Sunday 26 July 2009

Cross-Tied-Battery-Bank


In larger battery banks, where you have multiple series – parallel strings of batteries, you run the risk of some batteries getting more “depleated” than others, and this degrades your pack performance.

A simple way to reduce this effect is to cross-tie your batteries. This is a not often used but important method of getting extreme life out of your expensive batteries.

See above diagram for details of Cross-Tied-Battery-Bank

The dotted lines show the cross tie cables. It’s also important to make sure your cables are large enough so that you are not losing power as heat through resistance.

If you have caps on your batteries, not maintenance free, check the water levels once a month and top them off during charging. Do not overflow.

Friday 17 July 2009

Breaking-News-Eco-Friendly-Couple-Go-Shopping-On-Horseback


Video Link: (Source STV) CLICK HERE

An eco-mad Aberdeenshire couple have swapped their hatchback for horseback when embarking on their weekly shopping trips.

Green-thinking Joyce Youngson-Lamb and her husband Geoff now embark on a scenic two hour horse ride to pick up their groceries – when it only takes ten minutes by car.

But the environmentally aware pair insist the eight mile round trip to Ballater that involves crossing the River Dee is no big deal.

Joyce said: “Shopping on horseback is under-rated. It’s the perfect way to multi-task and today’s modern woman has to do exactly that to keep up!

“I like to trot along to the shops with my husband and our two horses. It gives us fresh air and exercise and we’re able to support the local community”.

Geoff added: “I’m an environmentalist, so I like doing things the hard way. Environmental living is about being difficult and it’s never the most economical or the most profitable”.

Their journey is made possible by following the old Deeside Railway line which has been closed since the 1960s.

And recent repairs to some of the bridges mean horses can now go along the picturesque route

Joyce said: “Prior to that it was pedestrian and cyclists only and with us having half a tonne of horse each, we needed to know the bridges were safe”.

Their shopping list is chosen with extreme care. After all – there is only so much they can carry back.

Joyce added: “Some things suit horse shopping better than others. For instance - our steak. If you think it’s tender when you get it, by the time you get it back on the horse, it’s absolutely super-dooper tender.

“Gin and tonic is a bit heavy but we can usually manage. Eggs though are a definite no, no”.

Thursday 16 July 2009

Breaking-News-UK-Government-Release-New-Microgeneration-Tarrif-For-Renewable-Energy



The Government has announced today (July 16th 2009) the details of the proposed feed-in tariff for microgeneration from systems like small wind turbines and solar photovoltaics. The new tariff will pay for all energy generated by your system, irrespective of if you use it yourself or sell it back to the grid. The amounts paid are in addition to any saving you will make by purchasing less electricity from your supplier and any income you earn from selling your surplus power to your electricty supplier.

The key points of the announcement are:

- 36.5p/kWh for small solar photovoltaic systems up to 4kW and 28p/kWh for systems up to 10kW.
- 23.0p/kWh for small wind turbines between 1.5kW and 15kW.- Replaces the current ROC system which pays 10p/kWh.- Effective as of the 1st April 2010, but all systems commissioned from now on will qualify.- Systems installed from now until April 2010 will be eligible for both LCBP grants AND the new tariff.

A typical home solar photovoltaic system of 3kW, generating approximately 2,300kWh per annum will therefore earn around £1,000 per annum, which is an additional £600, dramatically reducing payback times.

An Evance Iskra R9000 small wind turbine will typically earn £2,000 - £3,000 per annum which is an additional £1,000.
A Gaia 133 small wind turbine installed at a modestly windy site will earn £6,000 - £9,000 per annum which is an additional £3,000, making it a very economic proposition with likely payback times of less than 5 years on a typical site.

Monday 13 July 2009

Grid-Tie-Inverter-G83-Certification



What is a Grid-Tie Inverter?

A Grid-Tie inverter converts DC (Direct Current) from renewable energy sources such as Solar PV and Wind Turbines into 230 VAC (Volts Alternating Current). What is clever about a Grid-Tie inverter is that it synchronizes with the national grid's electricity supply frequency and back feeds the grid. This pushes electrical current back into the national grid and if the power your inverter is supplying is in excess of the power you are consuming then it will effectively run your electric meter backwards.

