Sleep cycle is nuts.

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You can try to sleep but that doesn't mean you will sleep. You can want to sleep with the same results. Who knows why. I simply cannot find sleep when I necessarily want or need it. Oh well. I have been doing more research regarding a solar power system. One thing I am certain about is that I can't depend on one completely to live the life I lead. Wait, let me take that back. I could if I wanted to use my acreage for solar panels and somehow spend a fortune. Then again, when I am filling out forms, I probably exaggerate without really knowing what I am talking about.

Several things do come to mind though. One line of questioning is how much electricity do I really use. How much of it is needed. With my sleep schedule being erratic, it will change. If I am awake in the day, I use very few lights. If I am awake at night, I blow the bank. I hate having the whole house dark. Now, I probably could get more lamps. Most of my main room lights are four bulb jobs. I suppose I could change those out? Uhm, no. When I want serious light I like having four 100 watt bulbs. But I could go with more single light lamps, or lamps with multiple independent bulbs. Anyway, I need to figure out how much electricity I really use.

Another question is how much I can reasonably cut back and how much I will seriously need to change in my lifestyle, if I want to have a (basically) off-grid system. When my mother returns home I will be disconnecting cable tv. But I will still watch movies from time to time. I will still use the dvd math tutorials occasionally. But that would only add up to, say, six hours a week, maybe twelve if I was studying heavily. Though I would like to get a refrigerator and freezer along the lines of what I showed D.C., or what he showed me, I wouldn't be using those unless there was a grid down event (probably?).

I would like to change to a propane drier, perhaps stove (unless I decided to go with a wood stove). Having both might have advantages for sideways reliability (no wood, no problem, no gas, no problem). Crazy talk, but. What I am saying is I would like to alter some of my appliances, change my ways a bit, and figure things out. I may start looking for a tool that allows me to measure my energy usage a bit more closely, and can check the power usage of items, or two different devices if need be.

Given all that, I still think going with the best solar system I can afford is the way forward. [after food and transport, of course] Oh, I really would love to upgrade my kitchen in there somehow, but that looks like it slid so far down the list as to be off the list, for now. After the power source, I then have appliances and tools to consider. Everything from a wood burning stove and stock stand alone heater, to propane drier, and perhaps propane stove/oven, and in there as well, canning supplies, livestock, kit for livestock, and the rest.

I feel like a ship run by a crazy captain. He wants to go where it is safe, due north. But he wants to go where it is warm, due south. So he commands they head north by south! I still want some good things in life. I still want to enjoy what is enjoyable, while I can. But I don't want to squander time or money or my own energy. How about north by southnorth? Oh, I thought about a solar water heaters, but I think just my power plant will take up all available reasonable slots for solar panels. I might make those propane though. I wish I could consolidate the hot water supply, but the distance and complexity would make that a bit fail, I think.

Anyway, I keep looking and finding out more. I suppose some of this will come through osmosis, some will have to be the hard work of crunching numbers, figuring out amps, volts, wiring, components, learning how to install things, how to configure them, making and reading diagrams, and ugh stuff. None of it will be easy, at all. Even the pro's mess it up. And, I would argue the pro's are almost more likely to mess it up because they are never who they seem. DIY is the best way so you know what is in there, you know what goes where, you will probably learn any maintenance along the way. Why have a system you know nothing about for a time when there may be nobody to help?

I have to take my friend shooting at 13:00 and it is now 7:05. I need a bit of sleep, anyway. Good night.