At first I tried to use 12V for everything. Did not work out in a house, camper is different. As an engineer I calculated the voltage losses and the amount of copper needed to counter that was huge. Modern inverters seem to work at about 90-% efficiency, good enough. Also 240V appliances are a lot cheaper. On a 24V system the inverter efficiency is slightly higher, the choice depends on batteries easily available.
Preparing for troubled times ahead - Advice on what is needed.....
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I think wind turbines can output 240v presumably to minimise drop?
Chaining solar panels in threes to get 36+volts can help even if then dropped to a 12v system assuming your chosen charge controller allows it. I don't know if house sized panel set ups go above that voltage?
Voltage drop calculator if of interest to anyone.
Chaining solar panels in threes to get 36+volts can help even if then dropped to a 12v system assuming your chosen charge controller allows it. I don't know if house sized panel set ups go above that voltage?
Voltage drop calculator if of interest to anyone.
Voltage Drop Calculator | 12 Volt Planet
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Fair number of people here in the village use propane for home heating. 1,000 or 2,000 liter tanks out in their back garden. But, it isn't cheap. Pricing here seems to depend on the heat output value. Many of those people depend on a wood pellet stove for the longest winter heating periods. That of course, gets you into a lengthy supply chain.
In a long outage, I'd shut off maybe 2/3 of my house and just not live in it. Not heat it. As long as I could keep it above freezing, I'd live in a far smaller space.
In a long outage, I'd shut off maybe 2/3 of my house and just not live in it. Not heat it. As long as I could keep it above freezing, I'd live in a far smaller space.
Quite, as the amount of energy is directly proportional to the temp difference inside-outside. Of course one option is to insulate. Here 350-400mm of mineral wool or equivalent means that normal "living" energy consumption is about enough to keep the house warm very little or no extra is needed for heating. That calculation/measurement assumes though 4 people with equivalent warm water usage that actually brings in a large part of the required heating energy. No "zero energy" house does exist (unless one dresses like an Inuit in snow storm).
I'll ignore the fact that the surface area to volume ratio goes up for small houses. Doesn't mean I can still afford it (which I can quite easily.) Some people are wearing blankets and +12C in their kitchens.
Can tell you one thing, 12 - 18" snow on the roof makes a big difference in heating. Great insulation.
Pick a night of -40C with wind outside your igloolik (= snow house). Light the kudliq (seal blubber candle lamp fire) say, 12" long flame. Not at all hard to get the indoors up to +4C.
Can tell you one thing, 12 - 18" snow on the roof makes a big difference in heating. Great insulation.
Pick a night of -40C with wind outside your igloolik (= snow house). Light the kudliq (seal blubber candle lamp fire) say, 12" long flame. Not at all hard to get the indoors up to +4C.
We seldom get snow that could be used to build an igloo, I have tried a few and if memory serves atleast two stayed up for a while. I tried a large candle and getting up to 0C does not take all that long.
Quinzees are a lot easier to make but also require certain kind of snow and temp.
Quinzees are a lot easier to make but also require certain kind of snow and temp.
Snow. I see 8 kinds of snow at my house. Hard packed drifts 6' high that I can walk on. I think that one drift is big enough to fool with for a little igloolik. I must not care very much, have not seen my snow knife for several years.
The permanent First Nations winter camp villages (inland) were usually pit houses, 1-2m into the ground, some with a radius of 10m and 60 cm spoil over the log roof. I'd really like to try to live in one for a month with lots of help for food, water and wood for the fire.
On the coast, the houses were cedar slabs over a cedar log frame. Biggest house Franz Boas measured = 40' wide and 100' long. Biggest split house board was 3' wide, 14' long and 3/4" thick. As people moved out to hunting camps, they took their house boards to stand over other frame works.
But once again, it's the fuel that you need more than anything else. Wood, hydrocarbon, electrons in a box.
The permanent First Nations winter camp villages (inland) were usually pit houses, 1-2m into the ground, some with a radius of 10m and 60 cm spoil over the log roof. I'd really like to try to live in one for a month with lots of help for food, water and wood for the fire.
