Solar BACK UP kit not full time OFFGRID ? help please?

[Straight Shooter]

Great advice Nix......going for your recommendation , many many thanks Nix this was a big help to me and I suspect others to cheers pal .

[Nix]

No probs, thinking about practicing what I'm preaching here and buy what I've suggested, set it up, take photos along the way and post a thread with step by step instructions. Matter of fact, I've already got enough parts that match up to do this already but some items will be ever so slightly different.

What d'yer reckon?

[Skean Dhude]

(28 October 2013, 17:50)Highlander Wrote: Out of curiosity, would a solar panel need to be in a Faraday cage in the event of a large EMP?

I keep all mine in an EMP cage but if you want to use them now then you have to take a chance. The larger the wires the more is induced and I would have thought a large solar panel would have enough area to create an issue.

The bottome line though is nobody really knows what the impact of an EMP over an unnown area will be. I'm erring on the side of caution but the problem with that is it costs to double up on everything.

[Nix]

Thanks, SK, from what I've read, no one really knows for sure. I think it's all really down to the size of the EMP, where you live, your set up and luck.

Just had a look around and found this interesting thread on this very subject from people far more knowledgeable than me!

[Highlander]

That was an interesting link Nix, but as was expected still a mix of opinions,.. an interesting point refering to the panels being earthed well against lightning strikes may protect against EMP,..made me think,.... are panels on our roofs earthed in such a way?,..I have a roof full and have never thought about it, of course everything that is linked after the panels is well earthed, but I wonder about the panels themselves,.. I must find out

[Nix]

Hi Highlander - I know mine aren't cos they're bolted into the wooden rafters. I have already earthed the the inverters so that any RCDs plugged in should operate ie the earth fault loop impedance is correct and present. I do have spare controllers and inverters in a Faraday cage but if the panels get shot then I guess they're useless.

So the question remains, will they get shot? Too many unknowns so no one will ever know until it happens.

Depending on which theory you buy into will depend on how you "protect" your stuff. EMPs are classified into at least three categories, the most dangerous, oddly enough, is not of CME origin but from a high altitude nuclear blast. There was some sort of solar super storm in the 1850's that took out street lighting and the telegraph and my guess is that if the same intensity EMP happened again, with the right polarity, we'd be in big trouble due to our dependance on all things electronic. But don't forget, we are bombarded with varying EMPs all the time with little or no effect. Worst case scenario the main grid would certainly absorb and collapse due to the thousands of miles of cabling acting as an antenna to the pulse. Our set ups would be of very limited cable length and could/should/would be ok depending on the strength of any EMP. If it does come from some high altitude nuclear blast then I'd be more worried about the fall out anyway!

Of course, you could go the whole hog and buy a large sealed metal container to act as a Faraday cage, store a whole new backup system in it and bury it in the back garden but, tbh, I for one can only dream of doing something like that!

[John]

(27 October 2013, 19:20)Skean Dhude Wrote:

(27 October 2013, 16:26)bigpaul Wrote: i'll probably get jumped on from a great height for this, but IF we are talking POST SHTF and i'm assuming we are, why does anyone WANT electricity once the power has gone off for good? wouldn't it be better to alter your lifestyle to suit the times? just my personal thoughts so don't all shout at once!!!

That is the beauty of prepping. You make your own choices and prep for what you want.

Most of us want to retain electrickery for as long as we can. Solar panels will only last about 25 years so we should make the most of it while we can.

Agreed, but keeping this in mind we should always aim to use what we have, i.e. solar post SHTF to get us to that point, may be 25 years or so hence when it no longer works and you can't get or have run out of spare parts or can't repair it yourself, so that you have better life style, or future generations do, than you or they may have had.
What I am saying is some will plan regression to a simpler life immediate post SHTF, but others should, if using the like of solar or even wind or hydro power, plan for that regression in say 25 years or so time.
Please don't think you can just carry on as normal for ever.
One last point on the latter, watch you security.
Don't want the night lit up like saying 'free food here'.

[bigpaul]

(30 October 2013, 12:28)John Wrote: One last point on the latter, watch you security.
Don't want the night lit up like saying 'free food here'.

absolutely, nothing says that more than a house lit up with lights when the rest of the street is in darkness, or a generator which can be heard for miles!

[GrannyMike]

(30 October 2013, 12:34)bigpaul Wrote:

(30 October 2013, 12:28)John Wrote: One last point on the latter, watch you security.
Don't want the night lit up like saying 'free food here'.

absolutely, nothing says that more than a house lit up with lights when the rest of the street is in darkness, or a generator which can be heard for miles!

We had a power cut last year and a friend used his Genny to light his house stood out like a brake in here sign and the noise no way