Energy

Our current way of using energy is completely unsustainable. We build poorly insulated houses, inefficient electronics and a energy grid based on a finite product that severely pollutes our atmosphere.

Meeting your energy needs long term is going to be a challenge for most people. We are so used to unlimited energy that everyone is going to have to learn to do a lot more with a lot less.

** Reduce the amount electricity we use, choosing renewable when we can. ie, replace fridge, freezer, heating then just worry about electricity for lights, and some other things..****
The best way seems to be sticking with electricity. There are electrical versions of all our energy needs. If you generate it multiple way you would reduce the risk of any single point of failure.

Solar panels, wind turbines and water turbines working together with large battery arrays should supply most of the energy needs of a small community.

Solar panels last 25-30 years. Batteries typically last 5-15 years, but there are some designs that can last forever.

A important point of an off grid electrical installation would be reducing the amount of energy dependance. Cold rooms instead of fridges, houses designed to retain heat in the winter and cool in the summer etc.



Another option to consider is compressed air as a energy solution. Both a Trompe and wind turbines can generate unlimited compressed air, which can be used by a host of tools converted to run on air.

The Trompe is useful because it is working 24 hours a day and never needs maintenance. It can be scaled up to your amount of available water.

Compressed air can also be used to cool a fridge or freezer using a Hilsch vortex tube. **This old tony has a video on it.

Mr teslonian has a tesla turbine using compressed air, and a home made compressed air engine that could generate electricity.

This rocket stove heats water and has a cooking surface. You could use the water for showers, but also for keeping large tanks of water as energy batteries and keep the house warm in winter. Maybe have water tanks encased in large adobe walls?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9BQGamXLMk








Bio gas seems like a good idea for cooking fuel. uses cow poop and even human to run engines. Permaculture talked about it a lot

Right now there are a myriad of ways to generate energy and most are very cheap, but in any type of shtf situation this will change in an instant.



Distilled alcohol (ethanol) seems like a great fuel for any type of shtf situation. It is clean burning, renewably and sustainable. The ingredients are either readily available or can be grown yourself.

It can be used to power cars, dirt bikes, lawnmowers and chain saws. It can be used to cook food and heat rooms.

Two problems arise:

Converting corn or potatoes to alcohol needs Annalise which is an enzyme that converts starch to sugar. It will probably be hard to obtain after any type of event. One solution are sweet potatoes that naturally contain Annalise. Not sure if there is enough though.

The second problem is the amount of heat required to distil alcohol. It seems to need a pretty consistent heat, which might be impossible to provide with a fire. An alcohol stove might do it, but you might use more than you make.

Two solutions: a solar battery pack hooked to a small stove or a solar cooker and maybe a Fresnel lens added in.

While you can explore using sweet potatoes to convert corn to sugar and then fermenting it, distilling it to an alcohol is illegal in Ontario without a permit(even if you aren't going to drink it).

180 proof (90%) alcohol burns. What is the minimum required to light or cook?
clawhammersupply.com - how to make fuel for cooking.


Another promising fuel would be wood alcohol. According to the internet you can put wood and paper into a normal still and distil wood alcohol (methyl alcohol). Although it is very toxic, it burns clean and would pair well with a Fuel Forest where you grow trees and harvest them every few years, with the stumps resprouting. It would also be a good use for all the paper advertising we all receive every day. Look into the way people shred paper with a paint mixer and water then burn... don't burn but convert to alcohol.

Obvious questions would include how much alcohol do you get from a specific amount of wood. Is it worth it? Is it really as easy as the internet makes it seem? Will engines run on methyl alcohol? We should answer these before any events happen.

It would also pair well with woodworking, as wood scraps and shavings could be converted into fuel alcohol. Definitely something to look into. I mistrust the internet when it says something is super easy, but no one does it.

Wood gasification holds great promise for fueling vehicles and generators and other engines i.e. portable welders/generators or a generator for a lathe. It would work well with a fuel forest and wouldn't force people to choose between eating and energy needs.
Has a 3 part series on building charcoal gassifier
https://www.youtube.com/user/VulcanGasifier/videos

Guy has a running truck. message board, and book. Best place to learn
driveonwood.com
People are using these gasifiers for cooking gas in outdoor kitchens. Gas is dangerous indoors though.


randomn
using wood to fuel a generator (how to build a wood gasifier)
mr teslonian
wood gas diesel series








A Warning