Quote:
Originally Posted by booker
Most of the area around me was without power yesterday. We are on the same loop as one of the DoD facilities, so we had power up much quicker that those further out. From what I understand Verizon cell phones were out all through here as well. I got a ham license for this very reason. My mother lives in WV still, and she made the rounds to all her elderly neighbors to recharge their refrigerators with her generator. They don't expect power for at least a few more days. There are more than a few granola head types out here who are pretty smug about having solar panels and the such right now.
On the topic of solar panels, has anyone looked at the solar generators that are out there (example http://www.thousandsuns.com/solarpod...FV4AodWnccEw)?
We were fine with our store of water and such, but it really got me thinking about a generator. |
Solar's price per KWH make generators look cheap.
The panels themselves are incredibly expensive and have a life span of 20-25 years. The batteries you need to store the power for cloudy days and nighttime are only good for a few years too. Good for emergency charging or occasional small items, not ready for prime time if there is a utility line within a mile.
I hope they eventually come down in price and improve in efficiency enough to be practical. You would still need a battery bank, charge controller, inverter, etc. and a genset. Right now, a community nuclear reactor is about as practical.
TR
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"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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