TEOTWAWKI 1- No Electricity Forever What Can You Do to Cool Your Shelter?

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Silent Earth said:
How could that possibly occur? , I know of no scenario where it would be impossible to find some method of generating power?
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Don't you need electricity to run all these systems? Obviously I'm not an expert on this stuff so feel free to tell me otherwise
 
As Gaz have said 'people lived without A/C'... for thousands of years in some of the most heated climates. Even if you were able to provide off grid power be it wind, solar or hydro one still needs to cover repairs and maintenance given your off grid source won't last forever. There are equipment that really last a very long time exceeding MTF but one would practically need a budget similar to NASA. Perhaps the best question? how much are you willing to spend?
 
SheilaT ask if you are writing a book and you replied "Yeah a book in my mind" There are thousands of books on the subject of alternative energy some really good that was written by engineers that are very educated in this field but yet you are asking us laymen? If you are planning on writing a book would it be better to seek out more knowledgeable forums that's specific to what you're wanting to know?

I'm getting a little confused in your direction here, not exactly sure what you are wanting? Ok, at my age I tend to get confused easily ;)
 
Been in the AC business for about 20 years now. You best bet is to live in a mild climate and have good ventilation during summer. Its actually much easier to heat your house with solar. With enough solar panels you can run AC but really not practical long term. Battery life probably not more than a few years (you will need a lot of batteries and panels to run AC) then you have breakdowns, parts and maintenance on the AC and solar components. Also there are no reliably tested and proven DC AC units so you will need an inverter as well. I think when the #SHTF we can forget about AC. Its takes and enormous amount of energy, relative to LED lights, etc. and just not practical long term. I live in Florida so its going to be miserable for sure but AC has only been widespread for about 50 years now so I think we will make it. I am much more worried about food in the long run. No power = minimal food production = no grocery stores = very little food long term. Read "One Second After" and I think that would be a fair account of how things will be. Hope this helps!
 
Arcticdude said:
In my case I'm living in the mountains above 5,000' and the house will be shaded by the trees. All of our electricity will come from solar and wind and I'm not expecting to need AC here. We usually get a good breeze year-round which will help keep it cool in summer. Heating will be with wood, water heater and cooking is with propane.
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Nice!
 
Maverick said:
SheilaT ask if you are writing a book and you replied "Yeah a book in my mind" There are thousands of books on the subject of alternative energy some really good that was written by engineers that are very educated in this field but yet you are asking us laymen? If you are planning on writing a book would it be better to seek out more knowledgeable forums that's specific to what you're wanting to know?

I'm getting a little confused in your direction here, not exactly sure what you are wanting? Ok, at my age I tend to get confused easily ;)
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I am asking these questions to get a rough foundation so I know what to research more extensively. I wasn't aware this was a layman forum. I assumed people know something about prepping. Is that a mistake by me? One of the things I find hilarious on these Prepper type forums, people seem to get upset at others for asking questions. Well what is the point of a forum but to ask questions and exchange ideas?
 
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EdwardGein said:
I am asking these questions to get a rough foundation so I know what to research more extensively. I wasn't aware this was a layman forum. I assumed people know something about prepping. Is that a mistake by me? One of the things I find hilarious on these Prepper type forums, people seem to get upset at others for asking questions. Well what is the point of a forum but to ask questions and exchange ideas?
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Some of the members are in fact very knowledgeable, I was just wanting to know in what direction you were going? :) No not upset at all. It was a little confusing to me, if it was in regards to writing a book I wasn't for sure how technical it was going to be is all.

