Simple Solar panel hacks for a post SHTF world.

Hello my friend and welcome back!  One of the big challenges of living in a post SHTF will be how to create the power you need for day-to-day living.  In most scenarios, you will be without power and while there are a few ways to make your own, solar is by far the simplest way.  This is the subject of today’s post, so grab a cup of coffee and have a seat while we visit.

Power is something we all need and in the beginning of a post SHTF world, it will be essential.  We need it for lighting, controlling the heat, accessing data you may store on a laptop or other device.  If GPS is still working and you have a device to use for traveling, you will need a way to keep it charged, as well as many other things.

While the days of central air conditioning and cooking with electricity may be long gone, it doesn’t mean we will need to completely resort to living as they did in the 1800s.  Whether you realize it or not, there are many solar-powered devices around you right now and you just need to know how to use them for things other than what they were intended.

As Preppers, most of us have a good set of solar panels, in our preps, as well as batteries to be charged by them.  Even with all of this, you will want to conserve as much power as possible.  Here are a few simple hacks that will help do just that.

Lighting – There are a lot of solar-powered lights on the market right now and many of them are very cheap.  While most of them are not intended to be used indoors, there are ways to make them work such as yard lights. I’m talking about the little solar-powered lights that are on stakes along your drive or walk way.  These are easily adapted to use inside for extra lighting at night.  Simply remove the stakes from them and set them in the sun during the day to charge and then bring them in at night.  Place them around you home to use as night-lights.  The next morning simply take them back outside or set them in front of a window to recharge.  Trust me; it will be the heck out of stumping your toe while stumbling around in the middle of the night.  Also, because they produce a low amount of light, they are less likely to draw unwanted attention.

There are solar-powered light made for using on your porch or lighting up large areas.  Many of these have a solar panel attached to them that plugs in so the light can charge during the day and light up your porch or yard at night.  These too can be easily adapted by placing the solar panel outside a window and running the wire inside to use the light at night.  I know of one model that has 60 LED’s in it that would do a wonderful job of providing light as well.  Just use your imagination.

OK, let’s say you forgot to add solar panels to your preps.  Large solar panels and batteries can be very expensive and if you are prepping on a budget, they may be out of reach.  So now what do you do?  Don’t panic, there are ways to solve your problem, but only if you move fast after SHTF.  Almost all Railroad Crossings now days have a small solar panel and a set of batteries in a box at the crossing.  All you need to do is get to them before someone else does.  These can be used to charge a lot of small electronic devices.  Many highways and intersections also have solar panels which could be used to do the same thing.  These would be great for powering a 12 volt water pump, to supply water to your home or garden.   Just keep your eyes open and look to see where they are located now, so you will know where to get them when the time comes.

Solar panels are used very widely, in many applications today and can be found on many large billboards for powering their lighting.  When SHTF comes and you get caught with no solar panels, then you can always find some or even use them to augment what you already have.  Learning how to wire them up is simple and anyone can learn, if they take the time to do it.  Unless SHTF is caused by an EMP, you should be in good shape, if you only know where to find them.

Well that is it for today and I hopes you have found today’s interesting.  Until next time, stay safe, stay strong and stay prepared.  God Save America!

-Sarge-