OFG-HowToFreeYourself.svg

Huy Nguyen

Community

Off-Grid solutions in War-torn Ukraine

Rolling blackouts are the reality of everyday life in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.   Russia’s war is increasingly targeting the civilian population and the country’s electricity infrastructure, in a bid analysts say seeks to break the will of the people.

Now the world has become complacent about the considerable dangers posed by the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, the UN nuclear watchdog has said within the past few hours.

Moscow captured the plant, Europe’s largest nuclear site, in March last year raising fears of a nuclear disaster.
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is working to set up a safe zone around the facility. Mr Grossi, speaking in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, said a nuclear accident could happen any day and reiterated the situation at the plant was very precarious.

Poweroutage.com had been tracking Ukraine’s outages, but has stopped. Ukrainian officials began classifying the data, given that it can be used by the enemy to locate vulnerabilities.

But that has not affected the US-based effort to provide power to Ukrainians.  New Use Energy and a group of nonprofits are working with medical professionals and others to keep the lights on as Russia makes Ukraine’s grid a war-target.

Paul Shmotolokha is CEO of New Use Energy Solutions, and has been working to bring microgrid equipment — largely portable solar and storage — to Ukraine since the start of the war.

In the early days of the conflict, the company, along with several nonprofit partners, provided energy equipment to the war front where the destruction of buildings and infrastructure caused localized power outages.

But Shmotolokha, tied to Ukraine through family and friends, knew that the worst was still to come. “I was sitting there the whole time saying, they’re going to go after the grid. In the 21st century, you take down the grid and you hurt society.”

Psychological and physical harm

Or as Andrian Prokip of the Ukrainian Institute for the Future said in a blog, such destruction goes beyond the physical: “Besides creating immediate economic hardship and logistical problems, attacks on the power system are a powerful way to apply psychological pressure to citizens.”

Moldova, a staging ground for humanitarian aid for Ukraine, is the latest victim of the Russian attacks on the grid that began in earnest last October with a massive missile and drone attack that heavily damaged transmission lines and caused 1.4 million Ukrainians to lose power. Off-Grid advocates point to such attacks as an example of the danger of relying on centralized energy systems with a single point of failure. They can cause power outages for miles beyond the actual point of attack.

Shmotolokha is aware of what’s happening because of his frequent communications with doctors and others in the country as he tries to get solar panels, batteries, medical headlamps and other equipment to those in need.

Everything …

Read More »
Energy>Solar

Rooftop Solar Incentives – Win Some, Lose Some

From Inglewood to India, via Slovenia and Spain, rooftop solar funding is in a state of flux.

While California has suspended its statewide incentives, the Federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has funding for the next  decade,  Households that outfit their homes with rooftop solar can receive a tax credit under the IRA to cover 30% of the cost of installation, effectively knocking the cost of installing solar down by thousands of dollars. To use the tax credit, you can install solar power on your property, but you must use a licensed solar installer certified by an organization like the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners, which adds to the cost — effectively cancelling each other out.   According to the Center for Sustainable Energy, the average size for a residential solar system is 5 kW, costing around $20,000. At that price, the claimable tax credit would be $6,000.

The tax credit for solar is set to last until 2032, at which point it will lower and then expire in 2035 unless Congress renews it.

In California, according to a recent study reported in The Bee, California lacks a specific plan to achieve ambitious goals to reduce pollution by 2030. That’s no surprise in light of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s skyrocketing rates and the California Public Utilities Commission’s recent passage of regulations that reduce “excess” solar production credits to ratepayers by 75%. “Just when we need to encourage more people to buy electric cars, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the PUC implement rules that will help kill home solar sales,” says an opinion piece in the Bee. They talk a good game, but how about putting some walk into all this talk? The writer calls for repeal of the solar regulations and drastically reduced utilities’ rates.

Meanwhile, under Slovenia’s just-announced incentive scheme, subsidies for rooftop solar systems with batteries are ten times higher than for those without them. Households and firms could get up to EUR 500 per kilowatt-hour of installed capacity of a facility with batteries, and only EUR 50 for PV systems without storage (down from EUR 180). Subsidies cannot exceed 25% of the total investment.

However, not all batteries are eligible for the incentives. Households and firms must install storage with a capacity of 0.7 hours of operation of the capacity of installed solar power plants. A 10 kW PV system must have a 7 kWh battery.

As Europe’s sunniest country, Spain was one of the leaders in solar power at the start of the century until the 2008 financial crisis halted the boom.

Since then, it has fallen behind neighbours.

