Bob Anderson

Authority on Solar Technology and Aquaponics

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Terracing with swales to retain water on the land surface.

Bob Initially had lead acid batteries for his solar system.  Then went to nickel iron batteries (Edison cells), with  electrolyte fluid maintenance changes.  Now has lithium iron phosphate batteries, which should last about 20 years. 

Refrigerator, TV, microwave, water pump are big electricity users.  Uses propane generator for air conditioning.

Bob’s solar system is 22 panels producing 5 kw.

Today’s solar panels are probably a little better than 20 year old panels.  It’s the support equipment that’s gotten better – inverters, charge converters.

If the sun isn’t shining, usually the wind is blowing.  Has a small wind turbine.

Freeze apocalypse in Texas last year.   Would a generator work in that situation? 

Inverter charger passes electricity to house load and extra goes to recharge batteries.

What kind of generator?  Propane lasts forever.  Gas goes bad.  Diesel eventually goes bad.  Combine generator with batteries so generator doesn’t have to run all the time, which is inefficient.

Have to become one with the environment when off grid.  Adjust timing of electricity use to when the sun is shining.

Evaporative cooler plus air conditioning unit for his house in the desert of Tonopah, AZ.

George in South Carolina wants to know if he has enough sun to make solar feasible.  Look at track of the sun.

Is it better to have panels remote from the house with sun trackers?  Consider surface area, which direction is house facing.  Want to be able to clean the panels.    

Any kind of shading, even dirt, directly impacts production of the panels.

Can alternative energy sources supply all the energy the country needs?

Solar and wind aren’t adequate and reliable energy sources.  Need base load generation to maintain first world economy.  It requires a lot of investment, and it doesn’t make financial sense to have a base load generator and only run it 20 days a year. 

Bob explains why Chernobyl happened. 

3 Mile Island was a design issue.  Lessons were learned from it.  Very little offsite radiation was released.

Fukishima was a biblical event. 

Green New Deal, Global Warming – these are political and fear based.  We can agree we shouldn’t use earth as a trash can.  Don’t need a government edict.  Disengage from these people and learn how to take care of yourself.

Second amendment is the only thing standing between tyranny and freedom.  We don’t want to go into the corral – what will they do about it?  Next 6 months could be rough.  People need to be called to atone.

Bob shows a silver dime card for pre-1964 coins. Suitable for day-to-day commerce.