Electrical Power in the Aftertime

[Howard]

For many, Aftertime preparations are relegated to securing a safe location, gathering vital essentials and do not include provisions for generating electrical power.  While this isn't imperative for survival, it will be required for optimum vegetable cultivation, radio communication, among other quality of life improvements.  Although many are hoping to be deemed worthy of receiving a perpetual power pack, there's no telling when or even IF this can be expected.

 

Some may be able to rely on their ability to generate power from salvaging Aftertime wreckage, but most of us cannot.  This discussion is offered for those intending to generate power in the Aftertime and wanting to learn more.  Anyone currently living off-grid or with expertise generating and storing power is encouraged to share their ideas on reliable alternatives in an Aftertime environment.

 

COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS

 

There's much to be said regarding human powered generators in the context of an Aftertime scenario.  Most commercially available human-powered generators involve either a stationary bicycle that utilizes legs for pedaling or a hand crank mechanism that utilizes the upper body. Since a human is only capable of producing relatively low RPMs, power output is likewise limited.  And while pedaling a stationary bike for an hour currently may not be overly taxing, when your day is comprised of chopping wood, carrying water, and other physically exhausting activities - and you're borderline malnourished, this may not be a realistic option. Before exploring other alternatives for generating power, it's important to clarify some common misconceptions:

 

Misconception 1:  "I can salvage an alternator from a car or truck and generate power, right?"

 

Not easily. Most vehicle alternators start producing power at RPMs far greater than humans can achieve without substantial mechanical gearing to increase the alternator speed.  While vehicle alternators can be modifed to generate power at lower RPMs, this involves replacing the existing stator windings with windings that have more turns of smaller gauge wire, which is no small feat.

 

Using a vehicle alternator to harness wind power is also problematic. A car alternator is designed to be lightweight and operate at very high RPM. Since it won't produce useable power below 1000 RPM, ordinary wind turbine blades mounted on the shaft will spin relatively slowly and not produce useable power. While you can attempt to compensate for this speed mismatch by introducing gearing, rewinding the stator coils, or even using shorter blades, you'll find these laborious efforts only result in a wind generator that is clumsy, inefficient, and produces little power.

Also, you have to remove and bypass the internal voltage regulator if your battery is not right next to the alternator. So unless you have the battery mounted on top the tower, the voltage at the alternator will be higher than the battery voltage due to resistance in the wiring and the regulator will start to limit the voltage output before the battery begins charging properly. All in all, trying to use a vehicle alternator is a bad idea.

 

Misconception 2:  "I can hook up any Permanent Magnet Generator (PMG) to a stationary bike and generate sufficient power to charge my battery bank, right?"

 

Not necessarily.  Even PMGs advertised as "Low RPM" that reportedly generate voltage and current at any RPM need to be evaluated based on your ability to turn the generator fast enough to charge your batteries.  If you're trying to charge a 12V battery and you can't pedal fast enough to generate more than 12V, your battery will die just slightly ahead of you.

 

Misconception 3:  "I can use car batteries in my battery bank, right?"

 

Bad idea. Most batteries that start engines (starter batteries) are designed to be drained only slightly (2 to 5%) during ignition, after which they're recharged by the vehicle's alternator. This type of battery fails to hold a charge when repeatedly drained and recharged (deep cycled).  A used automotive battery can fail after only a few deep cycles, while a new deep cycle battery can last for over 20 years. While it would be recommended to obtain deep cycle batteries now, deep cycle batteries could be acquired in the Aftertime by salvaging those found in boat wreckage (marine batteries), as well as ones residing in forklifts, golf carts and floor sweepers (traction batteries).

 

Misconception 4:  "I can erect a wind generator anywhere and it will generate power as long there's wind, right?"

