# Frugal Energy > Hands-on tips from a home renewable energy setup, a frugal aquaponics system, and a backyard shanty build on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Frugal Energy is a personal tips site by Steve Dalton. It covers what he actually runs at home: renewable power on a budget, a backyard aquaponics system built from free finds and salvaged parts, and the shanty -- the simple first structure that makes everything else possible. The voice is first-person, practical, and aimed at cost-conscious DIY readers in Australia. The old frugal.energy address 301-redirects here. ## Start here - [Home](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/): Overview of the site and links into all three sections. - [Who am I](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/who-am-i/): About Steve Dalton, his background, and why he built the site. - [Contact](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/contact/): Send a message or correction. ## The Shanty The shanty is the first structure you build on any frugal project site -- just a roof, but it unlocks rainwater harvesting, solar panels, shade, and shelter. Steve's version is an eight-post skillion-roof structure with corrugated steel, built to cyclone code in South East Queensland. - [The shanty overview](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/shanty/): What a shanty is, the builder family history, and Steve's own build from micro-shanty to full structure. - [Building it](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/shanty/building-it/): Site prep, metal post stirrups, skillion roof, corrugated steel, and why to build bigger than you think. - [Water harvesting](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/shanty/water-harvesting/): Gutter at the low end of the skillion, IBC tanks, first flush, and how much water a roof can collect. - [Solar on the roof](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/shanty/solar-on-the-roof/): Mounting salvaged panels on corrugated steel, angle from the skillion slope, and wiring down to storage. - [What to do with it](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/shanty/what-to-do-with-it/): Shade, orange LED lighting against mosquitoes, propagation, worm farm, storage, and knock-off time. ## Renewable energy Frugal DC solar at home: salvaged panels, MPPT chargers, 24V batteries, and keeping everything off-grid without an inverter. - [Renewable energy overview](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/renewable-energy/): Where to start in the section. - [Panels](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/renewable-energy/panels/): Salvaged house panels and flexible panels when you buy new. - [MPPT charge controllers](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/renewable-energy/mppt/): Epever for the main bank, ATEM POWER for small projects. - [Batteries](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/renewable-energy/batteries/): LiFePO4, SLA, salvaged cells, and China all-in-one units. - [24V and keep DC](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/renewable-energy/system-design/): Run 24V, skip the inverter, stay below 50V. - [Electronics basics](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/renewable-energy/electronics-basics/): Ohm's law, voltage drop, DC cable quality and length, and an interactive slider demo. - [Outdoor connectors](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/renewable-energy/connectors/): Anderson plugs and MC4 solar connectors. - [Multimeter](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/renewable-energy/multimeter/): A good DMM and a Jarramali video with Tim. - [Small night systems](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/renewable-energy/night-power/): Separate DC bank and PD USB sockets after dark. ## Aquaponics Backyard aquaponics on the cheap: free and salvaged parts, secondhand finds, and Gold Coast / South East Queensland specifics where they matter. ### Read first - [Aquaponics overview](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/aquaponics/): What the section covers and where to start. - [Safety](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/aquaponics/safety/): Use at your own risk. Read before you scavenge, build, or put fish in. - [Get proper training](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/aquaponics/training/): Why forums are not enough and where to learn the fundamentals. ### About the system - [About my system](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/aquaponics/my-system/): Toteponics layout, solar power, jade perch, and lessons learned. - [What I grow](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/aquaponics/what-i-grow/): Vegetables and herbs that work in his setup. - [Podcast](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/aquaponics/media/): Steve's episode on worm farms and aquaponics on Legendary Lectures with Al Barnett (podcast site: https://legendarylecturespodcast.com). ### Sourcing and gear - [Sourcing guide](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/aquaponics/sourcing/): Facebook Marketplace, IBC totes, blue metal gravel, and rainwater. - [Where I get my fish](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/aquaponics/fish/): Local suppliers and what to ask for. - [The gear I use](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/aquaponics/gear/): Pumps, aeration, backup failsafe, and outdoor electronics. - [Consumables](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/aquaponics/consumables/): Fish food, pH buffers, and other ongoing supplies. ### Running the system - [How I run it](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/aquaponics/running/): Cycling, pH, mineralisation, feeding, maintenance, and an open source tracker for logging water tests. ### Around the garden - [Garden tasks and useful stuff](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/aquaponics/garden-tasks/): Propagation, native stingless bees, frog hotels from PVC pipe, and raised soil beds instead of outdoor wicking beds. ## Contact - [Contact form](https://frugalenergy.co.uk/contact/): Questions, tips, and corrections welcome. ## Optional - [Open source aquaponics tracker](https://bitbucket.org/refactor/aquaponics): Steve's home logging tool, designed as a replacement for the spreadsheet he started with.