Replies

Thanks for the news on inverter generators. I’ll comment here on something related but different before talking about generators later in this same comment.

Here’s something that I happened to be looking at lately. One of the best things to do for saving energy—disaster or not—is to replace flourescent and other lighting with LED lighting. Products for LED replacement fixtures and lights are very available through the Internet now.

There are also low cost LED replacements for those willing to search enough, even for RVs. Flourescent lighting is a costly choice with short times before failures for extremely cold climates, BTW. LED lighting with luminescence comparable to flourescent lighting will use as little as 1/3 of the wattage (remember ballasts).

For RV Lighting (DC/battery)
http://howtorvgeeks.com/

That said, a little study of products is recommended before buying LED replacement lighting. There are different kinds of LEDs and arrangements of LEDs in various products. Some LED products (dimmer-compatible) work with dimmers (LED compatible) that are made specially for LED lighting.

The news about inverter generators spurred a look at a catalog here. Harbor Freight has a 2200-watt (2500 surge) inverter generator for $500. It would be great for anyone who doesn’t need air conditioning, electric range, electric dryer, forced-air/electric heating or to pump water from a deep well. For those who would object to the brand, China makes Hondas now, too, BTW. ;-)

For a suburban power outage for a few days after a hurricane, a generator is probably the way to go. For a house away from the power grid in a cold climate, PV solar works far better except for welding and some of the appliances mentioned above. Arc welding, for example, requires at least over 8,000 watts from a generator. Flux wire welding, not so much (about 5,000 watts or more).

It’s a toss-up for deep water well pumps between diesel generators and small PV solar power plants with slow pumps and cisterns (instead of batteries). Between a quarter-gallon and half-gallon of diesel fuel for a 1/2 HP pump, give or take, will fill a smaller cistern (smaller being smarter for preventing health problems). Once every few days—not bad. Someone who knows what they’re doing can muffle generator noise very effectively (acoustic insulation and intake, exhaust, engine cooling ventilation).

A PV solar plant with a slow pump and cistern is completely quiet and prevents any need to mess with pumping water at all. The only problem with it would be cost for extra PV modules and larger cisterns (instead of batteries) for those in very cloudy areas. There are also DC chest freezers made for much more efficient use with PV solar plants.

All stuff for off-grid applications or much more elaborate applications for suburban power outages.

But for hurricanes, generators are king. Add some golf cart batteries (good for solar, too), a great, smart battery charger and a good inverter for stored, quiet power—great with very energy-efficient appliances (like LED lighting).