Build a passive-solar food dehydrator
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #143 • September/October, 2013
The finished passive-solar dehydrator maintained a fairly constant temperature of 150° F throughout most of the day without any repositioning, which shows that this design can...
Generators alone are not enough
By Jeff Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #157 • January/February, 2016
When talking to fellow preppers at self-reliance expos across the country, I am always impressed by how many already have long-term food supplies, stored water, medical...
Sunny Solutions for north slope applications
By Michael Hackleman
Issue #61 • January/February, 2000
Solar-powered pumps have proved their worth for many installations worldwide, anywhere under the sun. However, in the northern hemisphere, a year-around spring located at the base of a...
Dim bulbs in California
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #107 • September/October, 2007
By now many of us have heard that under a bill proposed by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine (D), the state of California is about to become the...
Install a mobile, solar powered toilet
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #79 • January/February, 2003
When our solar business started to really increase, I found myself spending more and more time in my truck traveling down the highway to very remote...
Energy class: Part 1
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #111 • May/June, 2008
Each fall when my dad took us to the State Fair, we could always count on this fast-talking salesman standing next to his car with a...
Solar suitcase
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #150 • November/December, 2014
Completed solar suitcase project
From time to time, people call to ask what we have for emergency solar power suitable for a bug-out bag. Naturally, my first...
Solar system codes — Build it right!
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #154 • July/August, 2015
Here, multiple homemade solar modules have caught fire and burned.
The further you go into the mountains or rural countryside, the more some people think building codes...
Solar Power 101 — Solar arrays
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #90 • November/December, 2004
This article is the fourth and final part of our beginner's course in solar electricity. Simultaneously we have instituted a Home Energy Information (www.homeenergy.info) section on...
Homemade electric power
By Jim Van Sant
Issue #131 • September/October, 2011
Ever wonder how you could live off the grid when the sun isn't shining on your solar panels?
Our homestead alternative energy system is based on 12 volts...
Battery powered weekend retreat
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #83 • September/October, 2003
Blake McKinney owned several acres of beautiful deep forest wilderness along a fast-moving year-round fishing stream that was perfect for a planned weekend retreat. Mr. McKinney,...
Water pumping windmills
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #90 • November/December, 2004
Standing tall like a giant sunflower in a sea of undulating prairie grasses, or in any rural setting, a windmill is a thing of beauty. Not only are...
Water: a safe supply when you’re off the grid
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #71 • September/October, 2001
That remote mountain property seemed like a steal until you found out you could not drill a well. Four years ago we were approached by a...
For a truly independent energy system, your choices are solar, wind, and water
By Larry Elliott
Issue #28 • July/August, 1994
Just as the words "backwoods home" conjure up images of farmhouses, livestock, woodstoves, tractors, and gardens, the words "independent energy" bring to mind a whole new set of...
Solar charge controllers — myths, hype, and facts
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #153 • May/June, 2015
Most people with a basic understanding of solar power are aware they need a solar module and a storage battery to power an electrical device using...
Don’t discount a generator, especially a diesel generator, as your primary power source
By Skip Thomsen
Issue #28 • July/August, 1994
There are three major reasons that wind, solar or hydro-electric systems are impractical for some folks: not enough wind, too many cloudy days, and no stream. In that...