 

A wind generator needs to be positioned in a carefully chosen location that satisifies stringent criteria:

a.  Dependable Wind.  Any location will have periods when there's no wind, but you want to choose a site where there is some wind most of the time.

b.  Sufficient Wind.  Even though the blades may be turning, most wind generators won't charge batteries in winds less than 7 mph.  Power output increases almost linearly in winds between 10 mph and 20 mph, after which power output levels off and actually decreases in wind speeds over 35 mph as overspeed controls come into play. 

c.  Excessive Wind. While not enough wind is a problem, too much of it is a bad thing, too.  In wind speeds greater than 35 mph, most wind generators have built-in overspeed controls that slow blade rotation to prevent damage.  This reduces power output and increases wear and tear.  While some wind generators cannot survive wind speeds above 50 mph, others can endure wind speeds up to 120 mph.

d.  Good Wind.  For optimum performance, a wind generator should be located far away and well above the nearest obstacle that could affect the quality of wind by introducing turbulence.  Some say a wind generator should be located at least 300 feet away and 30 feet above the nearest obstacle, while others suggest a horizontal distance of 200 feet and vertical height of 20 feet is satisfactory.  It all depends on the location.  An 80-foot tower is not unheard of.

 

WHERE TO BEGIN

 

So what's the best means of generating power in the Aftertime?  This depends on many factors including your geographic location, how much power you envision your group requiring, what your group's capabilities are and what your available resources are for obtaining energy system components. 

 

If you wish to have electrical power in the Aftertime, its essential that your survival group contain at least one person with sufficient knowledge to be capable of either salvaging the necessary parts in the Aftertime or building the group's renewable energy system from commercially available components right now.  Personally, I believe this also includes the ability to build a generator from raw materials since there's no assurance power generating devices, despite how carefully protected, will survive the Pole Shift.

 

For those interested in learning how to build wind generators from raw materials, I highly recommend Hugh Piggott's, A Wind Turbine Recipe Book. This book is also available for download. I endorse this book because I was successful building a wind generator using it's instructions. The book includes plans for building 4', 6', 8', 10', 12' and 14' rotor diameter wind generators and is available in English or metric units.

 

So if your intention is to generate power in the Aftertime, how do you intend to accomplish it? 

We need to start talking about this now.  After the 7 of 10 hits, it might be too late.

[ardle]

Were do you buy the spare when things go wrong, even if you have the spares how long before you need to replace them, there was a time when a electric  cooker would last years such as twenty years or so now day you need buy a new one after ten years.

 

[Malou (Marie Louise) Geleff]

not sure, as a matter of fact, I doubt it´ll be possible to buy most things at all - but my cast iron utensils have lasted 30 + years now and don´t seem worn.. I´ve taken pains to have my longlasting items BE that - longlasting, and of course I´d like an extra battery for growLEDs - if for nothing else, then to give away.

James said:

Were do you buy the spare when things go wrong, even if you have the spares how long before you need to replace them, there was a time when a electric  cooker would last years such as twenty years or so now day you need buy a new one after ten years.

 

[Lana]

The new lead/chrystal batteries apparently will last double then AGM. And you can even empty them to 0% without damage. I spoke with the man who works in electronic lab and tested them - he says this is true. The only problem is they cost at least 50% more.

[Insky Jedburgh]

I think there is a case to be made for living with electricity, for those with the ability to make it happen, in the aftertimes. I also think there is a greater case to be made for living without any electricity, because 99.9% of those who survive the shift will be doing so whether they like it or not.

Case FOR having Electricity in some form or other:

* If you have a shortwave/ham radio for two way communication with the outside world from your isolated location. This is a valid use, and I see it being a community service to any camp of survivors. It also allows for a few years of monitoring the very, very few radio broadcasts in your region. I believe most broadcast centers will be community hubs, not individuals rambling on-air, though they may have started as one man's ham set up. People talking about packet radio/internet between computers . . . . well I'm not sure what two computers will have to say to eachother in the aftertimes. Within 5 years there won't be any working computers left, unless you manage to loot a Best Buy store(not recommended) before the winds hit and stockpile pre-shift tech.

