If we are to do more than recharge an occasional flashlight or cell phone with backup power, it must be installed with transfer switches, adequate wiring and other safety features.

Backup Power

Transfer Switch

Backup power must be brought to equipment, from laptop computer cell phone chargers to lights and propane or pellet stove heaters. Do we want to prop doors open in a blizzard for extension cords? No!

We can't use house wiring to bring power to loads without disconnecting utility lines-feeding power onto dead lines is unsafe (it can electrocute linemen), illegal, and powering neighbors overloads our system. To use house wiring, install a transfer switch at the service entrance; with it in normal position, utility power reaches house wiring; with it in backup position utility lines are disconnected with backup power on house wiring.

An alternative is additional wiring and outlets installed before needing backup power, although codes require a labeled outside disconnect and labeling of backup or solar outlets.

Ampacity

Small diameter wires overheat and can trigger fires with high currents, and undersized wires drop voltage to trigger low-voltage inverter dropout. Currents in solar systems can be high-a 2400-watt inverter draws 200 amps at 12 volts while giving 20 amps at 120 volts. Reducing currents is one reason many use higher battery voltages like 24 or 48 volts. Further, voltage drop is reduced if wires-particularly battery cables to inverters-are short.

Consult a wire ampacity table or electrician for wire sizes for wiring and battery cables. As a rule of thumb, 14AWG for 15 amps or less, 12AWG for 20 amps, 10AWG for 30 amps AC, and DC battery cables from 2AWG to 00AWG depending on battery voltage and inverter.

Use copper, not aluminum or copperweld (copper-plated aluminum), wiring because aluminum requires larger diameter wire and copper avoids oxidation and ductile flow issues at connections.

Think Safety

Batteries provide high enough current to melt small wires or start fires. Series-connected batteries and series-connected panels can provide deadly voltage. Further, many common switches and circuit breakers are rated for AC only, not DC, and may not interrupt DC arcs; find DC-rated devices whenever possible. Follow precautions:

. Use ground-fault interrupters on inverter outputs that feed outdoors or in potentially wet areas like garages, kitchens and bathrooms.

. Connect panels to charge controllers through breakers, fuses, or switches, and disconnect panels when working on systems.

. Use battery-disconnect switches.

. I've had an inverter burn at turn on. Inverters must connect through fuses (some inverters have fuses) to batteries.

. When turning on systems, connect batteries to charge controllers before connecting panels to charge controllers.

. Monoxide kills: Never run portable generators indoors or in an open, attached, garage.

WuFlu News

Database and Vaccine Passports

Colorado vaccination database, (https://ciis.state.co.us/public/Application/PublicPortal/ImmunizationRecord) links to a myColorado app for cell phones along with driver's licenses, fishing (but not hunt & fish or hunting) licenses and vehicle registrations. This app might become a vaccine passport.

Boosters Delta and Mu

Two top FDA officials in charge of vaccine approvals quit in protest over administration “booster” pressure last week, as concerns were overridden to grant Pfizer vaccine full approval and approve booster shots for “immunocompromised.” Biden's handlers continue pushing boosters for all supposedly to stimulate antibodies for Delta against which vaccine-stimulated antibodies fail. Vaccines also fail against coming Lambda/Chile and Mu/Columbia variants. Mu/Columbia variant is now in Los Angeles, courtesy of porous borders.

Mask Mandates

Studies of masks in schools show ZERO effectiveness at reducing viral spread, while plexiglass barriers INCREASE viral spread by slowing ventilation. This virus is small and airborne, not carried exclusively on droplets. Cloth masks trap nothing, medical masks about 10 percent, and N95 masks about 50 percent of virus from wearers.

Treatments

Florida's antibody-infusion treatment centers show good results.

As Pfizer began phase-2 tests an oral antiviral WuFlu drug, the FDA and AMA railed against Ivermectin despite some evidence showing it works, see ivmmeta.com, for both early (pre-hospital) treatment and post-known-exposure prophylaxis. Consult a physician before using ivermectin. Be careful with veterinary ivermectin as human doses are body-weight dependent and far smaller than horse doses, a single-dose tube for horses may be 5-10 human adult doses.

Counts

Sept. 7, 2021, 11PM 221,895,017 infected (4,585,792 dead). U.S. 40,280,001 (650,511 dead); India > 33.06 million; Brazil > 20.74 million, Delta in the last 28 days, 4.2 million in U.S., 1 million in India, 957K in Iran, 928K in UK. Colorado 629,259 (7,524 dead) most new cases are India/Delta with Delta AY.2 beginning to supplant Delta B.1.617.2. Fremont County 6,950 (state), Fremont County shows 6,847, 3,618 in community, 3,229 in prisons, five in hospital, 71 dead. Neighbors Chaffee 1,970, Custer 264, El Paso 84,593, Park 1060, Pueblo 21,203, and Teller 2,167.