A right-wing government threw shade on the sector by cutting subsidies. It then introducing a tax on households that sold excess electricity to the national grid, a move derided by critics as a “tax on the sun”.

But the tax — which NGOs say …

Read More »
Community

Bluetti Batteries Continue To Make Strides

Bluetti is one of the pacemakers in the home battery market, with an online following crowdfunding some of its latest products. Over the coming weeks at Off-Grid.net and our associated Youtube channel, we will be test-driving some of its leading products and comparing them to the competition – Jackery, Anker, Allpowers and others.

The company styles itself as a pioneer in the clean energy storage industry, and is to showcase its new model EP900 and other power backup products at the upcoming CES 2023, the world’s biggest tech conference. It claimed to redefine home energy at the Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall #9335, Jan. 5-8, 2023.

The upgraded EP900 & B500 feature a 9kW inverter and expandable capacity that starts at 9kWh with a single B500 LFP battery and ends at 79kWh when paired with 16 batteries. The system can be integrated directly into most solar panel systems, allowing for up to 9kW max solar input. Besides its peak-load shifting mode to reduce electric bills, it also acts as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) that switches instantly to battery power in 10ms after the grid power fails.The stellar combo of the year will also hit the stage. A month earlier, it raised $11 million from more than 4,000 backers on Indiegogo, another record in BLUETTI’s history.

The 16-outlet solar generator pumps out 5kW pure sine wave power and can be charged via 8kW AC+ Solar dual input. The AC500 can handle anything from home blackouts to outdoor camping when teamed with one to six B300S LFP batteries for a maximum capacity of 18,432Wh.

BLUETTI has a diverse product range that can be classified by size, usage, or design. It has a lineup of portable generators called the EB series, such as the popular 10-pound EB3A. The AC200MAX, AC200P and EP500, EP500Pro make up the best all-in-one power giant collection. Options for power stations are growing in number as BLUETTI’s R&D team continues to roll out products based on customer demand.

 

Read More »
Community

Elon Musk’s Satellites Help Ukraine

A cluster of 3,335 satellites called the ‘Starlink Constellation’ created by SpaceX is currently offering off-grid high-bandwidth WiFi to consumers in 45 different countries. Around 1 million people have already subscribed. This is the perfect provider for any people in need of a service designed for off-grid living.
A large portion of customers happen to be from Ukraine, and it is actively aiding them with the current war.
Starlink has also provided Ukraine by helping restore power and installing ‘Starlink Terminals’ that will help them access the internet.
The satellites and internet have given Ukrainians a chance to communicate with the outside world and Russia has threatened to shoot them down as they say it is interfering with the invasion.
The Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishnya says “Starlink has played a crucial role in helping Ukraine to mount its defense against the Russian invasion”
Starlink released the service in 2019, and aims for global phone service after 2023, as well as increasing their overall number of orbiting satellites.

Read More »
1950s ad for Textron electric blanket
Community

USB blanket for low-cost warmth

What could be nicer than climbing into a warm bed on a cold, damp night?

Normally that means heating the room, but you could perfectly well heat the bed for a couple of hours just before sleep, for only a few cents.

The humble Electric blanket
(click here for UK version), was a staple of middle-class homes in the 1950s and 1960s, but has since fallen out of favour as central heating was installed, and after a string of fatalities.

Modern Electric blankets
(UK version)
must pass stringent safety rules, and there is a wide range to choose from. This one in UK is only £11.50.

A battery like this onein USA and this one
in the UK, will power the blanket for up to 6 hours via the USB. The battery can be recharged the next day – this can be with a 200-watt solar panel
for the USA version – or here
in the UK.

Or plug into the mains – if you can find a live socket at a friend’s house!

Street lights can also be used as a power supply (but only when connected by a qualified electrician). And you could pay for charging at a local garage or anywhere you can find with a power supply.

Sweet Dreams – and remember to switch off the blanket before sleep, although you can switch it back on again if you wake up cold.

Read More »
Community

US & Europe Microgrid survey results – 2022

There are currently nearly 700 significant microgrids in the USA and only about 13 in Western Europe, according to a new report. There are four microgrids under construction in the UK. A microgrid is a local electrical grid with defined electrical boundaries, acting as a single and controllable entity. It is able to operate in grid-connected and in island mode. A ‘Stand-alone microgrid’ or ‘isolated microgrid’ only operates off-the-grid and cannot be connected to a wider electric power system.

