple years.
Grid down callapse wont even phase me in my city. Like most on here i am prepared for the worst, a literal hell on earth.. I wont even go into the usual the “scientist said”. I have posted on what he said over a year ago, and those who remember what i mentioned, is still listening. I can tell you all this much. He told me just two weeks ago that hell is knocking on our door and just around the corner. Even James Rhawles told Alex Jones last week on a show that when the American people see that Trump was removed and not getting the nomination, thats when you can expect the civil war. My friend mentioned that the violence will be over the top, and that the foreighn soldiers are the worst threat. And ofcourse he keeps telling me that he feels sorry for the women.. Women are in big trouble. Everytime i see him, he keeps bringing this up. And i know for a fact that he is right. He said that women keep turning against men for all sorts of reason, you lost your job, etc, causing problems without even realizing that they just set themselves up and will have no protection, thinking that child support is the key to make the electicity work, put gas in the car and food on the table. This is where they are wrong. Just read the argentian Callapse from Fernando Feral to learn how women fare in all out callapse. The same thing is about to happen in Venezuela.. They are in deep deep sh…t and its coming here to the us, and will be and engineered callapse done purposely to use as the reason to bring in the foreign fighters, to use them to gut the patriots and do the dirty work for the cabal, since they are not able to convince our military to kill us, but the offshore militaries will happily do the dirty work and killing. My message to the chi-coms, russians, jihadist and other traitors is to get ready to feel the first M855, 30-06, 308 and other fine projectiles busting you head open, ripping out your intestines and severing off your limbs..If you assholes off shore soldiers think that the American white man likes to sit and watch his daugher gang raped by chi-coms, his siter, wife and children, etc and others arround him, get that kind of treatment, then your highly mistaken. Try that here, you will phucking die on American soil. The Jap general didnt want to invade the US at the time, now the armament is 1,000.000,000 time worst. Bullets selling like fly on sh,,..t, knives, axes, and other pocket knives. Like one cop jockingly told me in person in Academy that there’s a alot of cutting, and carving is coming up. I told him that he is better ordering on line..The poor cop feller can’t even find a pocket knife. When is asked him if he plans on working during callapse, his response was, screw that, i am heading home, your on you own, think i am going out in my patrol car to get my ass shot up, phuck that. Yes cabal, your cops dont trust you anymore because they know that you are a criminal organization.
THE WHITE HATS.
And this message is for the White Hats, you know who you are, the White hat Cops & Sheriffs, the FBI, who arrested that piece of shit chi-com Senator Leeland yee, CIA, NSA and other agencies who are White hats. Keep up the good work. Thanks so much for your sacrifice because most dont know that the only reason why we are able to post on site like this and still live as free people, is because of you, and your work to expose this criminal organization. The future is what we are about, and its very survival. You have been able to prevent the callapse so far, and we are greatfull for you work and effort to protect the American people and thier children.
Aka,
HCKS..
Good luck to you all when you get to my city. I have to literally laugh my ass off.
HCKS
Keep your powder dry and your mags loaded. Thing are really getting CRAZY!!!!
You can’t believe how many Cops I work with have asked me about how to start getting ready for TSHTF. In the last three weeks I have had two guy asked me several questions on water and food. Some of the guys are waking up. I hope it isn’t to late for them.
A.S.M.S.—-T.T.
Sgt.
anon
So what.
Dipshits like yourself anon??
Maybe we’ve been lucky here. We have our water supply off the mountain via gravity flow system. It has not run dry since it was put in use by the old steam locomotives that ran through here in the 1800s. Good spring water right out of the mountain.
You could even use it for antifreeze. I have never once seen it freeze up at the spring head. {SNORT}
Thorium thorium thorium THORIUM FFS THORIUM!
The Chinese whom you’ve (cleverly???) made incur all the development costs should have this shiz in 2020 or so… you might wanna push ’em a bit. But take it from a guy that works with them on a regular basis… LISTEN TO THEM. They are there, they are experiencing the problems, they are not stupid. Far from it. Culturally you’re going to have a bit of trouble understanding how much problems they are having, but basic common sense and empathy get around that real quick.
You get thorium reactors going this crap is all over. You could tank your economy into the 9th level of hell and you’d still ahve electricity.
You and me and about ten other people know about Thorium reactors. I’ll buy the first one I can.
One thing about Chinese, they kill off all the stupid ones. Here in America we elect them. They are called Democrats.
Since obama has had the EPA destroy 40% of the coal fired power plants it is bound to happen here…. Before the Marxist POS was elected(?) there were 120 additional coal fired power plants on the drawing board to be built- these too were canceled…. Yes, there will be a power shortage and our economy is 1-2 yrs behind that of Venezuela….
Nichola Tesla wanted to provide free electricity to the world. I am afraid my electricity could be turned off.
Another reality check for socialism (communism with lipstick and fish net stockings).
A nation swimming in oil and yet utterly broke and unable to provide electricity to its populace.
FTW;
Are you out there? My wife and I have been laughing all evening about your response to SGT. Frail in an earlier article. Keep up the good work.
Next door to Venezuela are 2 other countries, Brazil and Colombia. Brazil, like Venezuela has embraced the Socialist/ commie model, although for not as long. Not yet as bad as Venezuela but rapidly going in the same direction, Brazil can still be considered a failed state, at least IMHO. Colombia on the other hand is booming. It changed to a right wing government in 2002 which brought peace by fighting and beating the commie guerrillas and embracing the capitalist system. Before 2002, appeasement was the norm. They never had the recession in 2008-9 we had and you cant look in any direction without seeing a crane building a new hi rise. I lived there many years for several months a year until recently when I brought my Colombian girl here. (On a side note, for the single guys here, all 3 countries, Col, Ven and Brazil have no shortage of knock out women who like old ugly gringos.) The point to be made here is that of 3 countries, 2 commie failed and 1 market economy booming is the difference in the economic models. Colombia is off the map for most due to having the reputation of drugs and violence. But thats the past and now Col is considered one of the best countries for overseas investment and would make a nice place to hide in a SHTF situation. KF
Knockout women from other countries do not like old ugly gringos but are glad to take your money and celebrate your death. I have a pretty Chinese gal next door celebrating her old ugly gringo’s death as I write this… and spending his children’s inheritance on a hot young stud who will get his house and 3 acres in the mountains.
A refridgerator that uses no power.
1) Two large unglazed terra cotta pots. One larger and one that fits inside. Plug the holes in the bottom.
2) Put clean sand in the bottom of the larger one so that the smaller pot will sit inside with the top level to the larger one.
3) Fill the space between the two pots with clean sand.
4) Pour water over the sand until it becomes saturated.
5) Put your food or drinks into the smaller pot.
6) Lay a double thickness of wet terry clothe on top of the pots.
In a couple of hours, your food and drinks will be cold. The hotter the day is, the colder your “fridge” will get. Don’t forget, the pots have to be unglazed.