Another off grid question

[Admin]

If a house is wired in (normal) fasion for regular household current, Can a DC battery bank with AC inverter be hooked to operate the same outlets? I would think that having the house wired in normal fasion would be the handiest route to take so that it could be powered up with a generator on occasions when full power was needed - such as running power tools.

I would think that everything would work on the same wiring as normal household current. Anybody know?

[johnporter]

I cant help you on that question--but I would like to know the answer also. Did you find an AC inverter? If so - could you please give me the link?
Thanks.............John

[johnporter]

Check this site out JC...
www.dc-ac-power-inverters.co.za/house-backup-inverter.htm

[Admin]

I found the answer today while playing around on the (homesteading today) link you sent me. YES you wire the house in the same manner. They recommend 12/2 for less line loss. There's a ton of inverters and windmill and solar goodies at www.northerntool.com The more I learn about this stuff the more excited I get. I really used to love living off the grid back in the day. I was researching gas refridgerators and freezers today and I learned that most of the newer (electric) refriderators use so little electricity that it's wiser invest in a solar panel and battery bank than it is to dump the money into a gas frdge expence. A few car batteries and a solar panel will keep a regular fridge in operation. ;D That's good news to me.

[johnporter]

The good thing about this new Going Green deal is the bigger companies are manufacuring appliances just for the need--or I should say, just for you and I..LOL ;D

[Admin]

John, I think you, hounddog, badger and mike need to move to northern NY and we can set an old fashion hippie commune

[johnporter]

I am all for that, hope the towns people are looking to move out of the area.... ;D

[badger]

Are there presently any tax breaks in your states for "going green" ? There's a huge push for this type of change, I figure there has to be some comps for it.

[acewoodsman]

hey jc i want in on that i'll bring the hams an bacons lol

[Admin]

Downhome, YES please feel free to ramble as I am all ears well in this case, eyes . I love your idea about charging the battery bank while driving ;D . Multi purpose strategies will always get my attention. We consume a very small amount of electricity in my household so I know that a battery bank would be adequate for us. My interest in going off grid is more for my own satisfaction than it is for saving money. I like the idea of being less dependant on society. Our present basic rate is 16.21 and on average we consume approx 18.00 worth of power on top of that. It would be nice to generate enough power to funnel it back to National Grid so we get no bill at all or possibly a check instead. I have a very strong interest in learning more about off grid power so anything you have to share will be very much appreciated. A lot of info is available on homesteading today but they talk in terms that are over my head. I need to start from the bottom up with this power stuff.

[Admin]

Downhome, Thanks for taking the time and You've got me interested in this wood gas thing. You've got me lost but interested just the same. I enjoy cutting wood and the wood comes from my own land so there's no problem there. Heating the home is never an issue even in these 30 below days. Next winter we'll have the new cook stove in place and I'll be running the coil from the firebox direct to a water heater and that should keep the water heater from even starting up.

We will always need a freezer so will need to generate enough power for that but a fridge I can do without. I have designed a heavy walled ice box that will be being inserted into the alcove where my fridge is. In the ice box will be a pan for the ice block and there will be a drain tube running out the bottom that will T off - so I can direct the water back to another ice bucket or out my grey water. I also have it so there's an adjustable vent so that I can let the winter air into the box and take advantage of mother nature. I've experimented with making ice blocks with several different forms, kitty litter buckets, cardboard boxes with plastic liners etc. One fridged night can make a years supply of ice with no use of power. I plan to build an ice celler beneath my house and store the blocks in sawdust from my saw mill.

If you look in your fridge there's very little in there that needs to be kept really cold and an ice box will handle this just fine. I will keep everything I need in there and the surplus and extra 12 packs can be stashed in the ice house itself.

I lived with a very crude ice box for nearly 6 years and had no issues with food spoilage. My new plan is a far cry from anything I have ever seen and during the cold months I shouldn't need any ice at all as I will be letting in the outside air as needed.

If you think about it, it's acually pretty comical the way that our society has evolved. We pay dearly to keep the cold air out of our homes and then pay again to keep cold air inside a box in our warm home. I been doing the same but it's time to cut to the chase and just take advantage of mother nature to the best of my ability. We sometimes curse the cold, we curse the heat, we curse the sun and we curse the wind. My plan is to stop the cursing and use them to my advantage.