A programmer from Ukraine told how to build a completely autonomous bunker, in which you can even grow vegetables and fish

Ukraine has faced many terrible trials this year. But the country is also going through a unique experience - not only in military terms. Andrey Podanenko, IT Architect and CEO at ITCare.LLC, shared his personal experience of how he, with the help of available technologies, is preparing to survive this winter with his large family, reports DOU.

Photo: IStock

Probably, according to Andriy, this winter is one of the most difficult for independent Ukraine. And the point here is not only, he says, that the Russians continue to destroy the country's energy infrastructure, but also that the majority of IT specialists work with foreign partners, and being “out of touch” is equal to violating communication agreements, endangering their own business and business partners.

On the subject: Everyone can donate a generator or money for it to Ukrainians: how to do it through trusted organizations

Andrei says that if you clearly answer the question of what to do to survive this winter, then several points should be highlighted:

• security, food and shelter;
• comfort and warmth;
• electricity and food;
• uninterrupted internet.

Personal safety

The first thing Andrei faced during the Russian invasion was the loss of his home. After all, it was necessary to save a family with three small children. “It’s a little calmer in the west of Ukraine, but you can’t feel completely safe here either. Attacks on energy infrastructure, air raids, power outages,” says Andrey. “That’s why the first thing I took on was building my own house with a reliable bomb shelter.”

The main criteria for choosing a location for Andrey were: the relative safety of the region, remoteness from critical infrastructure, which is the main target of the Russians, relative proximity to kindergartens / schools (with a reliable bomb shelter), grocery stores and supermarkets, post office.

You can see more details about the smart-home project that Andrey is building for his family right now here. It will be an independent building with all necessary communications: water from a well; solar panels, generators, solid and liquid fuel fireplaces.

“Of course, the most important thing is that the house is safe and the bomb shelter can withstand terrorist attacks by the Russians, and that there is also an adequate supply of food and drinking water,” says Andrei.

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Own well is a must have, he believes. The same goes for food. A sufficient supply of canned food, dry rations, food in sealed packaging. He also considers the so-called aquaponics, which he was engaged in back in Kyiv, and which allow growing fresh vegetables and fruits even in basements, to be the idea of ​​the future. And even fish!

Building on open source

House is built from SIP panels, because it is fast and economical, as Andrey says. Most of all, he pays attention to the bomb shelter near the house. It has a strong foundation and walls. There are 2 exits, ventilation and everything you need to stay there for several days if necessary.

The bomb shelter is an underground one-room apartment designed for a family of 2-3 adults and 3 children. Also, the idea is that this room can be used in civilian life, as Andrei explains. It can be quite a normal guest underground house or office.

“Of course, I cannot tell all the details about the house, since it is not yet completed, construction is in progress. But there is already a plan and work is in full swing,” he says.

An essential part of the process of planning and building a bomb shelter is open source.

“I think that the bunker should be in the public domain, given the kind of enemies we are dealing with from Russia and Belarus. If anyone wants to repeat it, success in implementation. I am ready to share knowledge and experience,” says Andrey.

For the walls, he used mold blocks. The cavities are filled with concrete. 4 rows of mold blocks is 1 concrete mixer.

“This is massive,” he says. “But this is how a bomb shelter should be.”

Alternative nutrition

Comfort and warmth are important, especially when young children are at home. Winter is ahead, so it will not be superfluous to insulate the facade of a house or apartment, according to Andrey. This will help to keep warm and save money spent on heating the room.

Since all equipment, and not just light, runs on electricity, the point of electricity and power is important here. “The Russians are actively bombing our infrastructure because their goal is to deprive us of light and heat, as well as communications with the outside world. But if each house operates autonomously, then Russia will not succeed. This is a war of survival,” says Andrey.

There are several simple and reliable options for providing electricity:

• accumulators;
• hybrid inverters;
• solar panels;
• wind generators;
• generators for liquid or gas fuel.

“If you consider my personal experience, then for those who live in apartments, this will probably be of little help, although some conclusions can be drawn. But for those who live in private houses, this information will be useful,” he says.

He and his family now live in a private house, where the light is turned off 1 to 3 times a day for 4 hours or more. Andrei believes that this problem will not be solved quickly.

That is why he decided not to wait and follow the path of his own experience in building an autonomous solar system.

He settled on the following steps:

• purchased 4600W panels;
• 2 inverters taken from reserves (5Kw Voltronic King clone, and 2Kw Voltronic 2kW PWM clone);
• the start took place on ordinary car lead batteries with a capacity of 192 + 192 + 140 + 140Ah (this is dangerous);
• later he added 8+5kW (180+100Ah) #lifepo4 kits that he bought before the full scale war with the Russians, and now only assembled with #jkbms.

You can see all the details in the corresponding videos. here.

Also, as Andrei says, a daily morning routine was added - to go to the panels in the morning and clean them of snow. To make it easier to clean the panels and to maximize generation in the winter, he placed them in the yard at an angle of 70°.

“Since we are going to have solar systems on the roof, easy access is a must. This will be a stepladder for safety and maintenance. So we will need a small door from the second floor balcony to allow easy access down the stairs, as well as a railing at the top of the stairs for safe access to the roof,” he says.

He also had an attempt to install a wind turbine. But, unfortunately, as Andrei says, it was not successful, because the windmill did not generate more than 240 watts.

Now the family is provided with electricity thanks to solar panels, generators and batteries, which from time to time can be recharged from a regular network (when electricity is supplied centrally). To understand when and how to turn on devices that consume a lot of electricity, Andrey monitors all this using metrics.

Internet

Blackouts can be anywhere, with anyone, at any time. That is why Andrey advises not to hesitate and purchase Starlink, or an alternative option: satellite Internet from Datagroup (he needs 30-80 OAO power supply from electricity to work).

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“Always being online is the main thing in the business of IT specialists, so large, small, and medium-sized companies are doing everything to continue to live, work, create new jobs, attract foreign investors and partners for cooperation, and donate on our army,” says Andrey. “Now the main thing is to survive and survive the winter, and then victory is just around the corner!” We believe in this and support the Armed Forces of Ukraine!”

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