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Hi All - Want to draw on your knowledge to prepare. Live on edge of small city. Have small cellar (10x10x5ft deep) on house and want to heat it for 3 days for WSHTF. I'm looking for solar solution.
Please recommend a solar panel system KIT with battery recommendations so we can heat this space with electric heater, run lights and radio perhaps....Not gonna worry about refrigeration. Would be nice if I could plug it into upstairs outlet later to run gas furnace fan & lights as second choice. Looking for cheapest route.
You're not going to get much, if any electric heat from a smaller scale solar set up. For a room that size a mr buddy (the bigger one) propane heater would be a better option. Or install a wood stove . There are also small oil drip heaters that are about $1000 and don't require electricity.
I would also recommend a Mr Heater Buddy, or even a newer model kerosene heater. They both sip fuel, and one of either can easily heat a 10 x 10 space.
I would go with the kerosene. It's much easier to store a large supply in 55 gallon steel drums, and it doesn't go bad. Neither does propane, but it has to be in pressurized tanks, which is another expense.
Solar isn't much good for things that produce heat. They are power hogs. I'd do my cooking on 1-2 of those butane stoves that sell for $20. Butane is safer to use in a small indoor area than propane. Save your solar for LED lights, fans for ventilation, radios, and other electronics. I live off grid in Maine "most of the time"and this combo works well for me.
If you are looking for a solar kit, look into Harbor Freight's new 100w system. This is a major upgrade from their old 45w kits. They come with charge controller, wiring, mounting racks, and a couple LED lights, which you don't have to use. The instructions specify battery. Best of all, you can use them in combination, to go to 200w, 300w, etc. I have heard that the on-sale price runs about $150 for one kit, not including battery. Don't bother with the old 45w kits.
Electric heating consumes a lot of watts of power.
You could fill a 10'X10'X5' space with nothing but batteries and still not have enough Ampere-Hours of power to continuously heat that space for 3 days.
I am not saying that you should avoid solar power. My house is on solar power, I am totally in favor of solar power. There are appropriate uses for solar power, it is great for powering lighting, fans, communications, and laptops. It is not the appropriate form of energy for generating heat.
About the only way you will do it with solar is with the solar gain of a big glass window, like a greenhouse. Have some big black barrels to soak up the heat, cover the window with an insulated blanket when the sun goes down.
Buy a big propane fish cooker. Not only can you heat that space but you can cook as well.
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. There are also small oil drip heaters that are about $1000 and don't require electricity.
