# Emp and solar power



## remcbride (Nov 10, 2013)

Thinking man made emp. I'm living off grid, fhe emp event happens .. how much off the off grid solar power system is going to be useless, ( inverterters, chargers, and so on). What steps can be taken to protect what might be affected..


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

An EMP can be likened to a giant surge of radio energy. It basically burns out the micro electronics such as Intergrated Circuits in nearly all of today's electronics and computers. Some people feel solar panel equipment is robust enough to withstand the EMP. Others feel only the panels might survive but not the charge controllers. Here is a good site to read up on it and make your own decision. Personally, I keep a spare charge controller stashed in a Faraday cage.

Electromagnetic Pulse Protection - EMP - Futurescience.com


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## Old SF Guy (Dec 15, 2013)

youn must under stand several thing..a natural emp is a lower frequency emp than a nuke. it will affect transmission lines and much of the grid...where as nuclear emp is higher frequecy and will affect smaller electronics such as computers, SDR's and the like. The prep is simple...plan for no power other than local...and wrap every thing in aluminium or a faraday bag. you car could be fine or ****ed. get an 80's engine or car... emp is scoffed at,,,but also overdue



ok...my keyboard betrays me....damn you you esoteric obstacle.....


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## remcbride (Nov 10, 2013)

Paraquack thanks for that link.. made for a good read..


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

Charge controls stop a charge from going the wrong way, keep a battery from getting over charged, and keep the load some what steady...

you can build your own

Build a Solar Charge Controller - DIY - MOTHER EARTH NEWS


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## PalmettoTree (Jun 8, 2013)

Who messed up our EMP?


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

When discussing EMPs one must first realize that there are up to three components within an EMP.

A "solar" EMP contains two components. They are E2 and E3 components. What causes them is a geo-magnetic action that induces electrical energy in the same way a transformer induces a secondary current when a primary current is stopped within the transformer. Electrically charged particles from the sun affect the earth's magnetic field, causing it to twist and break some of the "lines of magnetic force". That action is like cutting the power to the primary coil of a transformer and the secondary coil which consists of long power lines and large coils of wire on the earths surface then get an induced current that produces excess amperage in the lines. The increased current can overload the power generation equipment and the transformers in the system. They get hot and burn up. The E2 pulse has a high enough frequency to affect smaller (still very large) transformers like the ones on the power poles along your street. The E2 pulse lasts for a relatively short time and has a moderate power "rise time" so most of it is filtered out before it gets to your home. It most frequently causes local brown-outs or power failure. The E3 pulse is a slower pulse that lasts longer and affects only long power lines producing a gradual build up of current that rises slowly but increases to a much larger value. The giga-amps that are produced can burn the wires themselves or be fed into the larger transformers and power generation equipment to burn them up. These devices take longer to build replacements and longer to remove and replace so this can cause decades of power loss because of the large scale of failure. Even so, your home will have little effect from these two causes. You might lose some electrical or electronic equipment if it is plugged in and operating during the event. Most likely the problem will be a blackout that just shuts off the power to very wide areas of the planet - focused mostly on the northern or southern hemispher but rarely both hemispheres. (it is possible but unlikely)

The EMP produced when a nuclear device is detonated 30 or more miles from the ground also produces the E2 and E3 pulses but on a scale that is more determined by its altitude above the target. It also produces a very fast "rise time" short lived pulse that is called E1. The E1 pulse doesn't affect long wires or transformers at all but it does induce very large voltages in very small semiconductors. Basically it will simply turn on and over-power the electronics in any device that is not protected within a uhf shield designed to shunt the power around an object faster that it can penetrate the shield. (even unplugged but unprotected electronics) The E1 pulse only affects the electronics within your toys and appliances without causing any harm to larger devices like motors, batteries or generator equipment. 

Steel, zinc, and lead have enough resistance that the E1 pulse will penetrate the enclosure before it can travel around it. That is why steel makes a poor protection against an E1 pulse. The best conductors should be used with multiple layers of protection to avoide damage to the electronics. Silver, copper, gold and aluminum are excellent shield materials. Aluminum is the least expensive and when used in triple laters with isulation between the layers it can be 99.5% effective in protecting semiconductors from an E1 pulse.

Since solar panels are a collection of diodes that are unprotected from UHF they will likely be useless after hit with an E1 pulse.

The bottom line is that the chances are that solar events won't hurt the stuff in your home but without extra shielding a high altitude nuclear detonation will destroy or cripple all the unprotected electronics in a wide area.


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