Category: electricity

  • Pros and cons of flexible solar panels

    I bought my first solar panel (not taking into account the ones I had in my calculator or watch) in 2006 r., and it was a flexible 10 Wp (PowerFlex 10 from ICPSolar). With the charge controller I had and a typical lead-acid car battery, it was my first solar system I used in my […]

  • A week off the grid on a campsite

    Last week I returned home from a short summer holiday which I spent in my Vanagon Camper (RV) in Łeba, a town on the Baltic Sea coast. As I own two solar panels (40 Wp each) and two gel batteries, I decided not to pay for the electrical connection and use my own power. The […]

  • Off-grid life – is it possible?

    Is it possible to get completely off grid? That’s an important question right now in the context of rising electricity prices and dwindling supply of conventional natural fuels like coal and petroleum. However, before we get to explore whether is it possible to get completely off grid or not, let us first see what do […]

  • Off-grid energy sources: a good way to save for your retirement

    I read once an interesting opinion, that investing your money in renewable energy sources pays off mostly when you’re retired. Why is that? All the alternative, renewable energy sources, provide you with free energy. If the system is designed properly (for example, photovoltaic panels coupled with wind turbine), you always have enough energy to fulfill […]

  • Water as alternative energy source

    Water current can be effectively used to generate clean electricity. Generation of electricity from water currents can be accomplished in very large scales, by constructing dams or constructing tidal power plants and ocean surface wave power plants. It can also be done by individual homeowners (homesteaders) and small business owners, to generate and use small […]