Senior citizens aren’t missing the boat with solar generators – they are buying them too.

I know this because in the reviews are people who say they are seniors and find them useful for many reasons. I will try to list all of the reasons that I have read about from reviews of solar generators.

1. CPAP machines.  Rather than trust that their CPAP is going to work all night from the regular outlet, they buy a solar generator and use it as a battery in case the main electrical power fails. At night when they are sleeping if the power fails the solar generator goes to work and continues to provide power to their CPAP machine. They don’t get woken up and they can continue sleeping not realizing that the power may have gone out.
2. Oxygen machines. Some oxygen machines also need power and have a battery for a short power outage. By connecting it to a solar generator they get even more battery life, and if that is connected to a solar panel they can survive indefinitely depending on sufficient solar panels.
3. Fridge. Some medicines needs to be refrigerated and even a small cooler/freezer that I spoke about before can easily protect that fragile medicine. This use is a great emergency preparation for everyone. If I owned a house I would already own this.
4. Known power outages. Some people live where the electricity is not stable. Or they might be concerned that their quality of life will suffer while those power outages occur. A big enough solar generator and battery and those issues will never happen again.

You don’t have to be young, an outdoor person or a crazy survivalist to get a solar generator. You can be an environmentalist or hate nature and just want to save money. I can’t imagine a scenario where a solar generator doesn’t come in handy.

Making solar power work for you is not only smart but easier than ever. I can’t understand anyone who isn’t excited by free energy. Yes it is free once you make an inital investment.

It just occurred to me that many kids would enjoy making their own electricity and it would be a safe and educational activity for them to do. Here is how I would approach this.

I would talk to the child and ask them if they would like to make their own electricity. This might not appeal to everyone, and that is ok everyone is different. If the kid sounds interested then I would go forward. If they don’t sound interested then leave it alone. You can’t convince someone to be interested in something. It has to develop naturally.

I would then involve them in the process. I would say you have a budget of $500 and you need to buy both a solar generator and a solar panel. Research what you want and I’ll see if that is a good fit. Part of what makes a hobby exciting is being able to figure things out. If they fizzle at this stage then they really weren’t interested in it. If they continue, then you know they will really work this project.

Once they find a system that you think will work, just verify that it is 12 volts. Many children’s toys are higher voltage than 12 volts and there is no danger in this voltage. There is danger at 42 volts and above, so I would never suggest buying even a 24/48 volt system for a child. Verify as well that the company is established and has a good history of customer service. I would pay more to get these items since you will waste your money if you don’t.

Then once the equipment arrived I would tell the child that I am here as a resource if they need any help. Most solar systems are straight forward and the risk is minimal. I would go over common sense things like don’t stick a fork in the AC outlet, things they should know already but just double check. Then once they got it setup I would look it over and ask the child if they were open to any ideas on how to make it better. Also compliment what they have already accomplished and show them their hard work payed off by learning something new.

You can nurture and encourage children to have safe habits by modeling those yourself. Perhaps you can buy them a white lab coat and safety glasses and a hardhat. It will make them feel they are doing something great which they are. Give kids the tools to be more than just an ipad touching idiot. Give them the ability to have experiences and memories.

Don’t worry about if they get shocked. I got shocked many times and it never affected me. Well there is some disagreement on that by those who know me, but being shocked while unpleasant is not life threatening. Plus it is better to be shocked by 12 volts than AC. It is little more than a 9 volt battery and won’t do any harm.

Encourage your budding scientists. We need all of the intelligence we can get in the future.