(1 August 2015, 08:29)bigpaul Wrote: the problem with any renewable energy system is not so much the main unit, that may last 25, 30 years-it may last forever, but its the little stuff like connectors and inverters and relays, how are you going to replace or repair them when they fail, can you even repair these things even if you had the skills to do so? or do you need a container full of spare parts to keep it running for the next 30-40 years, if the production line shuts down because of economic failure(or some other reason) getting spare parts may not be easy, sure there might be a s...load of parts lying about post SHTF but you wont be the only one looking for them.
That's a good point Paul. I just did some fag-packet calculations for car alternators.
There will be other factors, but as an example:
Assume a car alternator lasts 100,000 miles, at an average speed of 30mph that is 3333 hours. With 24 hours in a day that's just 140 days.
Car alternators are easily changed, and you might assume they'll be plentiful when people run out of fuel, but in a decline there will be people robbing the scrap metals from the cars; batteries, alternators and catalytic converters would be the first to go.
Most alternator failures I have seen are bearings, which are easily changed if you have them but they won't be easy to source unless you can get them from the scrappies as they rip the copper out. A bit of maintenance might also prolong their lives, I've never seen anyone do any preventative maintenance on an alternator, but I certainly would if my home electricity depended on it.
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