*LED Grow lights: (this only works if the set up is massive, so pre-shift life would have required a fair level of affluence). On this one, the idea is really that it helps you through the first few years of gloom. But to be fair, it could only be a supplement to any family size growing operation. Certainly not a necessity. Smaller growlight set ups could be good for preserving key fruit trees(growing bonsai style) that require light, until the skies lighten up more for outdoor planting.

*Household lighting: The best reason to preserve electricity if you can. This increases the number of productive hours per day you can put in, for making tools, processing harvests, etc. It also removes one from the task of creating fuel for lighting in the form of oil, fat, torches, or hearth fires, and allows one to spend that time on other critical tasks. Considering the forecast is for gloomy skies for 10 to 20 years, there will be a fair amount of darkness to each day. Functioning in that will be a chore even with any remnant electrical tech.

Those are only a few case points for electricity use, but you get the idea.

Case for living without electricity:

*The tech will not be repairable in most cases. Resources spent on electricity in the pre-shift era may be wasted in the first day after the shift if one component fails. Electrical does fail, and frequently so no plan should rely on it being available.

*Except for long range communication, the useful applications you would use electricity for can be done manually in other ways.

*Cycles of daily life will match the daily cycles of Earth, sleeping when dark, working when light. Proven to be the healthiest lifestyle. Candlelight may keep you up a little past dark, but the value of effort to make any kind of lighting manually will prompt you to not use it too much.

*Electricity simply won't last. Only if cities are reformed where long term reclamation of old tech and metals (there certainly wont' be any new electric tech) become a practice will one see long term use of electricity.

So that's my view of either side of this issue. Forget watching movies, letting kids do games, or using electricity for music or other pre-shift culture. That will be over, for everyone even if you do maintain some electric generation ability. Better be ready to pick up a guitar and start singing the "My power gone up and left me blues". If you think you can make it work though, and have the resources, in my own limited opinion, you should absolutely try.

@Lana: I did some research on lead crystal batteries, the very same tech used in power back-up systems for computers and sealed car batteries. The price isn't that bad either. The larger deep cycle versions could survive many insults lead acid batteries pretty much can't, and still offer 10 years of recharging ability. They are sealed and ready to charge when you get them, so though a useful set would be painfully heavy to lug around, they present a very good option for a post shift life. Here's some data I dug up:

1、Short brief of lead crystal battery

The compound electrolyte for lead crystal storage battery and its production technology, domestically and abroad exclusive, own autonomous intellectual property rights and have gotten national invention patent. The use of compound electrolyte has brought a qualitative change in the construstion of battery. This lead crystal battery, with a long service life and being environment-friendly and cold-and-heat resisting, is an ideal substitute for the lead acid battery.

Our battery serials have been widely used in electric power, telecommunication, finance, petrochemical, national defence, civil aviation airport, railway systems, emergency lighting, electric bicycle, solar PV and other fields. At present, our company has a capacity of producing 2,000,000 batteries each year.

2. The capability comparision between lead crystal battery and normal lead acid battery

Capability Lead crystal battery Lead acid battery Conclusion(crystal battery)
working ability in low temperature It still can work well under -30C degreen The discharge ability will be go down sharply under zero degreen Wide temperature range form 60℃ to -40℃
use life 7-10 years 3-5 years The use life of Crystal battery is Double time than lead acid battery,That also means to buy on pc of crystal battery is equal to buy two pcs of lead acid battery
product quality Very high quality, very low maintain cost Easy get dehydration,easy get vulcanization,very maitain cost less worry about maintaining problem,can reduce great cost of maintain and replace battery between 10 years
Environment protecting No cauterization, no leakage, friendly to environment Easy get cauterion, easy to get leakage protect environment
Transportation safety Very safe Dangerous Very safe for transport
3. The usage of lead crystal battery

Our lead crystal battery is widely using for wind power system, solar power system and electronic bike.it also can use for Telcom station, Bank, Military, Airport, Train Station, Super Market,etc.

