Lowtech Graph lists low-tech options for every need of a home. Here you can compare them, find tutorials to build them, and link them together into a circular system. Why low-tech?

Distribution & circuit safety

Getting the electricity from where it is made to what uses it, safely. It is also where the house decides what happens in a power cut: a circuit that runs straight off the batteries keeps working when the inverter does not. The options differ in what they convert and in what survives a failure.

Solutions

• Dual-bus wiring (DC essentials + AC general): Two separate electrical circuits in the house: one running essentials such as lights and a fridge straight from batteries, the other running everything else thr
• Inverter (DC to AC): A box of electronics that turns the direct current from batteries or solar panels into the alternating current ordinary sockets and appliances use. It lets a so
• Direct solar power (battery-free direct-PV supply): Solar panels wired straight to devices, with no battery or inverter in between. Things run while the sun shines, so tasks that can wait, such as pumping water,
• Solar power diverter / router (surplus-PV to resistive load): A small controller that watches how much solar power is being sent to the grid and diverts the surplus to a water heater instead. Electricity that would have be