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Living Energy Lights

posted 3 years ago

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Living Energy Lights is a business venture based in Louisa, Virginia, USA, operated by the ecologically-minded intentional community Living Energy Farm. (And yes, some of their community's members are here on permies.com!) Living Energy Lights products are centered around complete decentralized DC micro-grid electric power solutions which are perfect for cabins, homesteads and small communities.

Their "Iron Sun" series are complete solar systems. They are inexpensive, virtually maintenance free 12V Nickel-Iron battery (NiFe) systems which can last decades longer than other systems, complete with solar panel, battery, LED lighting, wiring, switches, etc. which are capable of powering USB devices, charging cell phones and laptops, running small DC fans, or standard car "cigarette lighter" outlet devices.

Living Energy Farm is also a proponent of "Daylight Drive" aka "Direct Drive" systems, which are battery free and powered when the sun shines with $0 power bill. LEL sells Amish-made SunStar direct drive solar refrigerators, which require no batteries; they can be powered directly from PV panels.

The following video isn't from LEL, but does show Geoff Lawton discussing the ethics and longevity of NiFe batteries:

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john mcginnis

Posts: 315

posted 3 years ago

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Love NiFe batteries. They last forever and have a forgiving maintenance requirement. But they have to be matched to your application. They have a lower discharge rate than LiOn, and are quite heavy in comparison. But that service life, nothing beats it.

Nick Mason

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Location: Devon UK

posted 3 years ago

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Is it possible to replace Lead/Acid Gel batteries with NiFe units?
I have a storage system using 16 x 4 volt lead/acid gel units which are charged from a solar PV array. These supply our overnight requirements and any day time usage is only limited by sun shine availability. Any excess power is fed into the National Grid system, once batteries are fully charged.
The current batteries are registering 90% efficiency after 6 years of constant use, so some deterioration which will eventually require replacement of the units. The NiFE units sound as if they could have a much longer working life so I am hoping to substitute an equivalent NiFe storage facility for the existing units.
Is there anything which could prevent/upset the substitution? Anything to be warned about?
Many thanks in anticipation of advice given.

George Yacus

pollinator

Posts: 553

Location: Mid-Atlantic, USDA zone 7

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posted 3 years ago

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It looks like folks have replaced some lead acid batteries with NiFe, like Dave over here on this thread:

https://permies.com/p/282285

Dave on another thread wrote:I replaced a 1400 amp lead acid bank with a 500 amp NiFe and we are using our genset about a quarter as much as the previous owners and our family is 3 times the size. Like I said I'll not be going back to lead batteries, this seems to be a perfect application for the NiFe technology.

Grid tie is great! But I can't speak to grid-tie battery systems or swaps, sadly. But that thread covers NiFe in more detail, though, and there may be some good gems and knowledge nuggets. So great question, and if you find the answer come on back and let us know!

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Mart Hale

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posted 11 months ago

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I took some nichrome wire and wrapped it around a ceramic tile, then put it in the bottom of my insulated coleman oven.

I am now hitting over 250 degrees on a cloudy day.

Nichrome wire is hooked directly to solar panels.

Time to bake cookies! ;-)

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Life on a farm is a school of patience; you can't hurry the crops or make an ox in two days.
Henri Alain

Mart Hale

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posted 11 months ago

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I am now using the extra solar to run these dump loads. I have two burners each of them has 2 gal of water in the pots...... I have been using the extra hot water for cleaning dishes, got a dirty dish that is stainless? Pour boiling hot water into that mess and watch that dirty pan get clean quick..... As I thought about this, I can now take the hot water and dump it into my instant pot, or, my pressure cooker and start at near boiling water for when I cook in them...... I am thinking that I could dump this hot water into my dish washer and save the energy needed to heat the water to run the dish washer thus saving energy in my batteries.....

Direct solar takes a bit to setup but there are some advantages once you get over the learning curve.

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Life on a farm is a school of patience; you can't hurry the crops or make an ox in two days.
Henri Alain

I agree. Here's the link: https://woodheat.net