4.Sixteen Advantages of Lead Crystal Storage Battery

1)environment-friendly The use of crystal compound electrolyte minimizes the pollution of the product to environment in its production, application and recycling. Mercury-free and cadmium-free, the plate is a lead-calcium-zins alloy plate up to EU standard.

2)high storage capacity. Those below 35AH are 1.5 times batter than the international standard.

3)strong charge acceptance. 2.5 times batter than the international standard.

4)high-rate large cyrrebt duscgarge, No damage to the battery within 5S at 10C.

5)minimized self-discharge.Even after being stored for two years, the battery can be immediately used with out any charge. The 2V series can keep more than 99.9% of the capacity even after being put aside for two months.

6)having no memory effect after charge and discharge(N times)

7)applicable in any bad conditions. Working normally even when the temperature is between -40℃ and 70℃ and the altitude is 6000meters.

8)long service life. CNFJ series can last more than 10 years under normal conditions.

9)excellent charge performance. it usually lasts 1.5-2 hours, only 20% of the time for charging lead acid battery, when charged at the current of 60%-80% of the rated AH. It lasts less than one hour when charged at the current of 100-150% of the rated AH.

10)highly maintenance-free. Due to its high self-dislarge, lead acid battery needs one charge maintenance after being stored half a year at the temperature 20℃. Otherwise, the battery will be damaged. With minimized self-discharge and without memory effect, the lead crystal storage battery can keep 85% of its standard capacity even after being stored for one or two years, which leads the internation advancel level.

11)suerior charge and discharge circular performance. After being discharged to 0V for many times, it still can return to normal, decreasing the minimum of 1.75V/cell.

12)good recovery performance. With great rebounding capacity and short time for recovery, the battery still can be used after being discharged.

13)good low temperature performance. The capacity of lead acid battery sharply decreases at the temperature below 0℃ , while lead crystal storage battery still works normally at the temperature between -40℃ and 70℃ . Under the environment below 20℃ , it can still release more than 80% of the rted capacity.

14)sealed valve construction. Crystal electrolyte has no leakage and lose no water.

15)high mass and energy ratio. Mass-and-energy ratio reaches the international advanced level, 45WH/Kg, at 20 hour ratio.

16)widely applicable. With its stable crystal electrolyte and safe fire retardant shell, the battery is cold-and-heat resisting and environment-friendly, thus widely applicable in different fields and industries.

http://www.solar-we.com/lead_crystal_battery-4046.htm

[Malou (Marie Louise) Geleff]

I´d like to join in on that thank you...

and W & R : it doesn´t take an affluent lifestyle to afford enough batteries - on the contrary, I´ve found that renouncing daily-life-affluence to save for Aftertime is enabling me to see a viable future with LEDGrow lights, and who knows, maybe even a once-month-movie show (and why not a re-run ?) at an Aftertime Community spot for keeping some kind of mental health going for those of us who may need that. I grew up in a tiny village where the local hotel had a room for all sorts of things, one of which was a Sunday afternoon showing of Disney movies - once a month. This of course was in pre-TV days - didnt make it any less enjoyable :-)  It also created community in that many came whom you didn´t know from school or their parents´workplace.

Also : no I´m pretty certain, I´m not going to S Africa, but I HAVE remembered what ZT says about their grid in the Aftertime, namely : http://www.zetatalk2.com/info/tinfx142.htm that it´ll exist in one form or the other. 

Who knows, maybe it´ll be possible to rebuild a grid in Norway as well, as there´s already much hydro-power from all the waterfalls, there... 

For me, it´s necessary to balance my opinion that the only electricity I´ll be able to see will be what I´ll be able to secure by myself with the hope that many others will reach the same conclusion - and act upon it while there´s still time...