There is a signficant potential market for mircogrids, and the current size is vanishingly small, but it is proof of concept. Globally the buildout of microgrids is growing at only 7% per year, and this could change dramatically if a recent Off-Grid.net forecast of potential demand is correct.
The highest number of microgrids are employed by the Commercial and Industrial (C&I) sector globally (e.g. Walmart, Inc., eBay, Panasonic/Xcel, Castello Di Amorosa Winery, etc.) and are primarily aimed at serving the needs of these businesses and corporations.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), there are at least 676 microgrids in the US, providing a total of 4,132MW of reliable electricity. – DOE lists over 620 grid-connected microgrids and over 56 off-grid microgrids in the US
The new report from Triton Research estimates there are currently 13 existing microgrids across Western Europe. In the United Kingdom, there are currently 4 microgrid constructions underway.
Transitioning to a microgrid is driven by reduced electricity purchase costs of distributed energy resources, favorable government initiatives, reduced carbon emissions to achieve a low carbon economy, and increased resilience and insulation from external events. Demand along all these categories is likely to increase.
Market growth is currently restricted by the regulatory framework and high maintenance and installation costs.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

Hitachi Ltd
Schneider Electric
Duke Energy Corporation
8.4. Exelon Corporation
Siemens AG
Fairbanks Morse
National Grid plc
. S&C Electric Company
Bloom Energy,
Cummins Inc,
Fuelcell Energy Inc,
General Electric Company.
Power Engineers Incorporated,
Nrg Energy Inc,
Eaton Corporation plc

The global microgrid market includes North America, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East and Africa regions.
The Asia-Pacific is deemed to witness the fastest growth over the forecast period. The large population base in the region has increased the demand for power grids due to the lack of electricity. Due to low electrification rates, several microgrid innovators are expanding operations in the region and are backed by government funding.
Additionally, with several nations facing extreme weather conditions, microgrids have emerged as an ideal solution to improve grid efficiency. During the forecast period, collaborations between governments, international development agencies, and energy companies are expected to rise, boosting the market’s growth.

The report can be found at: https://www.tritonmarketresearch.com/reports/microgrid-market

Read More »
Energy

Be off-grid ready – Power yourself up with this battery-panel combo

If you want to Work From Anywhere, and you need to make sure you never run out of power, then this pairing will allow you a couple of days heavy usage to charge a laptop and cellphone (*assuming 4 hours of daylight solar charging per day).

The first is a BLUETTI Portable Power Station AC200MAX,for under $1900 at time of writing. A 2048Wh LiFePO4 Lithium Battery, weighing about 60lbs (Expandable to 8192Wh w/ 4 2200W AC Outlets (4800W Peak), 30A. Find it at  https://amzn.to/3Evf8zK in the USA, and the same kit about £2000 in the UK

Amazon is offering the Renogy 400W Monocrystalline Solar Off-Grid RV Kit for just $514.42 shipped in the US. https://amzn.to/3GlXoYW and £700 in the UK. In the UK you might prefer to go with this 200W Portable Solar Panel Suitcase for £349. It will not give you the power of the 400W of the RV kit, but its cheaper, lighter, and if you sometimes charge your battery from the mains and just use the panel in an emergency, it would be a cheaper solution.

the US deal is down from a normal rate of $600 or more at Amazon, and today’s deal marks the best US panel price that we’ve tracked so far in 2022. This kit has the ability to output up to 1,600Wh per day with just four hours of sunlight availability. You can install the system on top of an RV, home, boat, or anywhere really. Included in the package is four 100W solar panels, a 30A PWM LCD charge controller, mounting brackets, cables, and much more so you can get up and going with off-grid power as soon as it arrives. So, if you’re looking for a way to power your office – whether off-grid or during a blackout, then the above are a solid choice.

Check out more of our UK recommendations here

Read More »
Former Eton prefect Kwarteng shouts down opponents
Energy

Now UK Energy Utilities Want A Windfall Tax

The UK government announced last Friday, it will insulate the British people against energy price rises this winter – using money rather than more conventional insulating material.

A huge cash pile – up to £10 BILLION per month – will be tossed onto the country’s inflationary flames – cash which could still be spent (if HMG could be persuaded to act in time) on more effective measures, like building thousands of renewable-energy “microgrids”, which would tackle the energy shortage this winter, and every succeeding winter.
As the Chancellor was making his statement in Parliament, the sterling exchange rate collapsed. Currency markets are acutely aware that the government’s energy price guarantee is rather like King Canute ordering the tide to recede. The Utility companies that provide gas and electricity are concerned the problem is being addressed in the wrong way, even though it was their suggestion in the first place.

The Times reported last week that the power firms themselves don’t want to be herded into signing cut-price power supply contracts this winter.
Senior executives at several power generation groups, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Times that while they did not want a windfall tax, they now believed it may be the best option for this winter, since it would only target actual profits.
One said they would back a windfall tax if it was “implemented in a fair way and doesn’t stifle investment — so you get allowances if you’re going to continue to invest”.

