CAN YOU TAKE THE HEAT?

STAYING COOL WHEN THE GRID IS DOWN

Jun 22, 2024

Yesterday the HVAC at the house went out again. It was 92F outside and 80F inside at 17:00 and would remain hotter outside until 21:00 when we could open the windows for the night.

The AC has been dying a slow death for the last few years and we are reluctant to put $8k into a replacement when we don’t expect America to make it much longer, just seems like a bad investment with a likely grid down TEOTWAWKI style event just around the corner.

Whether it is an attack from Russia/China, economic collapse or an attack on the grid from the “army” that has been coming over the Southern border lately, I believe in the near future power will be intermittent at best or completely taken down at worst, making for a poor return on an HVAC overhaul IMO.

So the thought of how much it would suck to be in a house day after day with 80F+ temps inside got me thinking about “off-grid” relief for such a scenario.

My solar setup consists of two solar generators (EcoFlow DELTA Max 2016Wh and EcoFlow RIVER Pro 710Wh) along with a 800W panel setup for the DELTA and a 160W portable panel for the RIVER. This is separate from my per-existing 300W solar setup on my HAM Shack.

Having tested my solar system several times now to confirm load/recovery abilities in Summer, I know it’s a limited source of comfort even in the best of solar charging conditions so having the most efficient air movers possible is critical on such a system.

It took some Googling, but I found the Smartele 16 inch battery operated fan and bought the “two pack” off their website after watching the review below.

I got a 33% off coupon link somewhere (“Overland Promotions” worked as of this post) that made the cost ~$135.00 delivered per unit.

The ability to use these fans for 3 days without a charge then have them topped back off in 2.5hrs is awesome.

The only downside is that they are 24VDC and require a 120VAC power source to get the 24VDC in my case as I do not have a regulated 24VDC source on my solar chargers.

A little air movement is a HUGE comfort when it’s sweltering, add a misting spray bottle to the mix and the new normal won’t be inside temps of 68F in 90F ambient, but will be a lot more tolerable than nothing for sure.

Just some food for thought. Start thinking how your life will look without electricity and prepare accordingly.

See the review below and the specs on the website for more info on these fans.