Retirement will bring big changes to my life, so it's a very interesting time for me. I've been doing a lot of thinking these past few months about what next year may bring, and over the weekend I made some final decisions that will impact my life in the tent, the most important of which is the concession that...
I'm gonna need electricity.
Yep, that's right, I have to bring in electricity. I'm actually okay with this decision, finally, but I must admit that I didn't like going down that road to begin with. Electricity is just too...tempting. Once I have an AC outlet in my tent, I'll be tempted by other things, like televisions and DVD players and...God, help me! So I'm about to begin my battle with worldly temptations again, and I hope I have the strength to persevere.
In any case, for better or for worse, I've decided to flirt with that temptress in order to pursue my passions next year. I plan to write and make music for hours at a time, so I'm gonna need to plug-in.
I'll use a laptop for writing. I'm still shopping for one, but it will be very basic. Just a small system with Internet capabilities. Small, cheap, and low power consumption. For music, I plan to do a lot of recording and to rehearse once in a while for live performances. I already own an eight-track digital recorder, and a small acoustic amplifier for live performances.
I plan to build a 12V system with a single AC inverter. To correctly size the components, I need to look closely at my consumption.
First, I need to determine the peak load by adding up the wattage of all devices that could be running at the same time. This sum will determine the inverter size that I'll need.
The devices that I'll be operating are:
- Laptop = 100W
- Digital recorder = 20W
- Small acoustic amplifier = 150W
Next, I need to find my average daily consumption by multiplying the wattage of each device by its average run-time. That will give me my average watt-hours per day. But what will my "average day" look like? Hmm. Well, some days I may write all day long, so a day of writing would cost me 100W x 8 hours = 800 watt-hours. Other days, I might be recording all day long, so 20W x 8 hours = 160 watt-hours. I don't plan to do much rehearsing through the amplifier, so maybe a few hours here and there would be a big day for that, something like 150W x 2 hours = 300 watt-hours per week at the most.
Ok, that helps, but it still doesn't give me a good sense of what an "average day" might be like, so let's explore that. The writing days are the heavy consumers, but if I'm really writing all day long, then I'll probably want to get out anyway, maybe go to a coffee shop and socialize a bit and get on the Internet. So I'll just budget for one day of at-home writing per week. Now, for the digital recording. My recording time will probably go in spurts. I might record for a few days in a row, then take an entire week off. So on average, I'll budget for two full days of recording per week. So that gives me: (800 x 1 day) + (160 x 2 days) = 1120 watt-hours per week. I'll round that up to 1300 watt-hours per week.
Now that I know my average consumption, I can start to think about how many days I'd like to run before having to recharge. At the moment, I plan to recharge my batteries at a local auto parts store (I'm still looking into that, so I'll have another post on recharging later). I don't mind taking batteries in once a week for recharge, but I'd like at least five full days of continuous operation on a single charge. And I don't want to draw the batteries down below 50% depth of discharge, so I'll double the weekly consumption rate to 2600 watt-hours and size the batteries based on that figure.
For a 12V system, I'll need 2600 watt-hours / 12V = 217 amp-hours per week. I can get that from just one battery, albeit a pretty expensive one (something like the Trojan J185H-AC 12V 225AH flooded deep-cycle battery, which costs over $300.00!). Or I could build a battery bank from 12V or 6V batteries.
So the problem now comes down to acquiring the batteries and figuring out how to recharge them. I'll need to do more research to figure that out, so stay tuned!
You may want a bigger inverter. Start up power usage is higher than running levels. Also get a full or pure sine wave inverter. Usually a bit more expansive, but give the same AC output as mains. Cheaper non sine wave inverters can be used, but some electronics aren't happy with them.
ReplyDeleteAren't you going to use solar to recharge the battery? That battery is going to be heavy. Moving it will grow old fast.
Hi Megan! Thanks for your advice on the inverter. I'll look into all of that since this is all pretty new to me. I truly appreciate your help! And yes, since writing this post, I've decided to go with solar panels. I shared this post with my Facebook friends and several of them convinced me of that as well. Again, thanks for your help!
DeleteAn exciting new chapter for you next year! Best wishes for that.
ReplyDeleteMegan Lee Webb (above) asked about solar power, I'm not experienced in these things but could you generate your own power through, say, an exercise bike?
Mark.
Hi Mark! Thanks for your good wishes. It's a pretty exciting time in my life with plenty of changes coming my way, so your kind thoughts are very welcome.
DeleteFunny you sound mention an exercise bike! I was just joking with a friend about that! We were recounting scenes from Gilligan's Island in which Gilligan was frantically peddling a bike that was fashioned out of coconuts and bamboo and twine and such, and the wheel was hooked up to some gadget that the Professor had rigged up. Yep, sounds like me alright :) It's funny that I had actualy thought about building some sort of bike like that to power a TV back when my children were pre-teen aged. That way, I would have actually *encouraged* them to watch TV! :) Anyway, I like your idea, and I appreciate your help, but I'll probably explore solar panels first (maybe I'm getting too old and lazy for this tent living :) ) Take care!
http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/05/bike-powered-electricity-generators.html has good info on pedal powered electricity. But this article: http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/05/pedal-powered-farms-and-factories.html has a section "The Limits of Pedal Power".
DeleteYou can do it, but, your not going to power 270W of equipment without recruiting some helpers.