The clever part of a Grid-Tie inverter is that if the national grid supply is shut off then the inverter instantly senses this and ceases to create power. If this did not happen then the grid would still be energised by your Grid-Tie inverter (Extremely dangerous to a linesman / electrician working on a supposedly dead grid!)

In the UK a Grid-Tie inverter has to have a G83 Certificate to allow it to interconnect to the national grid system.

With recent advances in technology a Grid-Tie inverter can be purchased for around £100 GBP for a 200W version which will allow you to reduce your electricity bills. They can be added in parallel over time to allow for expansion. You can use them with many sources of renewable energy, some examples are: A Wind Turbine, Solar Panels, Micro-Hydro Turbines or even a Diesel Generator running on WVO (Waste Vegetable Oil)

The ever popular Windsave house mounted wind turbine uses the same setup described above to back feed the national grid system.

NanoSolar-Printed-Solar-Cells-Cheapest-In-The-World

NanoSolar Inc - Printing Solar Film

For a number of years I have been watching the development of a Californian based company NanoSolar Inc (Nano Solar Inc). My interest started when I realised that the cost of solar cells were so high it would never become viable for every rooftop to have a solar panel array. I have thought of various ways and means to bring cheap renewable energy to the masses but always strayed back to Solar PV cells.

What they have come up with is a way to print (Screen Print) Solar Substrate straight onto a thin foil material which means no more expensive silicon wafer based panels which are thick, heavy and expensive to produce. The new technology opens up a whole new dimension for end users.

Imagine an all electric vehicle with a Solar PV shell? How about solar slates that are cheaper than roofing tiles? A parking lot for electric vehicles with a solar roof? The new uses are endless!

NanoSolar Inc are fully booked with orders for the next 2 years (Correct as of July 2009) The demand is huge, they are gearing up for more production capacity already!

I would love to see a time when renewable energy can directly compete with fossil derived fuels (Coal, Oil & Gas) I think the Printed Solar Panels are a step in the right direction.

Semiconductor Printing

Printing is by far the simplest, highest-yield, and most capital-efficient technique for depositing thin films. Printing is extremely fast; the equipment involved is easy to use and maintain; and it works in plain air (no vacuum chamber required).

Another key advantage of a printable CIGS ink is that one can print it just where one wants it to be, achieving high materials utilization of the semiconductor material.

Printing is much simpler and more robust than vacuum deposition techniques such as sputtering or evaporation which have conventionally been used to fabricate thin-film solar cells; the process cost of vacuum techniques is so high that the result is not an inexpensive cell relative to the per-square-meter economics that the solar industry requires.

Renewable-Energy-Website-UK


Friday 10 July 2009

FreeLoader–Globetrotter-Pack–Review–Cheapest-UK-Price


FreeLoader – Globetrotter Pack – Review – Cheapest UK Price!

‘To purchase a Free Loader Globetrotter Pack at an exclusive price we have teamed up with the UK’s leading distributor of alternative energy products ‘Tango Group Limited’ If you would like to purchase one then please use Discount Voucher Code AMSC8093

This is an offer not to be missed! 10% Off plus free P&P in the UK!

Pros
If you are an outdoors type or are planning a holiday in a remote location or backpacking across the globe then this really is something you will be glad you purchased. The FreeLoader Globetrotter is a portable solar energy recharging station; it is a battery pack for storing solar energy and a recharging pack for charging up practically any portable electronic device!
On a sunny day you can recharge the FreeLoader battery pack via the 2 small solar PV wings and also attach the Supercharger solar cell to boost the charging. Once the Free Loader battery pack is fully charged you can take it with you and when you need to recharge something you have the means to do so.

Never be without charging power again, regardless of where you are on earth, providing the sun shines, you have what it takes to keep energised!

Due to the technology behind the Free Loader – Globetrotter Packs batteries (Li-Ion) they hold lots of power and are incredibly light unlike the older battery technologies (NI-CAD – NiMH) which store similar amounts of power but weigh much more.

Cons
When road testing the FreeLoader Globetrotter Pack from Tango Group we found it really hard to pick fault with its performance, design, ruggedness nor its overall feel. The only thing we considered a tiny problem was that the Free Loader power pack case was finished in a stainless steel effect and it may, over time, get scratched! This is merely an aesthetic design issue and cannot be counted as something that goes against the product.

Design
The design of the FreeLoader Globetrotter Pack is great. The power pack is compact and has detachable solar PV wings. This enables compact storage and prevents against accidental damage when not in use.

