About This Website

This website helps explain why and how a long-term blackout can occur, what to expect and do if it does occur, and what you can do to prepare before it occurs. The how to prepare and survive information found on this website also assumes you plan and hope to remain in your home and protect your family and emergency supplies to the best of your ability.

You should have already noticed that all of the elite individuals, government officials, and others who have an abundance of wealth are already well stocked in emergency food and water with underground safe houses powered by generators and solar panels and batteries - for a reason. They obviously know something more than what we are told.

Although the cost and availability of a solar system and solar products has remained relatively reasonable, the cost of emergency food has more than tripled and availability is somewhat limited over the past few years - for a reason.

If you live within a city or far out in the country, the information on this website might not help or benefit you as much as the others. If a long-term power outage or grid failure was to occur, people living in the city would likely have little or no chance to survive if they remain in place. People living in the country, the farmers and the amish, already know how and are able to survive a catastrophic power outage with little or no affect and will go on living pretty much as normal.

Sad to say, those people who did not prepare for a sudden long-term disaster will become the "hunters" and those people who did prepare will become the "hunted". And, there will be no police or cavalry to answer your plea for help.

• Inner city people in good health and with some kind of common sense and survival skills will eventually leave the city in search of food and water outside the city limits and into the country. Each day, they will become more desperate.

• People living between the cities and the open country should be prepared with good survival and defense skills for when desperate individuals come for their food, water and emergency supplies. Every living unprepared person will eventually begin to hunt for food and water. As hunger and dehydration affects their minds and personalities, you better have a defense plan because most of them will come and take at any cost.

• People in the country typically have wells for water and fruit trees, vegetables and live stock for meat and milk, and most likely chickens and eggs and other sources of food. They usually have fishing and hunting skills and can trap or hunt deer, squirrels, rabbits, birds and other wild game. They usually have several dogs and animals on site that serve as the best security alarm and defense against intruders and thieves. Most importantly, they usually own rifles and handguns and know how to use them. And, solar energy is not new to our farmers.

A survival plan can range from doing nothing at all to doing everything you can for piece of mind, comfort and survival. Most people have no idea where to start and others would rather not think about it at all. This website is designed to educate people on the consequences of a long-term power outage or blackout and how survival planning will make a difference in how long and comfortable they might survive. Keep in mind that nobody is coming to your rescue.

This website also offers links to products on other websites all of which are products we use ourselves or recommend in planning and preparing for a long-term power outage or blackout. With our research and testing, we can share our experiences and opinions of what or which essential products and devices work the best for us with cost and quality in mind. You can use this website as a short-cut to finding products and devices that might work for you.

Notice on Amazon alone, thousands upon thousands of people are investing in solar panels and solar batteries, motion sensor alarms, security cameras, rechargeable batteries, emergency food, and other emergency supplies. Guns and ammunition sales is at a record high and solar systems sales are higher than ever before. There is a reason why people are investing in these products.

You should also notice that there is a lot of emphasis on solar energy and solar systems on this website. We are not solar nerds or clean air activists or fossil fuel haters. We just know that some form of continuous long-term energy is necessary to survive more comfortably in a local, national, or global catastrophe.

About Us

We are basically simple ordinary middle class people concerned about the consequences of a short-term or long-term power outage or even a catastrophic power outage when we realized many reasons why and how it actually could happen. Rather than fearing the consequences of a disaster, we decided to plan and prepare for a disaster as a hobby.

We believe any catastrophic event unleashed in America will be short lived and Americans will march forward and rebuild as history shows from the past. We will learn from our mistakes and we will continue to build an even greater America for all people.

Our house is all electric, no gas, no oil and includes a medium sized Interconnected Grid-Tied Hybrid Solar System with battery backup. Four of our outbuildings are powered by independent small solar systems with batty backup to provide our outbuildings with exterior lighting at night. We own several gas fueled generators and understand that gas fueled generators can only produce electricity as long as fuel is available, otherwise it is worthless.

If or when our out-dated and over loaded country-wide power grid goes down, we all go down! Unless you have your own reliable and independent power company, like an Interconnected Grid-Tied Solar System or Off-Grid Solar System.

Over the years, we have carefully studied and planned and even practiced everything we need to know and do to survive a long-term power outage with the least amount of discomfort. We created this website to share what we have learned to help others prepare for and survive a power outage too. What we do know:

You Will Need Food And Water

Without food and fresh drinking water, you will not survive more than a few days or weeks.

You Will Need An Energy Source

Without an energy source, all of your electrical devices and appliances and generators will stop working.

You Will Need A Survival Plan

Without a survival plan, you will suffer great discomfort and consequences and reduce your chance of survival.

You Will Need A Defense Plan

Without a defense plan, you will not be able to protect your family and emergency supplies from intruders and thieves.

Get Advice Or Ask A Question Quick Anonymous Survey Solar And How It Works About This Website Survival Topics

How We Set Up Our Outbuilding Off-Grid Battery Backup Solar Systems

One of our outbuildings are powered by two 100 watt panels, a 20amp charge controller, two 12v 35amp deep cycle batteries, and a 150w inverter. With 14/2 romex wire for interior 12v light bulbs and 16AWG 2pin electrical wire for two exterior 12v flood lights and one 120v security camera. This building solar panels pointed south with excellent sunlight.

A second outbuilding is powered by two 100 watt panels, a 20amp charge controller, two 12v 35amp deep cycle batteries, and a 300w inverter. With 14/2 romex wire for interior 12v light bulbs and 16AWG 2pin electrical wire for three exterior 12v flood lights. This building solar panels pointed east and did not get much direct sunlight.

A third outbuilding is powered by one 100 watt panel, a 10amp charge controller, two 12v 35amp deep cycle batteries, and a 300w inverter. With 14/2 romex wire for interior 12v light bulbs and 16AWG 2pin electrical wire for two exterior 12v flood lights and one exterior porch light. This building solar panel pointed east and did not get much direct sunlight.

A fourth outbuilding is powered by one 100 watt panels, a 10amp charge controller, one 12v 35amp deep cycle battery, and a 300w inverter. With 14/2 romex wire for interior 12v light bulbs and 16AWG 2pin electrical wire for two exterior 12v flood lights. This building solar panel pointed south with excellent sunlight.

Totals: Six 100 watt panels, four charge controllers, seven 35amp deep cycle batteries, and four inverters. This set up lights up our back yard every night and serves as an option to create one 600 watt emergency solar system if needed.

Note: All solar panels are identical 100 watt 12 volt monocrystalline solar panels (compact design) and all solar batteries are identical 12v 35amp AGM deep cycle solar batteries. This set up allows us to use our solar equipment in many different configurations, if needed.

• If you want to run 12v electric in your shed, you will need a small fuse block (Blue Sea Systems ST Blade ATO/ATC Fuse Blocks). I ran 10/2 With Ground Romex Wire from the battery(s) to a low voltage battery disconnect switch (CZH-LABS LVD Low Voltage Disconnect Module), then 10/2 with ground romex wire to the fuse block. The low voltage battery disconnect switch will disconnect the battery(s) from the fuse block when the battery or battery bank voltage is lower than a set amount (10v - 11.4v) to protect the battery(s) from extreme discharge damage. The low voltage battery disconnect switch is a good idea to protect your battery(s) from over discharge and promote battery long term health.

• From the fuse block, I ran 14/2 With Ground Romex Wire to several interior light switches and lighting using 12v light bulbs. I also ran 16AWG 2Pin Electrical Wire to several 12v Female Socket Plugs to power any 12v appliance or device using a cigarette lighter type plug.

• From the fuse block, I ran 16AWG 2Pin Electrical Wire to a JVR 12V Timer Switch that was wired to several exterior GLW 12V AC or DC LED Flood Lights to turn on at night for about 5 hours every night.

• From the fuse block, I ran 16AWG 2pin electrical wire to a second JVR 12V Timer Switch that was connected to a BESTEK 300Watt Pure Sine Wave Power Inverter using a 12v female socket plug and ran 14/2 with ground romex wire from the inverter to an exterior receptacle to power 120v Christmas lights at night for about 5 hours every night as needed.

• From the fuse block, I ran 16AWG 2pin electrical wire to a third JVR 12V Timer Switch that was wired to a 150w inverter to power an outdoor 120v Defender PhoenixM2 Security Camera for 8 hours every night or as needed. An idle security camera uses less watts than an led light bulb.

We Recently Installed A 12v Water Transfer Pump

We use the 12v Water Transfer Pump to move water from a seven foot deep underground rain water spout pit to our fruit and vegetable garden water tanks because our house faucets were a distance from the garden and the rain water pit was near the garden with an abundace of rain water. And, in an emergency situation when electricity is not available and food is not available or scarce or expensive, we can water our gardens as often as needed as vegetables and fruits need water to grow fast and healthy.

We use one 12V 35 Ah Sealed Lead Acid Battery with alligator clips to run the 12v water transfer pump, works like a champ for hours upon hours with little or no battery drainage! It appears that a much smaller battery would work as well. Anytime I can move from gas or propane fuel to a battery, I am in, not because I prefer the battery over gas or propane, but because solar will keep on working when gas and propane are no longer available in any significant emergency situation. Nice advantages are that battery energy is quiet and I don't have to spend time to refill fuel tanks or money to purchase fuel.

And, We Recently Installed A 300w Inverter To Charge And Maintain All 12v Batteries

Since my 12v water transfer pump, mowers and other yard power tools, off-road recreation vehicles, and many of my household power tools require some type of batteries that can be recharged and maintained, I installed a 300w inverter and a NOCO GENIUS2 2A 6V and 12V Smart Battery Charger, with alligator clips, in one of my sheds that already had a small solar system installed and is where I now charge and maintain all of my batteries opposed to in my basement using my utility company power. A savings in electricity bill and ability to charge all of my precious batteries in the event of an emergency situation. I am taking full advantage of the solar energy I capture... and I am liking it!

We Are Also Considering A Solar Generator

A Solar Power Generator with a lithium battery pack was another interesting alternative energy source that is capable of running heavy load appliances too, including an entire home if desired. Solar generators usually include solar panels, a charge controller to charge the built-in batteries, and an inverter. Nice advantages are that it runs silent and indoors (no toxic fumes), no long extension cords, little or no maintenance. Recharging can become a nuisance, but you will have energy to survive. Good for short and long-term emergency plan.

For a larger solar generator system to power more devices and appliances is quite simple. Just add a few more panels and a few more add-on batteries and presto! Repeat the process to power even more devices and appliances.

So, What Can We Say About Solar Energy?

We were so impressed with solar energy that we eventually hired a professional solar system installer to install a grid-tied solar system with batteries for our home with the panels installed on our garage rooftop. A grid-tied solar system is connected to the power grid and feeds excess power it generates into the power grid. A grid-tied solar systems acts like a generator. With the flip of a fuse block switch, our electricity source switches from the power grid to our solar power. It happens (and purposely) that our house was built all electric, no gas, propane, or oil. And now, no dependency on gas, propane, oil, or power grid electricity.

If you have a significant or moderate savings account, investing in a solar system could be a very smart life decision. If the power grid fails, cash and credit might become useless or not available at all. In the meantime and thereafter, you could benefit financially and personally from the continuous supply of free and reliable energy. As retail prices rise and the supply chain weakens, you might not have the opportunity and options like you do now.

The benefits of a solar system are: self-dependence, self-reliance, lower or no electric bill, and mainly no stress about how to survive in a short-term or long-term power outage or blackout. When the power grid goes down for a few hours or forever, you have uninterrupted continuous electrical power. Now, that's a reason to get up in the morning.