Thanks Spud. I am already into solar for extended base camp and household use and so far have a couple of panels that are not the highest output but work fine for present needs and feed into an AGM group 34 deep cycle battery.
All 12 and 120 volt lights (single and stringed type) I have purchased so far have been LED. Up until a couple of weeks I would run the 120's of a 700 watt inverter but the drawback of the otherwise, very reliable inverter is that the fan is a bit loud and runs continuously. Last week, I picked up a 300 watt inverter on sale and with this model, the fan only runs when needed and is much quieter.
I also picked up on sale, a portable 700 MCA battery booster pack as one of my concerns of being 60-100 miles north from civilization is the truck battery deciding to go south and no way of starting the truck if there is no other vehicle around. The battery pack also has a USB and 2 x 12 volt receptacles for charging or powering smaller gadgets, AA batteries etc.
The other night once it was dark, I did a test run with new battery pack and the 300 watt inverter connected to a 16' string of LED lights. The lights lit up the kitchen/living room well which will be good if and when we ever have a prolonged power outage. I also have 1/2 dozen, 6" diameter LED lights that give quite a bit of illumination. They each take 4 x AA batteries that I have charged many times with the solar/battery setup.
2 days ago, I also ordered a 5 meter string of 5050 SMD, 12 volt lights which should be here in about 2 weeks. What I like about these light strings, is that they are designed to be cut and allow new connections easily soldered on to make custom lengths.
Depending if my SO decides soon if she is going to Africa for another 8-12 month volunteer stint, I am interested in purchasing a couple of larger panels and a few more deep cycle batteries and expanding on the alternate energy idea.
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Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.
John Lubbock