Ok, so I don't really know where to begin. You know how I said I would learn as much as I could before I invested in solar energy? Well, as maaany times in my life, I did exactly the opposite, and I mean THE opposite, hahaha! Right now I'm writing from the forest shelter, powered by three solar panels that came about in a very unexpected way. Here's the story.
After lots of research on solar energy and talking to other people about what I wanted, I came to the conclusion that it would be smarter to go on hydropower as there is a small stream near the shelter and that would be more constant than sunlight which is blocked by trees and also goes away at night. I started looking up people who knew how to set up a mini turbine that could provide some electricity from the stream and a friend recommended a guy from A.G. Ingeniería (A.G. Engineering) that worked here in southern Chile.
I called him - Miguel Gabriel Caballero, if you ever want to contact him - and told him what I was after. He said he could check out the place and do a technical analysis of what could be done, and that would cost me nearly 100.000 CLP which is nearly equal to 143 USD. I told him I didn't have much money and if he could tell me an estimation of how much the total would be, so that I didn't loose that coin, but he told me that if we couldn't get anything done he would make a design of how I could do things myself step by step when I had the resources to which I agreed.
Things started getting crazy and fast from there. In a couple of hours he was arriving at the shelter with a huge grin on his face. He checked out the place and told me that the hydropower needed a lot of work and investment but that he liked what I was doing and wanted to help me. So he says: "look I have three used panels at home and I'm carrying an inverter and you can have it. We just need the battery, converter, and you'll be solar-powered by tomorrow.
In total 452 USD were spent on the project. A fraction of it was payment for the installation (no extra was charged for the visit) and the other part was for the following materials:
3 75W recycled solar panels
1 recycled 500W inverter
1 recycled battery
1 converter and control center for the battery
2 led lights
1 energy distribution box
Cables (some new and some recycled)
This little box distributes the power among lights and plugs. The cables look so out of tune with the natural elements, though I've gotten a bit used to it, I hope to eventually do some make-up.
A light for the chilling space.
Charging the phone is working great!
Installing the panels.
The switch control for the lights.
Me, trying to learn about electricity though my mind isn't quite built for that kind of knowledge 😅
I had the visit of this lovely family. The kids complimented the place a lot and it was good to have some light for when it got dark ✨
As you can see there was a lot of recycling involved here. Yes, not good for my energy production as the panels are probably already giving off less energy than when they were new, but good for Mother Earth, and that's what all this is about. Achieving modern quality of life while being as conscious as possible with the toll our actions take on the planet.
The whole process was an exercise of trust as so many things were done in such an unprofessional way. As soon as we were driving towards town, Gabriel starts telling me that he had lived like me, met indigenous people and become a shaman in the Amazon Forest. He said that he had been called the "son of the Sun" by the natives and that he loved sharing it's energy with people.
He was very outgoing and talked a lot which crashed my with my expectations of shamans (I would imagine them more silent and observant), but at the same time I would think: "what do I know?" I've never met an "official" shaman. Anyway, his manners made me doubt so many times of what I was doing. I was gambling almost all the money that is not here on Hive (basically the money I have on Hive is all I have), on this character who was either taking me for a fool or was an angel sent to help me out on this quest.
I decided to trust. Trust in God, in the Universe, the Multiverse, Gaia, Pachamama, my ancestors, the forest, my sacred mission. This WILL work out I said to myself. I met his family. They lived in a humble house that they were building themselves. They had arrived here in southern Chile while travelling around and decided to stay, give it a chance. I realized he too was trusting, he too was giving his best to fulfill his dreams, and that there were a lot of reasons for him to empathize with me.
So here we are, with solar energy installed. Was it a good investment? Will it pay off? I didn't ask how old the panels were, not because I didn't think about asking, but because I was deciding to trust the process. They will last as much as they need to last and many great things will come from them. So I don't know things money-wise, I know I asked to have a couple of lights for the night and the capacity to charge my phone and notebook, and it has all been granted. I would also really like to warm myself up with this energy but it seems all heaters require more power so I will have to gather some more coin to upgrade.
Also, Gabriel was more than helpful. He explained the whole installation to me, he drove me around town getting all the parts needed. He gifted me a really good rainproof jacket and his family added a snowsuit. I think the value of all this surpasses the money spent. I am very grateful for his support and the good vibes he shared with me.
Regarding the heating part, I have been lent a gas heater and it was awesome until I ran out of gas hahaha. I love fire, but this was good for starting the day before I lit the fire. I would like to buy more gas but at the same time I don't want to become dependant on that, which means I don't want to go after it every time it runs out. One of these days someone will invite me to town and I'll refill with all calm 😉.
I hope you enjoyed this little story of how I came to be solar powered. Sorry it doesn't provide much technical information, n the next post I will share with you the setup, which kind of covers the basics of DIY installation. In the meanwhile I'll leave you with a few good resources I've found regarding solar energy:
This video explains pretty clearly how solar cells work and in such a dynamic way that it's worth the watch. For those who like to learn about science, you'll find that The Science Asylum is quite a nice channel to pay attention to, so enjoy!
Another interesting resource I found is the Solar DIY community on Reddit. People there are constantly sharing their setups as well as answering questions you might have regarding your own setup so I highly recommend it.