ZT has much more to say about communication in the Aftertime..: http://www.zetatalk2.com/nonproft/99003002.htm  and  http://www.zetatalk2.com/nonproft/radio/l1c3.htm

and specifically about the internet : http://www.zetatalk2.com/poleshft/p11.htm

also don´t forget that there are several producers of photovoltaics who cater specifically to keep electricity going, f.i. solar backpacks

[Lana]

Well I think it's worth to try to get everything you think you would need (if you have where to store the stuff and if you have enough money), maybe it will survive and maybe we could use it for some time. Eitherway, money will be useless maybe even after the 7/10. For critical equipement, I think it is good to have some spare parts or even two of them to secure that it will work. For instance, I wanted to buy the grinder mill, but I thought what if some part breaks during the use - it would be useless. So I ordered two of them. 

[Stanislav]

I have considered another option of electricity production. The main source of its magnetic field is our land! Think about it!
Suppose the tip of this structure at a height of 100m and a field strength equal to 100 V / m then:
U = h E = 10,000 volts.

[Stanislav]

Atmospheric electricity

 
Our planet is in an electric for a semblance of a spherical capacitor, charged to about 300,000 volts. The inner sphere - the Earth's surface - is negatively charged, the outer sphere - ionosphere - positively. Insulator serves as the Earth's atmosphere. (Figure 1)
The electrical circuit of the global capacitor
  

Through the atmosphere continuously flow and convective ion leakage currents of the capacitor, which reach thousands of amperes. But despite this difference in potential between the plates of the capacitor is not reduced.

This means that in nature there is the generator (G), which constantly replenishes charge leakage from the capacitor plates. So the generator is Earth's magnetic field, which rotates with the planet in the solar wind flow.

To use the energy of this generator, you need to somehow connect it to the consumer of energy.

Connect to the negative pole - the Earth - simple. It's enough to make a proper grounding. Connect to the positive pole of the generator - the ionosphere - a difficult technical challenge that we are going to do.

As with any charged capacitor, the capacitor in our global electric field exists. Intensity of this field is distributed very unevenly in height: it is maximum at the surface of the Earth and is about 150 V / m. With height, it decreases approximately by law exponent and at an altitude of 10 km is about 3% of the Earth's surface.

Thus, almost all of the electric field is concentrated in the lower atmosphere near the Earth surface. Vector of the el. Earth's field E is directed generally downward. In his arguments, we use only the vertical component of this vector. The electric field of the Earth, like any electric field that acts on the charges with a certain force F, which is called the Coulomb force. If we multiply the charge on the strength of electric. field at this point, we get just the value of the Coulomb force Fkul .. This Coulomb force pushes the positive charges down to the ground, and negative - up into the clouds.

The electric field of the Earth is a potential field as well as any email. field. Every point of this field corresponds to its potential. Points with the same potential form equipotential surfaces.

Conductor in an electric field

Establish on the earth's surface vertical metal wire and ground it. Let the top of the conductor is at some level, the potential U e. Earth's field. The electric field of the Earth in accordance with the laws of electrostatics will move the conduction electrons up to the top of the conductor, creating there an excess of negative charges. This movement of electrons will continue as long as the top toche conductor will not have the potential-U, equal in magnitude and opposite in sign to the potential U e. Earth's field, which is the highest point of the conductor.

This negative potential-U fully compensates the positive potential U el.polya Earth and the entire conductor, including its highest point, acquires the capacity of the Earth, which we assume to be zero.

But an excess of negative charges at the top of the conductor will create its electric field.

We have a system of two electric. fields: email. Earth's field E1 and email. Field of excess charges at the top of the conductor E2.
Electric field of the Earth (left) and top of the conductor (right)

Fig. Figure 2 shows the vectors of these fields.

• 

Vectors of the email. field of the Earth E1 near the conductor are the same everywhere on the magnitude and direction.

Vectors of the same tensions email. field of a conductor at different points in the field have different magnitude and direction. Fig. 2 to the right shows the vectors of the E2 of the email. field. They converge at the top of the conductor which hosts the excess conduction electrons.