The FreeLoader Globetrotter Super Charger (The Large Additional Solar PV Panel) is practically indestructible. The Solar Cells are mounted on a clear PVC sheet (Not Glass) so it will withstand knocks and drops! It comes in its own weatherproof carry pouch with can be attached to all manner of items via the Velcro straps. It will mount to a Bike, Back Pack, Tent Roof, even On Top Of Your Head!

Features
The FreeLoader Globetrotter Pack has the following features.

1. Will charge virtually any electronic portable device
2. Master cable to connect the unit to any of the 11 charging adaptors
3. 11 Adaptor charging clips
4. FreeLoader Portable Solar Charger
5. Supercharger solar PV panel
6. Supercharger case
7. FreeLoader tough case
8. Li-Ion 1000MAH internal rechargeable battery
9. 6V DC output charging voltage
10. 250MA output charge current

Durability
The FreeLoader Globetrotter Pack is designed with durability in mind. The last thing you want is your only source of power breaking in the middle of nowhere! Everything in its design has been thoroughly though about to make the FreeLoader Globetrotter Pack long lasting and able to withstand the most hostile of climates.

Value
£49.49 including UK Delivery is an exclusive price only available from HomeBrewPower, just Email us HERE to receive your special discount code for use at Tango Group Limited

Rating (1-5)
5 out of 5!

Monday 6 July 2009

Free-Loader-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code from HomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase Free Loader products at the best prices on the internet!

PowerMonkey-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code from HomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase PowerMonkey products at the best prices on the internet!

EcoZone-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code from HomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase EcoZone products at the best prices on the internet!

Horizon-Fuel-Cell-Technologies-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code from HomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies products at the best prices on the internet!

Air-Free-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code fromHomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase AirFree products at the best prices on the internet!

Solio-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code fromHomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase Solio products at the best prices on the internet!

Solar-Technology-International-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code fromHomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase Solar Technology International products at the best prices on the internet!

Eton-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code fromHomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase Eton products at the best prices on the internet!

Tefal-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code fromHomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase Tefal products at the best prices on the internet!

Trevor-Baylis-Brands-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code fromHomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase Trevor Baylis Brands products at the best prices on the internet!

Moppel-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code fromHomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase Moppel products at the best prices on the internet!

Efergy-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code fromHomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase Efergy products at the best prices on the internet!

Radiator-Booster-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code from HomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase Radiator Booster products at the best prices on the internet!

HYMini-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code from HomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase HYMini products at the best prices on the internet!

H2O-Power-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code from HomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase H2O Power products at the best prices on the internet!

Eco-Button-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code from HomeBrewPower

UniRoss-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code from HomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase UniRoss products at the best prices on the internet!

Pure-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code from HomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase Pure products at the best prices on the internet!

Science-Time-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code from HomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase Science Time products at the best prices on the internet!

Battech-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code from HomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase BatTech products at the best prices on the internet!

Aladdin-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code from HomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase Aladdin products at the best prices on the internet!

Reestore-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code from HomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase ReeStore products at the best prices on the internet!

Eco-Savers-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code from HomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase Eco Savers products at the best prices on the internet!

Power-Plus-Product-Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code from HomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase Power Plus products at the best prices on the internet!

Sprig-Product Reviews


We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with 'Tango Group' to enable us to offer you reviews on all of their Eco / renewable energy products.Use our links on the left and right of each web page to browse for the Brand of your choice.

Read the review and follow the instructions to obtain your special TangoGroup discount code from HomeBrewPower

For product reviews and to purchase Sprig products at the best prices on the internet!

Tango-Group-Homebrewpower-Partnership


HomeBrewPower are pleased to announce a Review partnership between ourselves and Tango Group.

We will now be able to offer complete Renewable Energy Device reviews / product evaluations for all the popular brands as set out below:

Sprig
Power Plus
Eco Savers
Reestore
Aladdin
Battech
Science Time
Pure
UniRoss
Eco Button
H2O Power
HYMini
Radiator Booster
Efergy
Moppel
Trevor Baylis Brands
Tefal
Eton
Solar Technology International
Solio
AirFree
Horizon
Eco Zone
PowerMonkey
Free Loader

Every review will be categorised for easy access via our sidebar links. Please do tell your friends as there will be exclusive discounts on all the products I review from Tango Group via my website.

