After the inherited CAT battery finally failed we bought two new mid size 6 volt deep cycle batteries, wired in series for the 12 volt system, added a small charge controller and continued on with our limited loads until their demise about 5 years later. They had started to show their weakness during the last year, and clearly were abused by the deep draw down of winter.
When we upgraded our pump system we added the older panels to the house for an array of approximately 200 watts, and then upgraded to two larger capacity 6 volt batteries. which worked well for their average rated life span of 7 years, by then we were using more lights, and had acquired a turntable (with a preamp to drive it through he auxiliary input of the boombox), both of which I converted to 12 volt DC with transformer-ectomies. When these batteries needed replacement we again upgraded to a higher capacity, ‘premium’ set, anticipating a longer life yet.
Over the years our lighting evolved, we used several 0.7 watt 12VDC multi-Light emitting diode (LED) “bulbs” for after dark navigation. A big breakthrough in illumination was a 4.3 watt 99 LED spot light in the kitchen. before the industry really changed over to sophisticated LED bulbs We had a hodge podge of task oriented lights, a few old automotive brake lamps, a couple of 12 volt halogen’s, and 1 compact fluorescent. Low wattage LED technology has helped us weather the dark days of winter without abusing our batteries too much, but as time passes, other technologies have caught up with us too.
We lived without a phone in the house for 15 years, as the cellphone industry grew around us, our Mothers both lobbied for telephonic potential. We got connected with a phone, which of course requires energy to maintain. (For electromagnetic safety, we take the precaution of using an old style handset plugged into the phone). the phone battery is still holding after almost six years, but the numbers are wearing off the buttons.
Several years ago we were given a portable DVD player with a 7” screen. We have always been movie fans, and had spent a lot of time in our local movie theatre, hardly an energy efficient operation, local meant 30 miles round trip. so we put heavy use on the new device, and being cheaply made, it failed after 2 years. by then we were hooked and got a 9” model to replace it, which again, after a useful, but all to brief life, died. the problem was the small player’s mechanics. The next upgrade was huge: By then we had acquired a 25 watt stereo amp to power 2 small heavy donated studio monitor speakers, this is an AC device, so I added a 300 watt inverter. This made other AC loads possible, our entertainment upgrade came as a 16” LED HDTV and a separate DVD player, which combined, used 35 watts 120 AC. when the sound system is used for movies, it becomes a 60 watt+ experience. although used in smal doses of a couple of hours at a time, it is our largest load.
At this point it was clear that adding loads meant we should add some power, I found an inexpensive 55 watt panel, to create a 250 watt PV array. And then THE COMPUTER! came!