Technology changes the way we do things. I wish the super bright LED technology was mature when we did our off grid move 11 years ago. Trying to purchase compact fluorescent lights before they 
hit the mainstream “green” production, cost about $15 or more back then. Now the super bright LED technology is beginning to come of age. However, commercial LED fixtures are still on the high end of the price scale.
I recently was surprised to find a light that takes very little power, can be very portable, and may be one of the best all around lights to have available for your
Ever been really certain about one of your decisions and then had to, gulp, change your mind based on new information? The only thing worse than changing your mind, is living with a poor choice.
I’ve done my homework on MPPT solar controllers and decided to get one. In fact, due to lightning, my charge controller failed, and the need for the new controller grew urgent. In a previous article I selected what I thought would be the best, safest choice for this investment.
A while back we wrote about the performance of our refrigerator and presented the power details. However, one item was probably missing in the data. That is, how much power does that thing take when its summer?
I pulled out our trusty Kill-o-watt power monitor and set up the test a couple days ago, and began recording . Unfortunately, we are not in the middle of a hot spell which would raise the ambient temperature in in the kitchen to 80F or more. For this test I’d say the average temperature remained between 70-72F. This is better
[Welcome to Arild as our first guest post! If you are interested in adding your original content on genverters.com, just email and I'll get you the details - M]
Along with Solar power; LED have been getting a lot of media attention lately.
The good points about LED are: very low current consumption compared to any other light source with a few exceptions we will deal with later.
The old complaint of color quality have largely been solved. Early white LED were admittedly not so great compared to a halogen light or fluorescent. They tended to be dimmer .
Recent developments in camping lights, flashlights, and
Purchasing the right solar charge controller is an important decision for your power system. The right choice will be flexible and grow as you add solar panels and other components. As I mentioned in a previous post about MPPT charging, this is the most flexible choice.
I’ve looked over two popular MPPT charge controllers from Outback and Xantrex. Next month I think I’ll select the Xantrex XW MPPT 60 amp controller. Yes it costs more, but it will produce slightly more power from the exact same solar panel array. Here are my reasons for the MPPT style choice, and for the Xantrex unit:
What is a shunt, and why would you need or want them in your genverter or off grid power system? Technically, you can make, store and use power from you off grid system without a shunt. Doing so would be like putting on a blindfold and having your friend in the passenger seat give directions as you drive across New York city. Yes, possible, No, not recommended!
A shunt is a resistor
In the electronics world, it is normally called a current shunt. Shunt resistors come
