![]() ![]() There are countless manufacturers, sizes, and wattage of solar panels available. There are 3 ingredients needed for a basic 12 volt solar power setup: I simply wanted a system that would keep my sump pit empty, and provide some options for a little 12 volt backup power if needed. Plus, who doesn’t love a backup source of electricity in general! I did not set out to create an entire backup power grid for the house. A small solar panel would work as a fine trickle-charger, and does not require or otherwise have anything to do with the main electrical service. So I decided on a solution that involved a pretty large battery and a passive, regular source of power to recharge it. But I began to fixate on, “Yea, but for how long really?”īackup Sump Pump System w/ Electric Charger A large battery can run a small backup pump for quite some time. This is a solid option, and it’s a rather affordable and effective solution. There are a few store-bought solutions out there, usually along the lines of a backup pump and battery system that stay plugged into a trickle-charger at all times. I needed a backup pump, and a source of power that would not be interrupted by a municipal power outage. So the first step is understanding the problem at hand: How can I ensure that my sump pit will not overflow if the municipal power goes out or the pump breaks, and I’m not here to deal with it? Like any appliance, they have a finite functional lifetime, and then they stop working one day. And even if power doesn’t go out, sump pumps break. To put it mildly, the consequences could be disastrous, and I seriously implore anybody with a sump pump to consider this as well. I’d really rather not see all my supplies and hard work get destroyed over the course of a few hours due to my own failure to prepare. I’ve got an awful lot of stuff in that basement, not to mention rooms I’ve built. If I’m unable to start my generator during a sustained rainstorm in which my main power was knocked out, it wouldn’t take but a couple hours before my basement starts to flood. The sump pump in my basement is another story.Īnybody who owns a home with a sump pump and has lost power during a heavy rainstorm knows how quickly a sump pit can fill up and begin to overflow. There wouldn’t be any permanent consequences if that happened. ![]() It would be a big loss, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world. But what if I’m not at home? What if I’m out of town, on a hunting or camping trip, and a big storm knocks out the power? Well, I can replace the food in the fridge and freezers if I had to. If the power goes out, I can fire up the generator. While I have contingencies for most things, many of them require me to physically be here at this house. I think, “What problems will I have if the tap water stops flowing? What happens if the furnace breaks? What happens if the power goes out?” It’s been a significant driving force behind my inclination towards prepping. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what problems I’d have if basic services and/or utilities were to suddenly stop working. How I built a Solar-Power Electricity Backup and Sump Pump System ![]()
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