Fire Station App for iOS

Fire Station App for iPhone/iPad locates and maps fire stations in CA! It's available in the App Store. Like us on FB at www.facebook.com/FireStationApp

Available on the App Store · http://www.firestationapp.com

Solar Power for Emergency Preparedness

Solar Power for Emergency Preparedness:

Being CERT-trained, we all have a better appreciation for being prepared for the unexpected.  We all know to store food and water and medical supplies to get us thru the first few critical days following a disaster, but have you thought about storing electricity?

As we have seen in the news recently, it is often the extended duration of power outages that can cause the most distress and inconvenience.  Some folks have generators, but it’s not the most efficient use of potentially scarce gasoline to burn fuel to run a few lamps or charge a phone.

Those that know me know are never surprised to find that I’ve added another  new technology/gadget/tool to my inventory.  Allow me to introduce Goal Zero. I have been keeping an eye on portable solar technology for some time, watching it mature and become more affordable.  Goal Zero is a Utah-based company that truly embraces the ethos of living off the grid but still using all our personal technology.

  This is the Lighthouse lantern.  It has a built-in battery that can be charged by AC adapter, car 12V, hand crank, or solar panel.  Here it is shown recharging from the Nomad 7 portable solar panel.

Besides providing six hours of light with a fully charged battery, the Lighthouse has a USB plug (how cool is that!)  The battery is, as shown here, strong enough to charge an iPhone.

Here is the Nomad 7 solar panel.  This panel generates 7W of power and also has its own USB plug that you can plug your smartphone into and charge directly from the sun.  This panel requires direct sun for best performance.

Here is the Goal Zero Escape 150 kit.  The Escape 150 is the tall unit that looks like a Thermos bottle.  It contains a large lead-acid battery (150 W-hrs) that can be charged from an AC adapter, car 12V or from the sun.  The panel generates 15W of power, uses more advanced solar cells and is completely weatherproof.  I have been using the panel indoors to keep the Escape 150 fully charged and it charges in a wider range of lighting conditions than the Nomad 7.

Here you can see what the Escape 150 is great at doing, providing you a 110V electrical outlet wherever you need it!  Besides the 110 AC outlet, there is also a USB plug.  Here you see that I am charging my iPad using the AC adapter.  This unit can also power a laptop too.

In this photo, I have some Goal Zero LED lanterns plugged into the Escape 150.  These lanterns put out a lot of light and you can daisy chain up to eight lights.

As you can see, these items can be useful in so many ways outside of a disaster scenario.  Goal Zero items can be found at Costco (only when they have a show), REI and Amazon.