According to the principle of superposition email. the resulting electric field strength. field is equal to the geometric sum of strengths of each of these fields.

Note: The following is the top of the conductor vectors of E1 and E2, these two fields are directed in opposite directions. Here, they cancel each other and in the conductor email. field is zero.

Above the top of the conductor vectors of these two fields are directed in one direction - down. Here they are formed and give the total voltage electric. field.
If we add these vectors geometrically and draw equipotential lines at every point of the field, then get the picture, shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 shows the total electric. field in a section vertical plane passing through a conductor. It is noteworthy that the potential of the conductor at all points is zero and at the same time on top of the conductor is concentrated much tension of the total electric. Earth's field and conductor.

That is what email. field and seeks to wrest the conduction electrons from the top of the conductor. But the electrons enough energy to leave the conductor. This energy is called work function of the conductor and for most metals, it is less than 5 electron volts - a very small quantity. But an electron in a metal can not acquire such energy between collisions with the crystal lattice of the metal, and therefore remains on the surface of the conductor.

The question arises: what happens to the handler, if we can help overweight charges on top of the conductor to leave this guide?

The answer is simple: the negative charge on the top of the conductor decreases, the external electric field inside the conductor will not be compensated and then start moving conduction electrons up to the upper end of the conductor. Hence, the current flows on it. And if we can permanently remove excess charges to the top of the conductor, it will constantly leak current. Now it is sufficient to cut the wire at any convenient location and include the load (consumer of energy) - and the power plant is ready.

Total electric field
Schematic diagram of the installation

Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of such a facility.
Under an electric field of the Earth conduction electrons from the earth moving along a conductor through the load and continue up to the emitter, which frees them from the top surface of the metal conductor, and sends them in the form of ions in the free-swimming on the atmosphere. The electric field of the Earth in full accordance with Coulomb's law raises them up as long as they are recent findings on the path will not be neutralized by positive ions, which always go down from the ionosphere under the action of the same field.

Thus, we have closed an electrical circuit between the plates of the global electric capacitor, which in turn is connected to a generator G, and included in this chain of energy consumer (load). It remains to decide an important question: how to remove the excess charges to the top of the conductor?

Emitter

To do this, a device that would help the conduction electrons to leave the conductor - the electron emitter or emitter.

Emitter can be constructed on the basis of high-voltage generator of small capacity, which is able to create a corona discharge around the emitting electrode on the top of the conductor.

Such high-voltage generators are used in industry dymoulavlivatelyah, ionizer, electrostatic painting facilities for metals and various household appliances.

The generator creates a conduction electron emitter around the spark, corona discharge or wrist. Such a discharge is a conductive plasma channel through which the conduction electrons are free to flow into the atmosphere is already under el.polya Earth.

Animation and description of such a discharge, see HERE.

For this purpose you can use a transformer, or Tesla coil.

In 1891, Nikola Tesla built his famed high-frequency high-voltage transformer, which he used for experiments and demonstrations of his experiments.
Tesla Coil

Now it is a device called the Tesla coil (Tesla coil). In industry, this invention were not used. It is mainly used for all sorts of attractions.

During operation of the coil in its secondary winding a voltage of several million volts, which ionizes the air and creates a variety of electrical discharges - streamer, spark or corona discharge, depending on input voltage.

Channels these discharges in the ionized air is a good conductor for the conduction electrons, which tend to break out of metal wire into the atmosphere. And the conduction electrons through a conductor discharges easily leave and go into the atmosphere is already under the el. Earth's field, which focuses on the top of the conductor.

Shape and intensity discharge coil can be adjusted within certain limits from weak to strong corona arc, depending on the intensity of the el. Earth's field and the necessary power plant.
Rated plant capacity

Let the top of the conductor is located at an altitude of 100 m, the average intensity of electric. field height of the conductor ESG. = 100 V / m.
Then the potential difference E. field between the Earth and the upper point of the conductor is numerically equal to:

U = h Esr. = 100 m * 100 V / m = 10 000 volts.