The idea of a one-off levy is gaining popularity amid fears that other proposals for tackling excess profits may be too complex to implement at short notice, and could be even more damaging, according to industry executives. Ministers are understood to have held talks with companies including Orsted, RWE, SSE, ScottishPower, Drax, Vattenfall, EDF and Octopus.

Electricity producers in Europe have warned that they face a “Lehman Brothers moment” where the market for trading energy could collapse if liquidity evaporates. European power companies face margin calls in excess of $1.5 trillion owing to the wild price swings in the market, according to the Norwegian energy giant Equinor. Governments in Finland and Sweden have this week been forced to pump billions in emergency liquidity to prop up the sector. Germany has offered $7 billion in emergency loans to help the sector.
Cash-strapped British power companies are struggling to hedge against surging market gas prices, the governor of the Bank of England has warned, raising the prospect of emergency credit help for electricity suppliers.
HE said policymakers were working on ways to ensure that the energy trading market continued to function. Centrica, which owns British gas, was reported this week to have asked banks for billions in emergency credit to meet its margin calls.
A report by the TUC issued at the start of Labour Party annual conference in Liverpool, calls for a new British …

Read More »
Community

UK housebuilders look at going off-grid in energy shortage

With an energy crunch looming and up to ten years wait to get a grid connection for new housing developments in some parts of the country, UK housebuilders are looking into off-grid solutions.

“Housing developers could invest some of the money that they would otherwise spend on securing network capacity on solar panels, batteries and energy asset control systems,” said Jojo Hubbard, boss of City of London energy company Electron. “This would enable new developments to connect faster, use the grid while it was available and contribute flexibility services (or even excess renewable energy) back to it at times of shortages. Payments for these services need to allow them to recoup the additional spend on clean, flexible energy assets.

“Building these local markets for network capacity will be essential for places like west London. We are then in a position where developers of new, fully electrified homes can give back to the grid rather than experiencing it as a block for construction in certain areas. This approach not only saves costs on network reinforcement costs for all energy bill payers, it also gets us to net zero faster,” said Myers.

Read More »
Featured

Seven Ways to Beat the Blackout this Winter

Homeware stores report a 60% year on year increase in website searches like hot water bottle, candle and flashlight. These are baby steps. You don’t need to become an off-grid survivalist to learn a few of our tricks. This head torch (In the UK – https://amzn.to/3ATUbfG) for example – may look a tad eccentric, but its more convenient during a blackout than candles or a handheld flashlight – you are walking around in your own pool of light!
Batteries last a month of daily use, wich is fortunate since the UK National Grid warned lights could go out on “those deepest, darkest evenings in January and February” because of reduced gas imports from Europe. In the US, major cities are finding that extreme weather can easily disrupt their utility supply, randomly and with increasing regularity.

Both American and British grid-tied households are apprehensive about what to expect. The ideas and products in this list will help you take back control of your power bill, and save money from reduced energy consumption.

1. Work and comms
Top of the list for the WFA generation is a reliable internet connection and long battery life. If you have a laptop make sure its low-energy – (the latest HP https://amzn.to/3XLHhdN, or Apple 13” Macbook https://amzn.to/3ipApSS, both last over 13 hours of use). Mobile phones with a good battery life include the Android Asus https://amzn.to/3UgKO0I and this Apple https://amzn.to/3OP0SFy

You can connect the laptop via your mobile phone’s personal wifi hotspot. Alternatively, buy a data dongle that plugs into your laptop (and feeds off its battery) to connect it to the internet via the mobile phone network- best for international is the Huwai https://amzn.to/3Fd03mO – A mifi dongle does the same thing, plus allows several devices to wirelessly use the connection. Both these options require a data plan from a mobile phone provider.

2. Uninterruptible power supply
For your home broadband connection, Most most modern gas boilers need a permanent electricity supply, so if your power goes down then so does your central heating you need an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), which has a battery. A mid-range model can keep a typical 12V router seamlessly connected for a day, and a hot water pump in the evening. An APC UPS by Schneider Electric https://amzn.to/3EO6jQK for around £380 promises to keep a router and smartphone charger running for almost a day The more devices you plug in the shorter the UPS will last.

3. Battery pack

Either get yourself a big battery or a small one that fits in your purse or pocket – dont bother with the ones in between

Small portable battery packs charge your mobile phone, (like this one from Anker – https://amzn.to/3ucfDsB )when you are on the go, but are less handy in a blackout. Just make sure the power pack itself stays charged.

