Solar Panel Alignment Tool

Those of you who came out to see us at the preparedness expo last week may have seen this.

Many know that solar panels are highly sustainable and completely renewable.

Being able to harness power from the sun, especially in emergencies is an excellent alternative power source. Those who do use solar panels should always aim to get the most energy they possibly can.

You can buy solar alignment tools that use shadows but I thought I could make one for free.
My first design worked perfect with no problems. It is a simple concept really. The suns rays are hitting the earth fairly straight. If the sun was exactly over a persons head your shadow would be around your feet. The more angle of the sun the longer your shadow is.

 I use this tool on my solar panels all the time. Once you align it perfect with the sun your voltage increases. The more it is out of alignment the more your voltage decreases. I connect my solar panels to batteries and then I have my inverter connected to the batteries so I can convert DC power to AC power.

The idea behind this is to find the best angle for the sun to hit the panel. You may be asking when to use this. . . the answer is simple, you choose. Generally, the more precise the angle, the more energy. Oftentimes, people set the panel’s angle at noontime, then move it a couple weeks later as the sun moves.

How to:

• Find an old clipboard or a thin piece of plywood, drill a ¼ in hole in the center

• Put 1/4x3in bolt through hole and secure with washers and nuts

• On the backside put ¾ in boards on two edges

To use:

• Lay flat on the face of your solar panel
• Move the panel until the shadow of the large washer is directly underneath it (as shown), this is the perfect angle at that precise time! (NOTE: The first photo shown is out of alignment)

Let There Be Light - November Idea of the Month

Having a source of light can be helpful in so many ways during an emergency situation. You need light to see for cooking, cleaning, safety, medical situations, and to alleviate fear. Light sticks are inexpensive option and small enough to store easily. Small lanterns are also great.
Since I had white ceilings, I bought white hooks and installed one in every room of the house. Now when the power goes out, I can hang a light stick or a lantern off the hook. Typically light sticks illuminate 10-12 hours, so in a power outage, they make great night lights.

*When your light source is higher in the air, it disperses the light more evenly*

 

Makeshift Power Supply for Small Items

Losing power is usually one of the first things that happen during a natural disaster.
When there is a power outage, you can make a portable power supply just by using an ash tray out of an old car, a 12 volt battery, and a car inverter.

When running a light, LED lights are very efficient; their energy draw is extremely small. As you can see in this photo, many lights are being used with a small amount of energy.

How to wire your makeshift power supply:

      1. Take the positive wire from the ash tray
            *The positive wire is usually red. It is the wire that feeds the little metal post inside the very   
              bottom of the cigarette lighter socket*

      2. Attach the positive wire to the positive terminal on the battery.

      3. Take the negative wire from the ash tray

      4. Attach the negative wire to the negative terminal on the battery.

      5. Plug the inverter into the lighter socket.

      6. Plug in appliance.

*A power inverter turns DC current into AC current so that you can use an appliance you'd normally use at home, such as a laptop, in your vehicle. In this case, the inverter doesn’t just apply to use in a vehicle since we have removed the ash tray.*