Build It Solar has a great DIY article about an easy solar hot water heater (a thermosyphon system) made by a resident of Costa Rica named Peter. Peter wanted to build a simple, rugged, inexpensive system to provide hot water for showers: Like most houses in Costa Rica, our casita in Monteverde had no hot water. Our two showers were fitted with electric shower heads. At … [Read more...]
Is there a thermoelectric generator in your future?
Imagine: you wake in the morning, light your wood stove, and place a kettle on it to boil. After a few minutes, when the water has boiled and you’ve fixed your tea, you reach down and plug your radio into the stove. How is this possible? Your stove has no moving parts…yet it can generate electricity from the heat of the fire. This may sound like science fiction, but … [Read more...]
A shipping container home grows in Brooklyn
While preparing a series on the pros and cons of building shipping container homes, this cheerful video from May 2013 caught my attention. Michele Bertomen and David Boyle owned an empty lot in Brooklyn, NY, and found themselves unable to afford a regular home. When they priced the masonry envelope (the building structure without utilities or anything else), bids came back … [Read more...]
DIY Solar Panel Kits from Silicon Solar
DIY solar panel kits are specifically designed for home do-it-yourselfers, experimenters, students and anyone interested in learning about solar power from the ground up. If you’re one of those people who learns best by doing, or just loves tinkering around with things and putting them together, a DIY solar panel kit is one of the best, most exciting and most fulfilling ways to … [Read more...]
MaxPower CS6X Solar Panels
In an interesting development from DNM Solar, the new MaxPower CS6X 300 watt model has been introduced. The MaxPower CS6X is a robust solar panel with 72 solar cells, and the noteworthy feature with these modules is the darker blue silicon material they use that absorbs more light. As everyone knows, the darker the material, the more light absorbed. It is kind of strange that … [Read more...]
New Solar Garden Lights
A tree looms mysteriously. Moonlight plays across the textures of a flowerbed. A wall or path is stretches into the darkness. There is magic and beauty in the night garden – even more so when you add solar powered garden lights. Solar power garden lights offer a terrific set-it-and-forget-it appeal, and these lights are transforming the way we think of light. Well-designed … [Read more...]
Small wind power: your checklist before buying
You no longer have to live in a remote location for wind energy to work for you. Thanks to major improvements in technology and a general awareness of the benefits of making your own energy from clean and free wind, small wind power is going mainstream. According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), the US small wind market grew by 78% last year with many new … [Read more...]
Clip On Wind Turbine
Cleantec Wind has started an interesting Indiegogo campaign for their small wind generator designed to be clipped onto solar panels. Cleantec’s strategy is to place horizontal, lightweight, narrow-profile wind generators along the top edges of solar panels that can catch the hot, turbulent air from the solar array beneath it. Cleantec Wind offers several rewards to those who … [Read more...]
Wholesale Solar
If you’re looking for good deals on solar energy, the very best we have found is from Wholesale Solar. Here’s how to get started with designing a new renewable energy system using their online tools. The first step is to examine your energy use today. Where can you conserve? If you can lower your energy usage, you won’t have to spend as much on oyur solar PV system. Many … [Read more...]
RV solar power kit – not just for an RV anymore
Sometimes we have to look at the world and our situation differently to see the real value of things – like this RV solar power kit from UL Solar. It's not only for an RV. We started to consider these kits as a backup power systems for all of our vehicles and thought we had a new idea. It turns out that UL Solar has been thinking this for years. RV solar kits are a great … [Read more...]