Some around the 8th heavy storm of this spring, it occurred to me that I’m woefully unprepared for power outages in this area. As someone who makes their living off the ability to have always-available power, that thought worried me somewhat. It’s not at all uncommon to have storms, floods and the like that bring power down in this area for days on end. Add to that fact the rising energy costs worldwide and I realized that I needed to start thinking up some alternatives.
For many parts of the world, and Nashville, Tennessee included, solar is likely the most viable option. Though wind farming is a great way to go “off the grid”, stories-tall windmills aren’t exactly convenient nor do they make my local HOA very happy. I’d heard stories about parts of the world that use solar very efficiently (in Israel, for instance, it’s very common to have solar-heated water) and so I started doing some digging into the viability of solar systems to at least keep a minimally-viable workspace.
What I found was both interesting and somewhat depressing. Obviously this idea can be very cost prohibitive, but for those of you who tend more toward the monthly payment versus cost of ownership style of living, it just might work.
To start, you need to get an idea of what sort of system you’re wanting. At the very least, you should be aware that there are two types:
Off-Grid: These systems are designed to provide you with 100% of your power needs. They store power in batteries for dark hours and ideally will allow you to remove yourself from the municipal power system (and monthly electric bill).
Grid-Tie: A grid-tie system is one that is intended to connect to your municipal power. Depending on its size, it can either simply supplement your existing power lines, or it can even (in some cases) send unused power back onto the grid. With a participating provider, you can get paid back for producing power that can be used in other homes.
Off-Grid (OG) systems tend to be more popular with the groups of people who are either building a new residence or simply want to be removed from a monthly bill. However, as you would expect, these systems can be wildly expensive. In what I found, my modest $90-per-month electric bill would require a system that cost in excess of $25,000 in order to take me completely off grid. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a blogger and business consultant. In other words, I’m not the type of person to have $25k just laying around.
Obviously then I was left with the idea of a Grid-Tie (GT) system. I thought that I’d be quite happy with something that could reduce my monthly bill by 20 or 30 percent, and I found this to be a considerably more reasonably-priced option. In order to do this, I was looking at somewhere around a $10,000 investment, and it was entirely possible that I’d even make some of that back in low-use times by feeding back into the system.
Clearly your milage may vary. What is right for me in this instance is not necessarily what is going to be right for you. As such, you’ll need to do more reading and homework than what I’m putting into this piece to find out exactly the right solution for your home.
Then a phone call with a solar installer got me thinking. I told him the premise behind my idea (remember, this wasn’t as much about saving money as it was about being able to continue working) and he had another suggestion entirely — Go off-grid, but don’t do it for your entire house.
By our estimation, roughly 30 percent of our electricity use is taken up by the computers and electronic devices that are in this office. What’s more, if things got a bit hairy for a few days, this office is big enough to be a comfortable living space. It has good ventilation, a fireplace, fans and plenty of room for a couch or two. It can be closed off from the rest of the house, keeping it cooler or warmer as necessary. With the simple process of switching around a couple of wires in my basement, I could take this room entirely off the grid. Adding in a switching box would allow me to take it back on the grid with the flip of a lever, should something go wrong with the solar system.
Maybe you’re not in such a position. It’s worth noting, though, that many solar systems can be non-permanent and require very little room inside of your house for the storage and inversion of electricity. As such, even if you don’t have a room that you can completely wire for solar, you might have an area that could provide at least some power for emergencies without being in violation of an HOA, a lease or other such agreement.
All of this talk about alternative power got me thinking about what I could do when I was out and about. I’ve seen solar-equipped bags before, but I wasn’t sure that the cost was really worth doing. While I’m still not completely sold on the idea, they’re at least worth mentioning.
Makers such as Voltaic specialize in quality bags with flexible, durable solar systems installed. From backpacks to messenger bags and every size in between, these bags provide enough power to fully charge a mobile phone after only 3 or 4 hours of direct sunlight. Granted, you’re not going to power your gaming computer with one of them, but they’d probably work well for lower-power computers such as a MacBook Air or many netbook devices.
