Resources

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Off-Grid.net

Off-grid brings you news, knowledge, discussion, and classifieds from the off-grid world. What seems like a tiny niche is growing in popularity as people seek a life outside of the city. Off-gridders must find ways to produce their own energy, food, water, shelter, and other necessities. Connect with people who live off the beaten path or begin the search for your own property on this site.

Build It Solar

Dedicated to do-it-yourself renewable energy projects, Build It Solar provides hundreds of ideas and plans for any kind of home energy endeavor. New to renewable energy? Start with the "Half Plan" that uses a variety of energy saving projects to cut your energy usage in half. New to solar? Look for the do-it-yourself site survey to understand your property's solar potential. Not limited to solar, Build It Solar also includes tons of projects for wind power and biofuels.

Earth2Tech

Energy self reliance is a big topic for environmental, political, and individual reasons. Earth2Tech posts news about technological developments that can affect us on personal and societal levels. Stay on top of the news about electric cars, the smart grid, the bloom box fuel cell, solar power applications, and LED lightbulbs.

Wisebread

Wisebread is well-known for its advice on real personal finance. It's a community of bloggers who write about frugal living, lifehacks, careers, and other financial wisdom. Being smart with your money isn't supposed to inhibit you: rather, Wisebread's advice helps people worry less about money, allowing you to focus on the really important things in life. They also feature an active forum where you can ask questions and interact with other people who are trying to live within their means.

Instructables

Do you want to know how to build a vertical garden? How about your own solar panel array? Maybe you're looking for ways to reuse a linen closet full of old pillowcases. Instructables is a community based site that allows anyone to post a how-to project complete with photos and instructions. The result: a lifetime's supply of projects that can help you save money, recycle, or simply satisfy your appetite for making stuff.

Survival Spot

Disasters are a reality that shouldn't be ignored. That's the reason Survival Spot was created - to share information about a variety of survival and preparedness topics. Topics cover many aspects of survival, including gardening, food storage, health, and self defense. Also read about getting by in the wilderness and reviews of essential gadgets and gear. Like any other type of self reliance, preparedness is something to get into gradually and this blog can give you ideas on where to start.

Self-Reliance-Exchange

Written by a group of self reliant people, Self Reliance Exchange is quickly building an enormous database that covers a huge range of categories on self reliant practices and philosophies. Anyone interested in self reliance will find something useful to take away from this blog - recipes from scratch, emergency preparedness, and personal finance are great categories to start looking into here.

Simple Self Reliance

This writer explores the concept of self reliance and how self reliance fits in this modern society. How far can you realistically go down the path of self reliance? How can you stay on track with your priorities? He also writes on the grandaddy of self reliance, Henry David Thoreau. We can't wait to see how this blog unfolds!

American Preppers Network

For information and news from the world of emergency preparation, American Preppers Network is a great resource. Learn about food storage, what to expect during a natural disaster, and about other survival techniques. You can also connect with other preppers in your region and all over the world in the forum and through the numerous links to other prepping blogs on the web.

Generators

Home power generators can be used as backup power during emergencies. Power outages happen all the time. Severe storms can leave you without power for days. A backup generator can solve this problem. Some people keep a generator as part of their emergency survival plan, while rural dwellers and off-gridders use generators as an essential energy resource.

Off-gridders, especially those who rely on solar or wind power will most likely want to invest in a large capacity generator. Grid-connected people (that is, most of us) can get by with smaller generators, as disruptions to the grid are generally intermittent and short-lived.

Most home power generators run on gas, but they also run on diesel, biodiesel, natural gas, and propane. They come in different sizes and carrying capacities, so it's up to you to make sure that you're choosing the right size generator for your specific needs. These factors include the size of your house, how much power you expect to use in an emergency, and what type of fuel is most cost-efficient for you to keep on hand.

The resources we've found are very helpful in determining what kind of generator would work best for you.

Classifications

 

Latest Additions

Build a Solar Generator for Less then $300 - Planet Green
Learn how to build your own solar generator by following this step by step guide. This guide provides you with instructions on what to buy, and how to choose each individual part of your own generator.
The Powercube - Inhabitat
Interested in living off the grid with a zero emission generator? Check out the new PowerCube. The PowerCube has three solar panels, and produces 3500 watts of continuous output.
Building a Solar Generator - Technology Review
More and more solar energy panels are being installed around the world. Matthew Orosz, a graduate student of MIT has devised a way to construct solar power generators out of recycled parts to help out power shortages in southern Africa.
Build Your Own Micro-Generator - Instructables
Want to build your own small solar generator? This site gives you instructions on how to build one out of a small solar panel, battery, 12v socket, cooler, nuts/bolts, wire plugs, and super glue.
Sizing a Backup Generator - eHow
Are you in an area that has frequent power outages and want a way to keep your power on, then you need to learn how to properly size a generator for your power needs. Read this in-depth article on the subject.
The Basics of Home Generators - Standby Whole House and Portable Generators
If you live in an area where power outages are frequent, or you want to live the grid you might want to pick up a home power generator. This site provides you with basic info on the subject, including; how to choose, selecting the fuel, generator installation, and how to wire your system.
Selecting a Backup Generator - Mother Earth News
Last year while I was living in South Korea my apartment suffered a power outage that lasted many hours. I could not do my work without the aid of many candles. If a similar situation has ever happened to you, you might want to check out this site. It provides tips on choosing your own home generator.
Which Generator is for You - Popular Mechanics
A lot of people who interested in getting a generator or confused by the huge differences in size and price of home generators. This site provides a easy to follow of three of the popular types of home generators; portable gas-engine generator, installed generators, and battery inverter system.
Diesel Generators - Wikipedia
What is a diesel generator? How does it work? What are the costs? These questions and more are answered by this easy to read Wikipedia article.
TransWorld News: New Solar Power Generator Provides Electricity on Demand
This generator produced by the company MySolarBackup does not use gas like traditional generators, but uses solar panels to charge up. Without gas, this generator
Creative Homeowner: How to Choose and Maintain a Home Generator
This article explains what to look for in a home generator and the differences among models, and how to properly use and maintain a generator.
The Epicenter: How to Make a Generator from a Lawn-Edger Motor
This homemade generator can be used to charge 12-volt batteries and is made from inexpensive scraps and motors and alternators that can be harvested from an old lawn edger.
Solar Wind Works Portal
Conceived and operated by Chris Worcester who has lived off-grid for 30 years, this website offers products and customized assistance for your home energy projects.
Build It Solar: Projects Galore!
Build It Solar projects include (of course) solar projects, but also projects for saving water, wind energy, and biofuels. Projects are listed by category.
 
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