Big batteries like Bluetti and Jackery can set …

Read More »

Only 26,000 car chargers in the UK and many are broken

The UK government announced on Sunday night it would boost electric car charging, and tossed out a figure of “another 145,000 new charging points” to be expected as a result of new regulations to ensure chargers are built in to all new houses and offices. These are likely to be private charging points in houses or offices, rather than public charging points that increase the ease with which EV drivers can refuel.

Electric cars are said to be one of the key weapons in the fight against climate change. Yet many hybrids give out more harmful emissions than the latest diesel models, a documentary on Channel 4 tonight (Monday 21st Nov) has learned.

Meanwhile, the opportunities presented by the shift to electric vehicles (and the threats to the exchequer’s revenue from petrol tax) are still obscure and there is little consensus on policy or technology for delivering the EV revolution. The Transport and Energy ministries are on hard with ample amount of cash to “seed the market,” without actually knowing what the market is, or what it will be in 20 years time.

Apple recently announced it will start selling self-driving vehicles in 2025, and its shares shot to new heights as a result. Imagine a world in 20 years time where very few city dwellers bother to own a car, and taxis are almost extinct. Our streets are no longer clogged with parked cars, because they are always in use, or stored in out of town locations. No time is spent looking for a parking space, and as a result traffic flows 25% more quickly.

That is one possible future for the cars, but what about the car chargers? Decisions made now will either accelerate the switch to cleaner cheaper transport for all, or condemn the country to the slow lane for decades.

The C4 documentary says there are about 26,000 chargers at present in the UK, and found on a single day in September that 10% of the fastest chargers are not functioning at any given time. These “rapid charging points” are normally at motorway service stations and typically cost £6.50 for a 30 min ~ 90 mile – charge.

The presenter of the documentary Morland Sanders called for better provision of chargers in remote rural areas which are currently under-represented in the national rollout. “Better provision in rural areas is vital. That charger on a remote A-road may only receive a handful of visits per day, but it could be the only connector for a considerable distance and therefore essential for those using it,” said Sanders.

There are apps that allow the owners of private charging points to offer their front drives for sale to the highest bidder. This may lead to micro-garages in suburban streets all over the country, but if that si what car drtivers want, ten we had better recognise that now, and mnot …

Read More »
Energy

Big tech needs to be on the grid – but we dont

The combined power usage of Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Apple is more than 45 terawatt-hours a year, about as much as New Zealand, new research revealed today. That amount will grow, as the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning demands more computing power.

Meanwhile its increasingly possible for individuals to live entirely separated from the electricity grid.

Britain’s first houses with appliances powered entirely by hydrogen will open within two months as ministers step up their campaign to prove that the fuel will become a greener replacement for natural gas.

The two show homes set to open in April in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, will include boilers, hobs, cookers and fires that release no carbon emissions as part of the Government’s drive to phase out the use of fossil fuels.

The semi-detached properties – which are expected to look like normal houses from the outside – are not intended to become family homes, instead serving as a showcase for hydrogen technology.

The Government believes hydrogen could play a major role in achieving its goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 while also helping create up to 100,000 jobs by that point – including 8,000 by 2030.

The project secured a £250,000 grant from the Government’s Hy4Heat innovation programme and is being run by gas distribution firms Northern Gas Networks and Cadent.

The companies have both also input £250,000 of funding each for the houses, which are planned to be open to members of the public who will be able to view appliances and see how they compare to existing ones.

Hy4Heat has said the development of ‘hydrogen-ready’ appliances could have a big effect on the cost and impact on the public of a potential conversion of the gas grid from 100 per cent methane to 100 per cent hydrogen. Alternatively, Hydrogen could be converted from a water supply in the home.

Northern Gas Networks chief executive Mark Horsley said: ‘We’re delighted to be working with BEIS and Cadent on this unique demonstration, which gives energy customers a first glimpse at hydrogen technology in the home.

‘Just like natural gas, hydrogen can heat homes in exactly the same way, meaning minimal change for customers in terms of how they use gas for heating or cooking.

‘The houses bring to life the potential of this green gas for keeping UK homes warm, while minimising impact on the environment.’

The Government said students from schools, colleges and universities will visit to learn about the technology, as well as careers in the green economy and in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) subjects.

Cadent chief executive Steve Fraser added: ‘We are proud to be part of this important project where we will be able to show customers what their future gas appliances will look like.

‘A familiar sight to them, with one difference, they will be powered by hydrogen. These …

Read More »

off-grid.net

Join the global off-grid community

Register for a better experiencE on this site!