Exactly the same size will compensate for the negative potential at the top of the conductor. This is - a very real potential difference between ground and the upper point of the conductor, which can be measured. True, the usual voltmeter with leads to measure it not be possible - in the wires there is the same emf as a conductor, and the voltmeter reads 0.

The current in a conductor depends largely on the efficiency of the emitter. If using the emitter we can get a current of 10 A., the total installed power of 100 kW.

When working emitter liberated electrons accumulate in the atmosphere over the emitter and creates a negatively charged cloud. El. field of this cloud is directed against E. Earth's field and reducing it. In the presence of wind cloud crabs and its impact will be negligible. In the absence of wind the cloud can only be removed by the Coulomb forces el. field over the emitter, forming a convective jet directed upwards. In this case the current intensity setting will be limited to current strength of the convective jet.
Features of the electric field

El. field above the Earth's surface has such features, that must be taken into account.

Above the flat underlying surface, such as the sea or the wide plain, the equipotential surface of the field are approximately parallel to each other, as shown in Fig. 2 on the left.

But as soon as it appears grounded conductor, the field is changing and becoming something like this, as shown in Fig. 3.
Equipotential field lines above the grounded conductor

The effect is such as if it were a field of rose and hung on the top of the conductor. Equipotential lines of the conductor skontsentorirovalis, and hence increased the intensity vector el. field.

At the same time at the base of the conductor email. field decreased. If the two grounding conductor located near each other, then email. field would look like, as shown in Fig. 6.

All e-mail. field is located above the grounded conductors. Between these conductors at the earth's surface el. field is close to zero.
These guides are trees, electric lines. transmission, high buildings, and, of course, all urban homes.

Consequently, in terms of the conductor with the emitter should be raised above the roofs of city houses and all kinds of antennas, flagpoles, trees, steeples, located nearby. More reliable to raise the conductor and the emitter in a balloon.
On the power of the global generator

This setup takes away power from the global generator.

In this connection there is one very important question - how will the widespread use of such facilities in the electric field of the Earth?

Will this not lead to a weakening of email. field of the Earth?

We have no way to measure the power of this generator. But for some circumstantial evidence can be judged on its capacity.

On Earth, constantly plagued by several hurricanes, tropical storms and cyclones set. According to modern concepts and estimates about one-third the power of Hurricane accounts for its electrical component.
What is it - the electric power component of the hurricane?

Hurricane power proportional to the volume and speed of ascent of warm air in its heat the tower - the central region of the hurricane.

Such a rise of air proiskodit mainly due to the difference in air density at the periphery of the hurricane and in its center - a thermal tower, but not only. Part of the lift force (approximately one-third.) Ensures the electric field of the Earth.

The thing is that evaporating from the surface of the ocean storm water carries with it enormous Number of negative charges.

From the standpoint of electrostatics stormy ocean is a vast field, strewn with sharp points and edges, which are concentrated negative charge and tension email. Earth's field. This - the electrostatic effect of the tip.

Evaporating the water molecules in such circumstances it is easy to grasp the negative charges and carry them with you. And the electric field of the Earth in full accordance with Coulomb's law, these charges move up by adding air to the lift force.

And this addition is about one third of the total lifting force, and hence the power hurricane. Thus the global electric generator spends part of its capacity to enhance atmospheric vortices on the planet - hurricanes, storms, cyclones, etc.

But this power consumption does not affect the magnitude of the electric field of the Earth.
If we consider that the average power exceeds the power of the hurricane all the power plants of the world, we can conclude that the widespread and ubiquitous use of this energy will not affect the electrical parameters of the planet.
Conclusions

As a result of our actions, we connected to the global energy consumer to an electricity generator. Go to the negative pole - the Earth - we are connected using a conventional metal wire (ground), and to the positive pole - the ionosphere - with the help of a very specific guide - convective currents.