David, your honesty is the reason your blog is the best around. I must admit that I had wondered how you did your music without electricity. I am in a similar situation to yours--how to have air conditioning without connecting to the grid. I have always worked in air conditioned buildings and of course we have it at home--only a little over a hundred miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico. How to get through the torrid summer nights and be able to sleep--I am not at all sure I could adapt. My brother is a trained electronics technician and he is going to help me design a minimal solar system that I can use only at night for a/c. But then there will be the temptation of a plug for coffee maker and any other small appliance I might wish to add and I find myself on the same slippery slope you spoke of. ( I remain one of the less than 10% of Americans who do not have a cell phone, but I have decided that has to change also.) But I am adamant about cooking on wood(outside in the summer) and using candles, Lanterns, and Alladin lamps for light. If I go the tent route it will be almost exactly like yours; otherwise I am thinking of a 10x16 one room cabin. Wish me luck as I do you, and I trust you to make the best decision for David Shilling. Ronnie Jackson
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you, Mr Jackson.
DeleteHello again, Mr. Jackson! Air conditioning. Yep, that's a tricky one. It's a lot of consumption to be sure, but Summers can be pretty uncomfortable without them. I've been surprised at how well the human body adapts to the heat of Summer, though. It's an incredible thing, the human body.
DeleteBack when I was married and exploring ways to simplify my lifestyle, I ran into two big obstacles. The first (and most difficult for me to solve) was the flush toilet. The second: air conditioning. Now that I'm single, I've chosen to just do without those things in my life, but that's a pretty extreme solution.
Air conditioning was a bit easier for me to solve than flush toilets. The real problem for me was staying cool at night, which is what you mentioned, too. I played around with a number of ideas, especially geothermal cooling (for example, burying a pipe a few feet underground, or better yet, placing a pipe underwater, if water is nearby). I also considered a Summer treehouse where I could sleep peacefully in the treetops, and dream away my nights to the cool rustling of Summer leaves. The nice thing about solar power for Summer cooling is that there's plenty of solar energy during Summer months. For me, that meant that I could easily power a fan and bring in air that was somehow cooled elsewhere (like underground or underwater). I planned on just cooling my bed, too, and not the whole house, so that helped reduce consumption a lot. Of course those were all just ideas since I was never able to fully launch that project, but I think having a cool place to sleep in Summer is pretty doable.
In any case, I know you'll solve your problem, and I hope you enjoy the journey to your solution. Remember, these are the days *before* you solved your problem, so enjoy the search! And I wish you the very best on your journey to a simpler lifestyle, and all the freedom and happiness that comes with it. Best of luck!
Thank you, Mr. Shilling, for your insights into my cooling predicament. I looked at wall tents on the internet today and that is the direction I am leaning. Like you I will set it on a wooden deck. Also, I have plenty of shade on my two acres, but I don't want to put the tent in the path of a falling tree in one of the vicious storms we can have here.
ReplyDeleteAnother update: I quit work nineteen months ago today to take care of mother. Probably tomorrow I will have to have her transported to the hospital. She has in the last week or so eaten and drunk less and less, a feature of the end of dementia. I will ask the doctor for the 21 days in the nursing home that medicare will pay for. My oldest brother said last night that he doesn't think we will have her at Christmas--but as my youngest brother said to me today: "Most people don't live to be 87." The experience has really brought mortality into focus for me--my advice to any young person is do not waste an hour of the life you are given--there will never be world enough and time to do all the things you want or need to do!
It also makes me understand clearly what your blog has meant to me from the time I first found it: David Shilling is a nest builder. All humans need to take control for themselves the most basic need of human existence: to make your own roof and bed on your own terms. My family has always said that I was a nest builder too, but I am only getting around to it at the end of life, but better late than never! The profoundest irony of life in America is that we want so much--and think we are entitled to it--and then, at the end, people end up with exactly what they brought into the world in the first place. If only I had had the wisdom to be at the beginning a nest builder; a gardener; an artist; there would have been no planning for retirement because it simply would not exist. Of course I didn't plan for it anyway because in my subconscious I always knew it was a fantasy. It is not retirement that I begin now but the work of life itself. Ronnie Jackson
My condolences for the difficult times that come with seeing your mother in such condition. You're a good son to her, Mr. Jackson, and may God bless you for that. I know that your mother is grateful for the love and care that you have given her, and proud to be the mother of such a loving son. I pray that there is peace for you and your loved ones in these coming days. It can be a difficult time, but it can also be a holy time. May your strength and love, and the loving hand of God, carry you through.
DeleteThe wisdom that comes with our years is to me bittersweet. Like you, I try to share my thoughts with the younger people around me, only to find myself thinking, "No, they won't understand this. They're just the way I was at that age, and I didn't understand, either." And so it goes, the old men getting "crazier" by the year, and falling further and further out of touch with the modern world, while the young men work hard day and night, seeking their fortunes and building their castles. Oh, the energy and health and years of life that they have! All the time in the world, or so it seems when we are young. But no time to be truly free, to live simply, to build our nests and be done with that part so that we may live freely, following our passions, using our gifts, and living in a way that truly pleases God. It breaks my heart everyday, seeing the great potential throughout humanity, thinking about how beautiful and wonderous we are, or could be, but then seeing how we squander our precious days. And all for toys and shiny things and sugary fluff and whatever else the Ad man puts in our faces that we so easily accept without a second's worth of thought. And so we sell our very souls, and I do not think I exaggerate in saying that because I see that our very souls are part of that bargain. But I don't need to say any of this to you, Mr. Jackson. You know full well the situation.
Please keep me posted as your nest building goes forward, and let me know if I can be of any help. I would be happy to visit you someday, if the time is right, and I'd love to help out with your upcoming project. As I said before, I would like to meet you someday, Mr. Jackson. I like your soul, my friend.
Again, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Take care, and God's blessings to you.
Thank you so much for your concern. I am leaving now to return to the hospital to spend the night at mother's bedside. She has a UTI that has gone septic. It will be a long few days if she can pull through. After that the nursing home seems the only logical choice. Ronnie Jackson
ReplyDeleteTent living is an art and congratulations for having it. The best family tent
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