Search This Blog

Wednesday, 27 January 2021

How to run a fridge with off-grid power

One of the challenges of off-grid living is how to power a fridge. This blog post looks at our experiment on hacking a freezer to work as a fridge that uses very little energy.

Thursday, 1 October 2020

720 Watt Solar Power System for an shed / summer house /outbuilding

Here are some photos of a DIY 720-watt hour solar power system. This provides LED lighting, charges phones, e-bike batteries, drills, runs power tools, and boils a small travel kettle. 

Sunday, 6 September 2020

120 Watt hour Solar Power Pack - for LED lights, charge phones, laptops and cordless power tools

This blog post provides a brief description of a 120 Watt Hour Solar Power Pack. This provides a bright LED, USB charge points, and a 12 V lighter socket for a power inverter. The power inverter produces 230V for low-powered appliances.

Wednesday, 12 August 2020

Looking after the Lead Acid Batteries in your Solar Power System

Many people rage against Lead Acid batteries and claim that they don't last more than a year or two. This post is about looking after your batteries and get 5 to 10 years of service out of them.

Friday, 13 September 2019

Watts, Volts, Amperes, Ampere hours and Watt hours - what does it all mean?

When planning your off-grid Solar Power system it helps to understand the numbers and terminology. This post explains in simple terms the meaning of these and how they relate to each other.

Wednesday, 11 September 2019

Building your own 42 Watt Hour Solar Power Pack

This is a portable battery pack that is charged using solar energy. It features a built-in light and USB sockets for phone charging. It can be used when camping, living off-grid or during power cuts. 

Tuesday, 28 August 2018

Haybox Cooking - also known as Thermal cooking

What is a haybox? It’s basically an insulated box in which you place your partly cooked food. The heat energy held in the pot and the food completes the cooking process without any external heat input.