Off grid people ill-prepared
- Thread starter rhino
- Start date
Basic skills help us get through life. I heard a startling report recently on the number of people who could/couldn't balance a checkbook.
Schools used to teach life skills. When I was in high school I took wood shop, metal working and the other required courses including a foreign language. I also participated in football and track and as such enjoyed a well rounded education.
When we were growing up, a map was used to navigate. There were no GPS or cell phones. We used to use the "red" county books where the streets were listed in the back. You would collect the page number as well as the coordinates and then find the street location.
Solar is a fascinating topic and there is so much to learn. Yet another piece of the puzzle of life.
Schools used to teach life skills. When I was in high school I took wood shop, metal working and the other required courses including a foreign language. I also participated in football and track and as such enjoyed a well rounded education.
When we were growing up, a map was used to navigate. There were no GPS or cell phones. We used to use the "red" county books where the streets were listed in the back. You would collect the page number as well as the coordinates and then find the street location.
Solar is a fascinating topic and there is so much to learn. Yet another piece of the puzzle of life.
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Watts Happening
I call it like I see it.
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Sounds just like every friend that asks me to help with solar on their RV. I ask what they want to power and get answers like, “really just the basics, lights, TV here and there, coffee maker in the morning, toaster would be nice, microwave and the wife would love to blow dry her hair”.
I’m just thinking, sheesh, power draw has NEVER occurred to you has it?
EastTexCowboy
Solar Wizard
I get some like that, but it's usually something along the lines of, "I just want to run the basics and have backup for a few days if the grid is down, such as AC/heat, washer, drier, oven, and a few lights and outlets. But I need to keep the cost under $2,000 (or some ridiculously low amount)."
I had a friend call me all excited because he had a quote for solar to be installed that would run his house and give him a few days backup if the grid was down. He sent me the quote to review. I called him back and asked, "What about the batteries?" He had no clue that you have to have batteries if you're going to have continuous power when the grid is down. But then so many of the solar salesmen are maybe not the most ethical, and I have yet to see one quote a system with batteries unless asked specifically to do so.
Watts Happening
I call it like I see it.
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Yep.
I have a good friend with a 7,000 square foot home that sent me a link to some off brand solar generator he saw on Fox News or something. He was all excited he would have backup power for the house. I was like, sure, you could charge your many kids phones??
He thought air conditioning was on the table…
EastTexCowboy
Solar Wizard
You know, we laugh and shake our heads, but there was a time I was nearly as ignorant. The difference is I at least understood load vs production so when I did the math I quickly realized solar wasn't in the cards. When it did become viable I still had a lot of stupid questions. That's why I try to be tolerant when my friends or family ask some of those same questions. We're not born with the knowledge.
I always try to be tolerant when someone ask questions so they can become informed. It is when they do not ask, do not care to be told and get upset when things do not work as they demand that I sometimes lose patience. Many folks seem happy to go through life not knowing why the lights come on when they flip a switch, why water flows when they turn on the faucet or why the sun rises in the morning.
I remember my first energy audit after using a Kill a Watt. I put the calculations into a spreadsheet.
The findings were humbling to say the least.
Tulex
Solar Wizard
I truly appreciate when this is remembered in replies. Starting up in solar is like the first day on the job of a new occupation. The person who remembers their first day is the best teacher/coworker.
timselectric
If I can do it, you can do it.
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What a bunch of idiots.
Just like me. I love this place.
Just like me. I love this place.
Hey, I resemble that remark.
Are they all stored in an EMP shelter?
timselectric
If I can do it, you can do it.
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They say that two is one and one is none.
I prefer to start with ten is nine.
I prefer to start with ten is nine.
EastTexCowboy
Solar Wizard
I've always said if you know how many guns you have, you don't have enough. I'm thinking that could be applied to other things, such as batteries, spare inverters, spare panels, spare wire ...
I'm gonna need a bigger house...
Watts Happening
I call it like I see it.
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That's rather selfish. I feel we need to redistribute some of your wealth, thus I'm willing to accept the Sol Ark free of charge.
Tomthumb62
Solar Wizard
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Our solar system right now is confined to our camp trailer, but this is my dream. To have the system sized such that I Don’t Have To Think About It. No more monitoring because it just works. But until I fully understand the system, how it works, what it’s capable of and our actual use through the seasons of the year 3 season use only), then monitoring is essential.
Yes, well I'm a selfish bastard, I grew up dirt poor, borrowing and working my way through two graduate degrees. Something about growing up really poor that motivates you never to go back to that.....
EastTexCowboy
Solar Wizard
Grew up ridiculously poor myself and I agree with never going back to that. It's been my observation over many decades that some people are raised with a few advantages and complain because someone else has it better, while others take that leg up and build it into something more. Then some are born and raised poor and are bitter about it, while others consider themselves fortunate because they know people who have it even worse, and strive to make things better for themselves and their family. I've come to realize that growing up poor was a powerful motivator for me but there are plenty of motivated people from all walks of life.Yes, well I'm a selfish bastard, I grew up dirt poor, borrowing and working my way through two graduate degrees. Something about growing up really poor that motivates you never to go back to that.....
signed,
Amateur cowboy philosopher
ksmithaz1
Solar / EV Junkie
"Kinda like most people, I'm no different, we love to talk on things we don't know about". - Ten Thousand Words/The Avett Brothers.
ksmithaz1
Solar / EV Junkie
As a long time IT guy, you learn things about redundancies and MTBF num(lies)bers, and MTTR numbers. A lot of it is just plain math and statistics. The more stuff you have the more likely you are to have a failure. This is something that is sometimes difficult for smart people to grok. I've always looked for minimal redudancy and as low a MTTR as I can get. The other problem used to occur a lot with hard disks, and that is the cold spare issue. The problem is once components start failing that you've had in service for a long time, they tend to cascade. And then the final issue, which is the technology keeps improving, so if you buy too much, you load up on soon to be obsolete tech. If you are going to have spares, in most cases you may as well run them, and size your systems with overhead to handle failures, replacing and upgrading components as they fail.
From a pure disaster scenario, design your systems with easily replaceable components whenever possible. And in the case of DIY solar, make sure you have the basic tools you need to scab in something quickly.
YMMV.
From a pure disaster scenario, design your systems with easily replaceable components whenever possible. And in the case of DIY solar, make sure you have the basic tools you need to scab in something quickly.
YMMV.
Wealth is a tricky thing. The more I have, the more there is to maintain.
However there are advantages to having extras in case of failure, etc..
There are several forms of wealth I consider invaluable. The first is health. A second is knowledge.
However there are advantages to having extras in case of failure, etc..
There are several forms of wealth I consider invaluable. The first is health. A second is knowledge.
In my case, I was fortunate in that I had parents that valued education and hard work, they were never successful in their business ventures but they always worked hard at it and never gave up and I think that is the trait that parents need to instill in kids these days. The truth is, that a lot of success is also luck, but you can't take advantage of that luck if you are not industrious.
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