I thought electricity generation was complicated until my neighbour built his own

We suffered power blackouts last rainy season here in South Africa. These blackouts continued for some days, even if not weeks. This phenomenon has happened before, but on this occasion, the whole street went black for days on end. In reaction, people grumbled, bought candles and mobile phone charging devices. 

Not so with my neighbour. Instead, he bought a couple of small solar panels for Electricity Generation, fixed them onto his roof, then routed cables into the garage where he connected a car battery to an inverter. It looked somewhat cumbersome, but if it helped power his house, he didn’t really mind. 

From my balcony, I watched him as he assembled the equipment. In the beginning, we found it amusing. Knowing that the solar panels looked somewhat modest, I believed they would only manage to power a light bulb. As if on cue, electricity was restored two days after he finished work, so he had not really tested the device. 

He left it on the roof though. One would never know! Another downpour commenced, bringing a recurrence of the power cuts. Remarkably, my neighbour’s house remained illuminated, whereas the whole street had no lights. 

I don’t know about the appliances he could power, but he was surely in a position to use lights to see inside the “ark,” recharge his phone and even watch television, given the sound from his apartment. 

A few days later, I spoke with my neighbour to find out exactly what he had done. He informed me that it was fairly straightforward, and invited me to inspect the rig. He stated that he had learned the fundamentals through watching instructional videos. When he tried it, it was effective (I’m still watching it, and I don’t understand jack, and now I’m left with the panels i bought from Alibaba still on the way). 

Undertaking my own DIY project, and I hope to have the same success. Dealing with these endless blackouts can be a cause for considerable frustration. What’s your opinion?