# solar generators,grain mills, and me



## valicia (Feb 16, 2006)

Hello Everyone,
I'm starting to realize that we might not have electicity at the flip of a switch
one day. Yes, I was lving under a rock until now! So, that said, in my 1500sq ft house, would a solar generator be something to consider? Is Backwoods
Solar the best source to start with? What is a good book to get about solar
energy? How do I find out how much energy I'm losing(in plain english, please,
I have a public school education)?
Also, does anyone know a source to find grain mills?
Thanks


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## JAK (Oct 15, 2005)

I think the best way to start is to take an electricity holiday for up to 1 week every 13 weeks. That will prepare you for a prolonged outage any time of the year and get you switching to systems that work better off-grid. It might be hard to go 1 week with no power to your fridge and freezer. Perhaps that would be a place to start with a battery and charger and a 12v fridge and freezer. If you get your monthly bill down to $25/month and can go up to 1 week without power then you should be ready to go off grid.

Generally speaking, if you are somewhere that you air conditioning is higher than your heating bill you should consider solar over wind power, and if you are somehere near Canada you should consider a combination of wind, solar, and generator with heat recovery. If you do it yourself it is cheaper, and you know you will be able to maintain it.


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## WisJim (Jan 14, 2004)

Backwoods Solar has an informative site with good information. You may want to talk to a local dealer/installer when you start thinking seriously about spending big bucks on a system. Try to attend one of the energy fairs that are held around the country, such as the one in central Wisconsin in June. http://the-mrea.org/energy_fair.php
Check our Home Power magazine for lots of info, and I think they have more info on other energy fairs this summer, too. http://homepower.com/

Not knowing what part of the country you are in it is hard to make recommendations as both wind power and solar are affected by your site.


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## ace admirer (Oct 5, 2005)

www.csbellco.com/grinding.htm is one source for mills....take a deep breath when asking for prices..


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## valicia (Feb 16, 2006)

thanks for suggestions and websites keep them comming!


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

This months free download at homepower is unusually good.

BooBoo


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