Living 12 Volt DC

Your car is transportation, but it is even more than that, it is a power system.

There is a 12 volt direct current (DC) battery that starts the car. The car, in turn drives an alternator that keeps the battery charged. The power from the battery runs the lights, the heater, the air conditioner. It can be used for much more. 

Per Wikipedia: In the United States, cigarette lighters started appearing in 1925-1926 in some models. They were a standard feature by the 1950s.

Take out the burner element and you have a power socket. Now, the burner is no longer standard, but the socket remains. This was in trucks as well as cars, so small appliances began to be created that made use of that 12 volt DC socket.

Some of the devices you can easily purchase today to use that power:

• Lights.

• Fans

• Heaters

• Hot beverage cups

• Defrosters

• Electric Blankets

• Televisions

• Refrigerators (small ones)

• Air pumps and compressors

• Crock pots

• Rice Cookers

• Frying pans

• Portable ovens

• Laptop computers

• Dash cam cameras

• Wireless phones

• Medical equipment

• Inverters that can change the 12 volt d.c. to 120 volt A.C. that will power most small devices you use in your home!

The point of this catalog is that if you have a 12 volt power supply, you can easily run a subset of your powered world.

If you just only stay in a vehicle, and you run it often enough to keep the battery charged, then you have options.

You can also become portable by buying (or building) a power supply. They are sold by many companies and are made for a wide range of voltages and uses. And prices. Like most new technologies they were VERY expensive in the beginning. With acceptance and competition the prices are coming down. 

Basically they are a box with batteries in them, frequently Lithium. They include a charge controller to allow Solar Panels to be used to charge the battery. They include an inverter to convert electricity to the U.S. household standard 117/120 volt Alternating Current (AC). They also usually have a variety of power sockets including the 12 volt socket and USB sockets for charging devices. They can be charged by Solar, using a car power socket, or plugged into a standard household outlet.

Basically, if you have the correct type of solar panels and one of these power supplies. You are set to have small appliances and other electrical devices wherever you are (as long as you have enough sun to keep it charged, but they can also use small Wind Generators as well)