On the coast, the houses were cedar slabs over a cedar log frame. Biggest house Franz Boas measured = 40' wide and 100' long. Biggest split house board was 3' wide, 14' long and 3/4" thick. As people moved out to hunting camps, they took their house boards to stand over other frame works.
But once again, it's the fuel that you need more than anything else. Wood, hydrocarbon, electrons in a box.
We have bulk propane. It's quite normal here as a farm supply. A local father son team put it in for us. I was chatting with the son recently and we came up with a cunning plan. He ran me a spur to directly the other side of the wall from where I have a transfer switch between the electricity meter and distribution panel. I can hook my propane generator up to the bulk tank and feed the power from the generator directly into the distribution panel whilst preventing the system back feeding the mains. This means that I can use the propane for hot water, electricity, heat or any combination thereof. Only took some copper pipe, isolation taps and thought. I don't know how long 1500 litres of LPG will run for , but a rough calculation says 50 days, 24 hours a day on an average draw.
Local el company here requires the"Y" switch if one has a generator and they want to check the wiring. I have one at the cottage. Works. Some farms here have arrangements where they have emergency generators they couple to their tractors mechanical output, I know there also are generators that use the hydraulic output for power.
I imagine our switch is similar but known as a Transfer Switch. It has a single output to the distribution panel but two inputs. One input pole is hardwired to the mains (after the meter) the other is an input socket for another power source. If you select "generator" the house is switched off from the mains to prevent the generator "back feeding" the mains and risking the life of someone working on a fallen powerline 
. Vitally important to use such a thing if hooking a generator into house wiring.
. Vitally important to use such a thing if hooking a generator into house wiring.I guess it has a bureaucratic name here too, everybody seems to call it the Y switch. Yes that's the use of it.
Are you watching for bulk buys at the same time? Got waste heat that is not helping? String foods and dry them. For me, being alone, my bigger issue is how to reconstitute the dried stuff. Veg like carrots/beets/parsnips. Mushrooms.
I can eat fried rice by the tonne. Just need to figure out how to prepare all the free additives.
I can eat fried rice by the tonne. Just need to figure out how to prepare all the free additives.
Sounds familiar, I have my central heating blower 12v DC so I can run them from my battery pack if needed. Usually it is run by an old computer power unit from 230V AC mains.
What's in your garden?A stockpile of essential food is high on my list.
I will start to use my illegal E scooter more to save using my car when I can. This is work related. I have already had a ride to Toolstation in a police car……
I have been exploring the proper cycle routes in town but these are bizzar and abruptly end forcing users out into traffic.
There is noticeably less traffic on some roads as folk fill their tanks and gulp at the cost.
My heating bill is going up by £650 PA, an increase of £54 pcm so if I can save £13 a week I will manage to stand still, hence the E scooter use which costs pennies to charge.
I have a good and productive veggie garden so lets hope there are no late frosts.
So top of my list is personal ‘E’ transport and pressure on the authorities to make their minds up in allowing owners to register, train and be able to insure them. Particularly where they are not available for hire.
I can’t ride a push-bike as my titanium knee-joint will not allow my leg to bend enough to pedal!
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A varied range of vegetables and in the poly tunnel there is green salad pretty much all year.
We grow squash, have a fruit cage and an orchard which is now over ten years old so there is a broad range of home-grown organic food.
My wife puts pretty much all the hard work in as I am on ‘infrastructure’ duties with a renew fencing programme about to start replacing 15 year old failing posts with creosoted items.
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In hot water in a wide necked flask. Hap the flask up with a thick towel and that'll reduce any heat loss through the lid.
Same way as in summer, hang it out to dry. It will dry the same way, summer and winter. It is done all the time in my country.
Yup, it just takes slightly longer but slightly depending on the weather clothes dry even when frozen. On a windy sunny day fairly fast.
I want something like a freestanding carport where I could hang things to dry even if it's raining and work outside under cover. We often have enough of a breeze here to at least get the worst of the moisture out of the laundry if you can stop the rain and drizzle adding to it.Same way as in summer, hang it out to dry. It will dry the same way, summer and winter. It is done all the time in my country.
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