My husband and I recently watched a television documentary about a couple who set out to live off the grid. The whole thing had us shaking our heads in disbelief throughout the program.

They were going on about how much they would save in future years on their electric bills, but it was evident that they were continuing their urban-focused lifestyle, for his career and their children’s dancing and soccer dates at least. What they would save in electricity they would more than make up in transportation costs, gasoline and more than one vehicle and all the rest. How green is it to have a  cabin kit helicoptered in because you didn’t finish the house you started before winter? Read the rest >>>

A very popular type of portable solar panel system is the 12 volt one, often written as 12v.  You might wonder how much energy 12 volts can really provide.  Such a system would be inadequate for heating your house, but you could run some  portable devices, or you could recharge their batteries, assuming they were the rechargeable kind! Keeping car, RV, boat, and cabin batteries charged is one of their main uses.

The portable panels for a 12 volt system operate in the same way that large solar panels do, but naturally since they are smaller, they generate less electricity. Like larger ones, they operate best when you have direct full sun, without much shading from trees or other things.  Most of them will provide some power on cloudy days or even on rainy ones, but expect it to take longer under those conditions to get the charging done. Read the rest >>>