Solar Baby

posted by katlupe on Jun 30

When we first started out here at Peaceful Forest Homestead using solar, as I have told many times before here, and on my other blog, Homesteading On The Internet, we had one 55 watt panel, a very tiny charge controller (so tiny in fact, it has no name on it anywhere) and used an automotive inverter from Walmart and two fork-lift truck batteries. If we needed to charge our batteries we had to bring our car up to the window and hook it up and let it run. Yuck! You can imagine the smell and the noise! I always remember my pet hen, Lil’ Red for some unknown reason, would hang out around the stinky car while it was running. We went through a lot of gas that way. The one panel we had was on a wooden frame and we would move it around the yard to try to keep it in the sun! Of course, we were new to this solar power stuff.

So here it is eleven years later and everything has changed. We still have a small system. Though it has, and is still growing. Our panels have grown to five, they are now on our barn roof. Every morning they are getting good sun. We have had them bringing in as much as 21 amps which is the most we have ever had. Right now as I am writing this, they are bringing in 15 amps. What a difference!  And for longer periods of time too.

The important thing is that we are independent of the utility company. No matter what, we are on our own and not dependent on the electric dictator. Our power has never gone out unless it was from the fault of something in our power system. Which we did have that happen a few years back. But once it was fixed with the expert advice from Backwoods Solar, where we purchased a good share of our equipment, we were up and running. Haven’t had any issues since then. Never have to call the electric dictator to complain about the bill or make arrangements to pay it. Nothing like that! And no matter how cheap your bill is………..you still are giving someone else money to run your house. I don’t care if it is thirty or forty dollars a month or less, you could be putting that in your pocket instead. It is your choice though and I am not writing this blog to convince anyone to change to using solar or any other alternative power system. I am just telling you that it is possible to do even if you are on a strict budget. Our system went together little by little, dollar by dollar.

So not only am I happy every morning when we have sun for my garden but for my solar system as well. July should be a good sunny month for us here but you never know as the part of New York we live in gets lots of rain. I know on the horizon is solar panels that get charged even on cloudy days and I know my husband would be happy to have those panels. Because someday we plan on having an electric car that is charged with our own power system.

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

Powered By KG Lupole LLC

posted by katlupe on Sep 24

It has been brought to my attention that some people resent it if I have links to sites that sell things related to my blogs. Well, I wouldn’t be providing free content like this if I could not do that. My blog is using WordPress software but it is NOT hosted by WordPress. I pay for hosting and for the url. So those are things that must be covered by the money I make by people clicking my links. I am not being secretive about it. I just assumed that most people on the internet already know about and accept the practice of affiliate links.

One is Amazon and we are all familar with them. I really like them and use them myself all the time. I have chose to list the books about solar on here. But on my other blog, Homesteading On The Internet I have homesteading related items like canning items, books, homestead magazines and even the very same digital SLR camera that I recently bought (because I loved it so much!).

The thing is that I am documenting my own off the grid system. I write about the way we did it. Whether it is right or wrong by the solar installers rule book…….I can’t tell you that. But it worked for us. We have lived this way for over ten years and it has given us enough power for the things we need and use. I write about some things that I am not going to be using but they may be things that I previously planned on using, and changed my mind about. So I include those items as I have researched them before. I have also written about some subjects that people have contacted me about. I get lots of email, especially from other women wanting to know about this off the grid living. So I have researched answers to their questions.

So there is no law that you must click a link when you come here. Just read and leave. I am fine with that. If you do need to purchase something and do not know where to go and you click a link and buy it….then, I thank you very much! You are helping me to keep this site going and keep me writing it for free. If I had to put it all in book form then you would have to buy it.

Of course, my recent complaint came from a kid on a forum I belong to who is most probably not the most internet knowledgable person. Someone who is not into business or needs to know how to make a living on a computer from their off the grid home. He most probably does not have an off the grid home and most likely  never will. He is pretty new to my forum where I have been posting links to my sites for years now. Everybody does that there. Our signature lines are usually links to our sites. We all see Google ads all over the place and it is not a big deal anymore. So I have chose this way to bring money into my little homestead called Peaceful Forest Homestead. I hope you don’t mind and in fact, I hope you come back often!

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen G. Lupole

Powered By KG Lupole LLC