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Power Hungry!

More! I want more!

Today I feel like a kid in a candy store with no money. My battery banks are empty and it is cloudy outside. My tiny 12V solar array comprised a 10W panel and two 5W panels isn’t getting enough light to produce enough voltage and current to power the buck converter.

12V solar to 5V USB buck converter. Panel’s output is a solid 21.2V on a sunny day.

The time has come to purchase a larger solar panel. I think my next purchase will be a 35W mono-crystalline panel capable of 2A output. The physical size of the 35W panel should make it easy for me to move round the yard keeping it in the direct sun and out of the overabundant winter shade.

I recently started prototyping a nano wind turbine and hope to have some photos and results to post soon. For now I’ll have to hope for another sunny day to fill my battery bank and fulfill my desire for more power.

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Bad Cable?

I spent about 30 minutes today trying to diagnose why my array of solar panels was putting out only about 0.03A when I was expecting between 1 – 2A. After testing that the current output of each solar panel was within expected range I decided to replace the USB cable. Immediately current output increased to next maximum expected output.

In another instance of a bad cable, I was testing the voltage produced by a self wound coil. Rather than the 60 – 70mV for which I was hoping a mere 3 – 4mV. By chance I happened to bump an alagator ckip and observed a voltage bump and then drop back to 3mV. Immediately I replaced the cable and measurements verified the expected voltage output.

A side note, I cut the alligator cable in two and now have two handy clamps to connect loose wire ends.

No great moral to this brief antidote. Don’t let something like a bad cable ruin your day.

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Running out of juice!

Over the past few days I’ve been blessed with the power capacity to charge my cell phone with harvested solar power. Unfortunately the past two days have been pretty foggy and yesterday the sun didn’t peek through at all so I’m going to resort to giving my cell phone a full charge from the grid. Not my preference but given the current sate of my environment I’ve done what I can to harvest and use my own power.

I’m choosing to think of what devices I can charge that don’t hold a lot of juice. My cell phone and battery banks are in my mind clearly too large to be considered. Below is a list of items that possibly qualify.

Devices requiring small charge

  • Fitbit – Fitness Tracker
  • iWatch – Smart Watch
  • Sonicare – Electric Toothbrush
  • GPS
  • GoPro – Digital Camera
  • Wireless game controller
  • Vape pen
  • Bluetooth Devices
    • Headset
    • Bluetooth speaker
  • Wireless keyboard and/or mouse
  • Rechargeable battery
    • Wall clock
    • Wireless game controller

I’m going to predict that as the IoT begins to expand from early adoption into the main stream we’ll see a plethora of lower power devices that won’t be directly connected to the grid thus requiring some type of battery power to maintain normal operation in addition to wi-fi or other capability.

Can you think of any low power devices I missed? Let me know in the comments below and I’ll add it to the list.

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Waiting for the delivery man

Spent the past day working on the website, researching home power and waiting for the delivery man to arrive with packages from various vendors.

Last night I was expecting some AAA battery holders and charge controllers but some issue prevented delivery. I’m hoping that they arrive today!

Placed orders for a small hydro generator (12v, 220 mAh), AA battery holders so I can create some basic 12V power for my DIY lamp conversion project.

The 12V 100Ah gel battery just arrived. What a beast, not easy to lift but does come with a nylon carrying strap. Hope that doesn’t break while I’m moving it. Now to get it hooked up the 12V charger and top it off.

Time to work on the DIY bread baking project?

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Hello world!

Wow! What a way to come life! Hello World 🙂

This past weekend I spent some time, as I often do, ruminating on harvesting my own power in creative ways. After years reading so many helpful and supportive websites and blog articles on home power I decided to add my collective effort and knowledge to the global pool.

It is my hope that you will learn, like me, by doing. Reading can only get you so far in the real world. This is my journey bringing my real world experiences back to you so you can learn from my successes and hopefully not repeat the mistakes.

Each of us can help make the earth a better place for our neighbors, both next door and around the globe by making small changes in our lifestyles and take small steps to directly use the power we harvest bypassing traditional energy infrastructure. No, at first it won’t be cost effective. I guarantee, in the short run, you will pay more in government currency than you will reap with respect to monetary profit or reward. Why, you may ask, should I try? The story of the Wright Brothers quickly comes to mind. Their first flight, a mere 852 feet, less than a quarter mile was no trans-Atlantic journey! Cost effective, no! Clearly not. I need not tell you how that 852 feet changed the course of human history.

Each great journey starts with a first step. Come with me, lets take these first steps together on a journey to find and implement creative ways to consume and harvest power at home.