Convection currents - is the electrical currents caused by an orderly transfer of charged particles. In nature they occur frequently. The most powerful of them - it's hurricanes and rising air currents in the intertropical convergence zone, which claim a huge amount of negative charges in the upper troposphere.

From the foregoing, the following conclusions:

    *

      The energy source is simple and easy to use.
    *

      The output is the most convenient form of energy - electricity.
    *

      Source of environmentally friendly: no emissions, no noise, etc.
    *

      Installation is simple to manufacture and operate.
    *

      Exceptional cheapness of received energy and a host of other advantages.

The electric field of the Earth is subject to fluctuations: it is stronger in winter than in summer, every day it reaches a maximum at 19 hours GMT, also depends on weather conditions. But these variations do not exceed 30% of its average value.
In some rare cases, under certain weather conditions, intensity of this field may increase several times.

During a thunderstorm el.pole varies within wide limits and may change in the opposite direction, but it occurs in a small area directly under the thunderstorm cell and within a short time.

http://ntpo.com/invention/invention2/48.shtml

[QuietOne]

 

I lived off the grid for seven years. Permanent magnet alternators are great. I had a hydro system. Some alternators need to be jumped, just like jumping a car to get it started. Imagine the frustration of not being able to get that to happen, in a survival situation. I prefered an alternator that would start generating electricity as soon as it started moving. Sometimes it might stop for one reason or another, and then you get it started again, and the need to manually jump it was frustrating. This is why a permanent magnet generator is important.

I am confused by all the talk of solar power, I am thinking of after-time gloom, and also thinking the initial period right after the shift would be the most critical. This would also be the most dark. Wind power sounds great, I never had a windmill but they sound good. Have to keep in mind that the wind may come and go. It may not be steady. I was the envy of my solar powered friends, because a hydro system generates electricity 24 hours a day, and solar only generates when the sun is out. I would think hydro would be what I would want first, then wind, then solar. Of course at this point we have no idea where the water will be and flash flooding can be an issue. But it might be nice to have the equipment stored away, for future use. So initially, wind first would be my choice, but I would want to have hydro power as soon as I felt things were stable enough to provide water flow without a flash flood that would carry away the equipment! Although human powered electricity may be impractical, it might be nice to have the option, as a back up, for times when doing repairs or maintenance on the primary system.

I also agree that LED grow lights are the way to go, and there are 12 volt options available. Also, think about fiber optics as a way to utilize and redirect light that would otherwise go to waste. It can be helpful to have reflective surfaces to bounce back light as well.

Also composting creates heat, and that can be included in heating plans, as long as venting is directed outside.

[Howard]

Brian G -  This site is very useful for developing micro hydro applications:  RockyHydro.com

They also sell PMGs.

[Howard]

Here are some pics of a renewable energy system currently being developed at a survival community location.   The pictured battery bank consists of eight Trojan T-605 flooded lead acid 6V 210 AH deep cycle batteries wired in series/parallel to provide a 24V system with a 420 amp-hour capacity.  Originally, a 2000W Honda gasoline generator was running almost continuously to provide electricity for the camp.  Since the inverter/charger and battery bank have been activated, the gas generator only runs about 4 hours out of every 36 hours to charge the battery bank, which now handles the energy needs of the camp.  A wind generator is currently being constructed from raw materials that will reduce the gas generator run time even further.  A human powered generator that can charge two of the 6V batteries at a time is also being developed that will ultimately serve as an emergency back-up battery charger.

Here is the battery bank enclosure with the eight batteries (before the battery cables were installed).

[Howard]

On the other side of the battery bank enclosure is an equipment space that houses the energy system electronics.  Pictured is the inverter that charges the batteries and also provides AC power by converting the DC power from the battery bank.   This Outback VFX-3524 inverter is rated at 3500W.  The 2000W gas generator is also pictured.