Since I already have the basic installment, I will be relying a lot on Reddit to expand and upgrade. At least I have a basic notion of how things work but please be patient till next post where I will explain the best I can. Days are very short here at this time of year and they just run out on me, also I have to spend a lot of time in bed since it's quite cold in the forest shelter.
Till next one!
Tagging those who have embarked on the journey, promise next episode I give out specific details on the installment!
@eco-alex @wwwiebe @abdulhamids @cryptoxicate @quinnertronics @cliffagreen @atma.love @farm-mom @vickyguevara
awesome im glad you got yr first setup going! after reading about yr heater/ fuel situation, it reminded me of this video i found a while back where the dude melts plastic back into fuel, perhaps something that you may find interesting (and less electrical components)
i hope yr battery and panels give you many days and nights of power! make sure to do an update with how it is performing/consumption/being used...
Wow, what a good video. It does require some investing to setup but it would be awesome to do. Maybe time will help! I'll provide the update with all the technical details as soon as I can, thanks for the feedback!
Great video, nice job with reusing the plastic, great for you and the environment. You have quite a set up, congratulations, best of luck in all your projects. Oh, love the soap.
What a great start! Looks like things are really coming together for you in your little shelter.
Yes, I think by summer this will be a really nice place. Just gotta make it through the winter!🥶
Are you in the southern hemisphere? For some reason I thought you were north. Wishing you a safe winter as we're only really just starting. Stay warm.
Yeah, I live in Chile, in the southern region of Aysen so usually very cold in winter. Hope you’re all set up for the season as well.
We are. My dad has been collecting wood year round for three households. Having said that, it rarely drops below 0°C here.
Oh, that's good. Here it's normal to have -5 degrees C :O
It's good to see that you have some solar power going now! It's really helpful to be able to charge your phone and notebook. Lights inside the shelter are nice also.
Heat is a difficult thing to do with solar power, it takes so much energy that it's not very efficient at all.
Yeah, heat will require a water turbine or wind power I think. Lots of things being sold online so I have to check carefully what to get next.
It's great that you already have solar power. Sometimes wonderful things happen unexpectedly - this is one of those. Glad you have solar power in your shelter.
Thank you 🙏✨
How awesome is all that! That's fantastic. Maybe the hydro power will work out, too! People have been using water as a power source since the dawn of water.
Yeah, would be awesome to have a little energy from each source!
Congratulations! That is so awesome. Thanks for tagging me and keeping me up to date. ... Be careful learning about electricity with a hands on technique. It can bite! :)
Yeah, I’ve been biten a few times by it haha, but I was being guided during the install so no danger there😅 thanks to you man for always supporting and being here!!
Good for you man, I have my fingers crossed for you, I think those solar panels will do you justice.
Your post was very interesting, I enjoyed the read. Going back to listen to the video, I have a feeling I will like that also. Good Luck @fenngen.
Thank you @farm-mom really glad you enjoyed the post and grateful for the support 🙏
Once star wars begin... I am going to reach to your galaxy for the electric engineering skills =)
Man, please don’t do such a thing hahahah! My engineering skills are crap. But if you want someone who never gives up on dreams do visit 🙌🏼
That works out too! =) but at least you have went through the experience. Glad to know that.
!BEER to following dreams! And thanks for the !ENGAGE
ENGAGEtokens.Thank you, cheers m8
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BEER.BEERHey @fenngen, here is a little bit of from @forykw for you. Enjoy it!Learn how to earn FREE BEER each day by staking your
BEER.You might wanna consider an electric blanket to keep you warm. I bought one for this winter, cost was about $12 i think in Kaufland in Bulgaria. It only uses 60 watts yet gets very warm under the blankets. 2 settings so i guess only 30 watts for the lower setting. Not sure how long your setup will keep that going though.
Be very careful with battery useage or you will kill the battery. Hopefully you have a volt meter set up so you can always see the battery voltage. From Memory you shoudn't let it go below 12 (or maybe 10) volts. Be sure to research this. And be sure to keep water levels up (assuming its not a gel battery). I've had several batteries killed due to improper use/maintenance in the past!
The blanket sounds nice, though I’m running quickly out of power in this weather. I hope to be able to add another battery and a couple more panels during the year, that should be good enough for one of those blankets in the night. Thanks for the tips, I’ll look into maintenance of batteries!
congrats on the set up! that is the same size i was using for the past year.. it was enough for my laptop, lights and much more.. these days it gets much easier if you have the right appliances.. i even ditched my old macbook pro (80watt 3 hour battery) for a cheaper mac book air with a 30 watt charger and 10 hours of life.. made ALl the difference..
high five!
x
That’s such a good approach: instead of raising the power input, reducing the consumption level. I’ll see what I can do about getting a low consumption computer, should be nice!
yep! i tell everyone going on solar to start with a change of appliances.. most people can reduce their load (and even size of the system they need) my a huge margin..
some of my favourite choices are:
Bluetooth music speakers... check
Cordless... just the speakers hehe
Led lights on DC direct... check
Victron Energy Systems... awesome tip, will see about getting some of that equipment!
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