If possible I would plan to use solar, wind and hydro combined since most is seasonal outside the Southwest.
There are many variables to cooling a structure, it's not as simply powering an A/C, if the square foot exceeds the output of the A/C then valuable energy is wasted causing wear and tear on the batteries, inverter and the A/C itself thus then add the bodies that will occupy the space so known factors would need to be known, unless one has unlimited resources? In a TEOTWAWKI any off grid power may last 5 to 10yrs maybe 15yrs since battery banks may begin to fail or weaken so what do you do in the case that parts are no longer available, I would seriously plan to make investment for short term powering of equipment and use this time as an transitional period to no power. Unless one can purchase the best of the best equipment running an A/C is going to shorten the MTF of less expensive equipment that's wildly available on the internet. It's fairly easy with the least expense to supply power short term 1 to 2 years but in a TEOTWAWKI we are looking at an expense that's above many of our pay grades here. In my toy hauler and motor home I know it cost me a great sum of money just in maintenance for the A/C, inverters and batteries, in my toy hauler I had 6 batteries at about $400 each, the inverter was $3300 the solar panels on top was about the price of the inverter, after 5 years my batteries started to get weaker to the point it was heating the inverter and cables keeping me from running the A/C unless I ran the generator or connected to the grid. The digital antenna was blown down taking out one of the panels giving me less time on the batteries since it no longer maintain the batteries. Things happen that become very costly unless one can afford the best of the best and even then no guarantee.

It's because of my experiences with the toy hauler and motorhome as reason why I never really gone solar for my house. In New Mexico they have communities on federal and state land out in the middle of nowhere, they are more of nomads and not homeless living without A/C, there were a documentary on them folks they were mostly ex Military in these communities, it gave some insight to coping with the heat ;)
 
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Thank you, Maverick. I should add that if TEOTWAWKI started now, I'd be so screwed: No weapons, live in Los Angeles, etc. I'm just hoping that TEOTWAWKI doesn't start for another 5 years so I can be in a better position to survive. I'm OK for at least 6 months in regards to food as I buy 6 months of pasta in advance and have another few months of freeze dried and dehydrated food on hand but there's a lot of basics to pick up/get a rough foundation for in the future. While I don't necessarily think I need a weapon for many instances of SHTF, I realize I definitely will need them to survive TEOTWAWKI. Look forward to your future input.
 
EdwardGein said:
I am asking these questions to get a rough foundation so I know what to research more extensively. I wasn't aware this was a layman forum. I assumed people know something about prepping. Is that a mistake by me? One of the things I find hilarious on these Prepper type forums, people seem to get upset at others for asking questions. Well what is the point of a forum but to ask questions and exchange ideas?
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The only STUPID question Edward is the ones left unasked.
 
EdwardGein said:
Thank you, Maverick. I should add that if TEOTWAWKI started now, I'd be so screwed: No weapons, live in Los Angeles, etc. I'm just hoping that TEOTWAWKI doesn't start for another 5 years so I can be in a better position to survive. I'm OK for at least 6 months in regards to food as I buy 6 months of pasta in advance and have another few months of freeze dried and dehydrated food on hand but there's a lot of basics to pick up/get a rough foundation for in the future. While I don't necessarily think I need a weapon for many instances of SHTF, I realize I definitely will need them to survive TEOTWAWKI. Look forward to your future input.
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Part of prepping is the art of improvisation Edward, You have cutlery in your LA home so you have at least one sharp knife, you probably have a broom so you have the makings of a spear, go to your local sports store and buy a modern hunting slingshot and a 1000 38 cal steel balls for under $35 you are no longer unarmed. You can buy silent and utterly lethal archery equipment for very little money, you can buy a HAM radio for under $40 most of us use the ubiquitous Baofeng UV5R . You can buy the utterly superb tiny but deadly Chiappa Little Badger 22LR child / sSurvival rifle for just over $130, you can scrounge maps from LA tourist facilities, water puri tabs cost cents. BUT FIRST MON AMI you need a PLAN.

Start with a RISK ASSESSMENT in priority what threats do you face, San Andreas, Street Gangs, Economic collapse, unemployment etc then base your preps on your most important percieved threat and let it develop from there. On this forum under the search facility look up articles on URBAN PREPPING to begin with.
 
Mav, last time I was in Taos NM many communities had both individual and communal PV systems and solar water systems coupled with composting toilets that converted waste into useful fertiliser, these were often Native Americans as well as semi retired Merkins.
 
Silent Earth said:
Mav, last time I was in Taos NM many communities had both individual and communal PV systems and solar water systems coupled with composting toilets that converted waste into useful fertiliser, these were often Native Americans as well as semi retired Merkins.
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Ya there is a few of those communities though the one with the documentary were non Native Americans and Hispanics, never the less these folks adapted quite good to the enviroment :)
 
Our ancestors had ways of storing food long term. And we have the benefit of already knowing what worked... Would it be more difficult? Sure. But impossible? No.
 
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