Voltaic touts the ability to charge a Hypermac battery with its traditional panels. Since these batteries are now back on the market after a fight with Apple over the Magsafe adapter, it’s a viable option for Apple owners.
There are more traditional looking bags, as well, if you’re so inclined. Samsonite makes a model that is intended to charge small devices, and it’s available across the internet for less than $150. Noon Solar makes a rather handsome leather bag (above) that any self-respecting professional geek would be proud to carry. Sadly, it’s quite pricey at almost $450.
To start, you’ll need to make sure that you have optimal sunlight. Obviously this is critical. Most places that I’ve spoken with and things that I’ve read state that you should have a minimum 5-6 hours of direct sunlight in a South-facing location in order to viably go off the grid with any part of your home. For grid-tie systems, the demands are not as heavy, but you’ll have better performance with greater sunlight.
If you want to get an idea of what your ideal system would cost, Affordable Solar has a handy calculator . Though you should be forewarned that it’s directed toward US residents as it has a US map for direct sun hours and the calculator works in dollars.
As is typical with many electronics, you’ll get better performance the more that you spend. The price-per-watt ratio goes down dramatically with each kilowatt increment that you buy, however the total cost also increases greatly. For my home, for instance, it was recommended that we do a 6.5 kW kit, which would cost between $24k and $29k depending on the manufacturer.
It all comes down to homework. Start with Wikipedia to get a broad overview of how solar systems work and what some viable options are for using them. From there, I suggest reading through the different systems that appear on Solar Home .
As I said above, the Affordable Solar calculator is a great resource, but you’ll need to have a general idea of how much power you use. Finally, find a licensed (if applicable in your part of the world), reputable installer to talk to about what you’re trying to accomplish. The things that my eyes were opened to were pretty amazing and it’s really gotten me thinking of some other ideas that I can implement in other parts of my life.
You don’t need to be into the green tech movement (heck, I’m not) or classify yourself as hugely paranoid in order to get benefits from going solar. Constant power, lower bills and the geek factor are all pretty big reasons for me. You’ll have to decide what your reasons are, but hopefully this helps you get some ideas.
Apple taught iPhone users not to care about specs. Now it’s Google’s turn.
For as long as I can remember, Android flagships have largely been defined by their specs. Whereas Apple users know the newest iPhone is always the best iPhone, Android’s diversity means researching processors, RAM, etc, is a regular part of choosing a new phone. But with the Pixel 2 , Google is bent on changing that.
Talk to the average iPhone user – you know, people who don’t read tech blogs – and chances are they know next to nothing about what’s actually in their devices. A11 Bionic, 3 gigs of RAM, Taptic Engines – who cares? Apple’s informal motto is “it just works,” and it follows that users shouldn’t have to worry about the bits and pieces that make it so.
Android, on the other hand, has stereotypically been the, um, nerdier choice. The plethora of hardware options has traditionally attracted users who are willing to pay a bit more attention to a device’s internal hardware to gauge its performance and features. Most users are aware there’s more to a device than its hardware, but it’s still a focal point of the conversation.
If the Pixel 2 launch is any indication, Google wants to change that perception. The company not only glossed over the phone’s basic specs during its announcement – it outright dismissed them. No mention of a Snapdragon 835 or 4 gigs of RAM. The closest was the company lamented how tech reporters have to compare so many devices with identical specs, to which I responded with an exasperated sigh.
Point is Google is avoiding the spec wars, and that’s good for everyone. With each passing generation, diminishing returns on performance improvement dull my interest in the latest and greatest processors. And though better silicon can help improve battery life, on the whole, I find performance specifications are rarely a good indicator of the actual user experience nowadays. Specs matter, but only insofar as they let your phone do cool things.
