Solar Powered

As energy costs are at an all-time high, many people are looking for ways to cut costs and become more self-sufficient. When it comes to solar power, there are effectively two ways to do this, a whole-home solar setup that requires a reasonably complex installation, usually by professionals, or a more off-grid approach that isn’t wired into your home’s electrical systems. Rees made a fascinating video based on his DIY project for the latter, that video then went somewhat viral on YouTube. It was great to chat with Rees about the actual setup involved, things he learned from this project, what going viral really feels like, and some great general discussion about solar and off-grid power. Have you had any fun with solar power, maybe you’ve got a whole-home system or have been tinkering with an off-grid solution like Rees’, we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to [email protected], leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page. Episode Links ctrl-alt-rees: YouTube / Website / Mastodon / Twitter Rees’ solar videos (YouTube Playlist) MPPT Charge Controllers – Renewablewise How PoE Splitters Work – FS Community EcoFlow River 2 – Portable power system Chapter Times 00:00:04: Introductions 00:01:45: Going Viral 00:11:30: DIY Solar Vs Whole Home 00:13:45: Why This Project? 00:15:26: Upfront Costs & Payback Time 00:19:53: Planning Permission? 00:22:52: How Much Can The Panels Generate? 00:27:00: Charge Controllers 00:28:46: Learnings From The Setup 00:33:02: Off Grid Phone Charging 00:35:42: Unexpected Cost Savings 00:38:07: Benefits Of PoE Or Low Voltage 00:42:52: Cost of Living 00:49:34: Wrapping Up Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW