1) Dr. Sam Milham, an expert on dirty electricity, was forced to allow a smeter on his home, and he is not happy.
“These devices are mini cell towers, radiating microwaves from a small transmitter. Since all transmitters run on DC, they also contain a switching power supply to change the utility AC to DC. These interrupt current flow and send dirty electricity (high frequency voltage transients) back into house wiring and the grid.”
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article116771783.html
2) A member sent me a good YouTube of a discussion that includes some basic things you can do to prevent or reduce the exposure to EMF in your home. Just a note: I could not find credentials for either of these people but that doesn’t diminish the relevance of the information they are providing. Also below are links to some of the steps that can be taken.
Interview of Dr. Davidson with Dr. Libby Darnell. 35 min
http://drjaydavidson.com/podcast/children-emf/
How to connect an ipad to the internet using an Ethernet cable:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKp02y4JXVs
iPad using ethernet cable – now with power in new easy method – no wifi or mobile data!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBKs2tPggVI
3) Someone else sent this link to an article about someone who found relief from her EHS in the SW desert. It is sad that relief can be found by eliminating or escaping from the source of EHS – exposure to EMF.
4) The vast majority of utilities and grids are not taking the steps recommended by cybersecurity experts to protect themselves and their customers. As far as we know, both BC Hydro and FortisBC are among this ill-prepared majority.
“Only 29 percent of U.S. companies are starting to implement a cyberphysical strategy, 36 percent are still developing a strategy, and 18 percent have no plans to even develop a strategy, according to the SANS Institute.
The lesson should be clear: If grid operators can modify their thinking about security to fit with changing times, they can avoid a lot of needless stress. Otherwise, they are fated to live in interesting times.”
5) Below are some tips for going off grid from someone who has been doing this for many years.
6) I personally never heard of anyone with a brain tumor when I was growing up. Now it seems that brain cancers are becoming so common, even though the Cancer Societies say the frequency has not increased. In Edmonton, a 10 year old is fighting 10 brain tumors. How sad and tragic. Who knows if she had been exposed in utero, or given the cell phone when a baby to keep her entertained. I fear this will not be that unusual in the future.
Letters:
From: X
Sent: November 26, 2016
To: HLTH.health@gov.bc.ca; Perry Kendall <perry.kendall@gov.bc.ca>
Subject: “Cell Phone Radiofrequency Radiation:A Review of the National Toxicology Program’s Partial Findings”
Dear Hon Minister Lake, Dr Perry Kendall
I have no idea who the author of on the Ministry of Health Web site “Cell Phone Radiofrequency Radiation:A Review of the National Toxicology Program’s Partial Findings”
is but I do note many high level organisations such as the American Cancer Society have much higher respect for the findings than the author of the BC Gov paper. Who is the author and what are their qualifications, have they published any peer reviewed papers on this topic in particular or any scientific paper?
One of the authors of the NTP paper has reacted very strongly to the criticism in the paper. Ronald Melnick PhD Responds to the British Columbia’s provincial health officer Review of the National Toxicology Program’s Partial Findings on Cell Phones and Cancer http://ehtrust.org/ronald-melnick-phd-responds-british-columbias-provincial-health-officer-review-national-toxicology-programs-partial-findings-cell-phones-cancer/
When I consider the credibility of both pieces I have to feel the one written by a person not only associated with the NTP paper but also willing to put their name to their words against a collection of words from an unnamed person and no credentials to support their words. I must consider Dr Melnick comments as more credible.
X
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TIPS for going off grid.
When going off the grid there are many things that need to be considered before doing anything. It is way easier and cheaper to start a new home or cabin off the grid than to convert from full hydro to off-grid.
For me to be of any real help I would need to know your entire living situation structurally, financially and geographically, as in exposure to sunlight, your water source etc.
You indicate that insurance company compliance may be needed– that severely restricts your options from the start.
As for woodstove thermal generators they could be used to supplement an existing system but they do not provide enough energy to power an average household’s needs. This prototype looks promising: Presto! Alaska inventor turns wood stove heat into electricity
BATTERIES:
As to electrical power storage with batteries, again this entirely depends on the power source, expected load requirements (=size, voltage and number & capacity of battery bank), dollars available, location, appliance types and knowledge of batteries. If you want to get an idea of some of the ways to understand batteries I just found this site for you which covers the basics well: http://www.solar-wind.co.uk/deep-cycle-dryfit-batteries-battery-uk.html
All these variables can be narrowed down to a good battery type and quantity choice — Simply put; you must carefully calculate what these batteries are going to be required to do and how easily they are being recharged. And, if you are also producing AC current from the batteries DC current via an inverter. (I have made entire homes operate on just DC… as well as built systems that supplement the DC with a generator for AC, and/ or also an inverter).
Batteries for off-grid systems must be able to handle charge/discharge cycles and contain far more storage capacity than say a car battery.Therefore, my choice in a solar/wind battery bank type has been an array of 6-volt deep cycle ‘wet’ type. They need to be checked for distilled water levels about every 40 to 60- days depending on the loads and charging cycles.Never buy used batteries and never mix old with new batteries.
On this website they show diagrams for different ways to create your battery bank. I used the last option, and you can add in as many pairs of batteries as you like to make a bigger storage system. (Note, if you replace the 6-volts with 12-volts you can produce 24-volts which many people prefer). http://www.atbatt.com/rv-battery/how-to-wire-6v-batteries-in-series-or-parallel-configuration
Batteries need to be very well maintained and not discharged below 50% -ever– preferably never below 80% —
The mistake many people make is they try to save money by A) buying cheap batteries, and B) having a system that overloads the batteries too often, which also equals an inefficient charging system.
HOT WATER: (Skip down to “That said” to see what I would suggest if you are in a hurry and want to save a lot of money)
Okay, on to wood stoves for heating water. By thermosiphoning. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermosiphon )
Back in 1971 in a log cabin on an island east of Tofino is where I first made my own wood stove heated water. I did this by soldering copper pipe into loops or coils to match the inside of my wood cook stove. I had to drill holes through the steel stove walls in two places for the cold water to come in and the hot to come out. The pipes went to a steel glass-lined tank in the bathroom (later moved upstairs for efficiency). When there was a fire in the stove it made scalding hot water.
Years later I changed stoves and used water jackets (blanket idea) on the outside of the stove. They were way more inefficient, but did work.
In addition to the stove producing hot water I also established a large solar hot water collector outside facing south below the house deck— and plumbed into the same hot water tank. This produced lots of hot water in summer months when wood was not used much, even on cloudy days.
But yes, if you are trying to appease an insurance company then you would have to have an approved coil or jacket or blanket system and approved hot water storage tank and plumbing… $
This website discuss all the different ways wood stove hot water can be achieved: http://countrysidenetwork.com/daily/homesteading/renewable-energy/hot-water-wood-burning-cook-stove/
That said, in my last hand-built off the grid home I went to a propane demand hot water heater system instead of solar or wood heated water. It is a really simple and super-efficient way to make hot water. Easy to install (outside), it uses surprisingly little propane and there is no need for a storage tank. It can be plumbed into an existing hot water line if done properly (bypassing the existing tank).There are a few companies that make them. The Paloma linked here make the most popular one– click on their menus for more info: http://www.palomawaterheaters.com/how-does-it-work/
There are of course many different ways to go with off grid living, but maybe my ramblings have offered a little insight.
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