As someone who’s been using Android devices since the very first one, it’s an important change in mindset. Like I noted in my hands-on , I wasn’t looking forward to the Pixel phones before Google’s event. The barrage of leaked specs looked boring compared to phones like the Galaxy S8, Note 8, or LG V30. It wasn’t until I actually saw how it all came together that I felt the company might deliver a great product.
Of course, it started with the original Pixel, which was lauded for its iPhone-like smoothness at launch. Long-term performance is even more telling; in my experience, the original Pixel still runs smoother than many devices with the much more powerful Snapdragon 835. Meanwhile , innovative image processing meant the camera delivered best-in-class results without particularly remarkable hardware.
The Pixel 2 takes it a step further. Rather than boasting about it being the most powerful phone (which it’s far from), Google pitched the Pixel 2 as the most clever phone.
Running on stock Android implies smooth performance and reliable updates. The new Google Lens means you can find information by simply pointing your camera at things you want to learn more about. Unlimited Google Photos storage means you can stop worrying about running out of space. And once again, the company is using innovative software on the camera, introducing a portrait mode that works on both the front and rear cameras with only a single lens for each.
It’s these and other software features that stuck with me after the event, not anything on the inside. It’s for that reason the Pixel 2 attracted more attention that the iPhone X among several of TNW’s own Apple users, despite the latter ostensibly having more interesting hardware.
That’s not to say we should ignore specs, but they should matter for their ability to enable new experiences – things like AR, computational photography, or machine learning. The nerd in me will always enjoy companies trying to one-up eachother’s hardware, but the rest of me is just happy Android is ready to move on.
TNW is hosting a flagship event in New York City in December. It’s going to be
Samsung’s new tracking device looks both useful and scary
Samsung Electronics today announced the Connect Tag, an IoT device that helps you keep track of almost anything. It looks like the perfect device for parents or pet owners, but we do have some privacy concerns.
It’s the first consumer mobile product to use Narrowband (IoT-NB), and has been designed for low power consumption with secure connectivity. The primary purpose of the device is location tracking, which it’s well equipped for. It comes with built-in GPS, Wi-Fi-based positioning (WPS), and Cell ID, to ensure accurate tracking.
The device can be set up with geofencing as well, which means it can set off alarms and interact with other IoT devices. Parents, for example, could set up the Connect Tag to alert them when a child leaves an area (like the back yard) or enters one – like school.
Other uses could involve interacting with smart locks, garage doors, and lights. It also has a button that, when pressed, will send location information to a designated smartphone.
It’s small; at 4.2 centimeters (1.6 inches) the device is virtually unnoticeable and could easily be clipped onto a pet’s collar or tossed in a kid’s backpack. Samsung also says it will last for a week on a single charge, which makes it ideal for tracking luggage or other travel items.
At first glance it sounds fantastic, and while it may not be entirely unique – there are certainly other IoT devices designed for tracking – it could be the answer to many a parent’s prayers.
However, assuming the device is secure, and doesn’t immediately be proven a security risk simply because it’s IoT-based, there are still other concerns that people will use it for evil. Privacy is a big deal and knowing that someone could just toss a tiny box under my car’s backseat or in my kids backpack is a bit on the scary side.
As a parent with a toddler and a teenager, I can see a very real need for this device. And there’s also a lot to be said for whatever peace-of-mind comes with having a company like Samsung behind it. Don’t get me wrong, huge companies make mistakes, but if you’ll pardon the pun: Samsung is pretty good at putting out fires.
I’m slightly more worried that my teenager will end up stranded without a charge in his smartphone than I am someone is going to take the effort to hack a device that I purchased, which makes it a no-brainer for me to try out. Your mileage may vary.
Samsung is expected to display the item this week during the Samsung Developer Conference . It will go on sale in South Korea initially, with no word yet on when other countries will be able to purchase the device.
We’ve reached out to Samsung for more information and will update as necessary.