The first 2 reviews will be hopefully live in the next couple of days!

Friday 3 July 2009

Off-Grid-Home-Building-Money-Saving-Tips



TIP 1: If you buy building materials in small quantity you will pay full retail price. Instead figure out exactly what materials you will need. Include everything from screws to appliances. Make your material list look professional and take it to any large construction supplier like B&Q or Wickes. Do not talk to a clerk but go straight to the contractor desk or speak to a manager and tell them you are building your own home and would like the contractor discount for buying all the materials from them.Most building supply stores will give you anywhere from 5% to 15% discount if you buy all material at one time. They may even throw in free delivery if you live within a certain mileage.If you have to buy in small quantities go to the mom and pop building suppliers with your list and ask the manager for a discount if you buy all your materials from them over time. You will still usually get a discount and be supporting your local dealers.

TIP 2: If you are using solar (I hope) try to buy your panels in bulk for a big discount. Most panel suppliers will give 30% or more for bulk sales of ten panels or more and a smaller discount if you buy more than one. Talk to the owner if possible as salesman rarely have power to discount. Get your power controller and necessary wiring and even batteries from the dealer and get an even bigger discount!

TIP 3: Recycle whenever possible. Good used Doors and windows can be had for free or cheap from most window installers. Get double pane and insulated doors for exterior. They may need painting and might be different sizes but the savings is worth a little extra work.Good used appliances can be had for free or cheap. Check out your local freecycle website, garage sale, city dump, or look for homes being remodelled and make an offer. Sinks, toilets, cabinets, tubs, showers are always being thrown away so do some scrounging and don't waste money on new ones.New propane appliances can be expensive but if you have or can buy an old RV cheap salvage all your propane appliances to outfit your home.

TIP 4: Design your home for efficiency. Consider how big of a home you really need. Smaller homes are cheaper to build, cheaper to heat and cool, easier to clean and lower in property taxes. Because people are looking for smaller efficient homes they also raise in property value faster than big inefficient homes.

TIP 5: Use the sun and passive energy. Situate you house to take advantage of the sun for winter heating and solar panels. Plant trees for natural summer cooling. Use overhangs to block summer sun and porches for cool resting spots. Passive air turbines instead of expensive air conditioning.

TIP 6: Go solar! There is a fed rebate of 30% for any size solar electric system installed by a professional installer. You can get this rebate even if you do the work yourself if you will contact an installer and ask them to design your system and oversee your work. get them to sign off on the work as being installed professionally and you can get the rebate. Many installers will do this and I do it all the time for clients. If you buy your equipment from them they can get you a bigger discount and they will give you valuable advice for designing the right size system for your needs. It may be worth a few hundred dollars to have their professional experience and you will save a lot in the rebate and having a correctly designed system.

TIP 7: Do the work yourself! Even if you have no building experience you can save a lot by having a knowledgeable builder use you for labor on your own home. Take a construction class or volunteer with a habitats for humanity project or your neighbors construction to learn the skill you need. Home construction is not difficult and most people that have basic construction knowledge can do it themselves or with a little guidance from a knowledgeable builder.

Solar-Panels-For-Shed-Summerhouse-How-To-Calculate



Renewable energy in your shed / workshop / out house / barn / stables or similar.

Below is what you need to know!

How much power do you require?

What you have to look at is how much power you want and for how long per day. Start off by listing everything electrical you are going to be using in your shed, for example:
1 x 600 Watt Power Drill
1 x 60 Watt Light Bulb
1 x 10 Watt Radio

Next thing to do is work out how long per day you are going to be in your shed per day, also whilst you are in your shed, how long are you going to be using each of your electrical appliances. Example below:

2 Hours per day in my shed on average. (Total time per day in Shed)
1 x 600 Watt Power Drill for 1 hour per day.
1 x 60 Watt Light Bulb for 2 Hours per day.
1 x 10 Watt Radio for 2 Hours per day.

Now for the simple math behind it all!

Drill - 600 Watts x 1 Hour = 600 Watt Hours or 0.6 KWA (Kilo Watt Hour)
Light - 60 Watts x 2 hours = 120 Watt Hours or 0.06 KWA (Kilo Watt Hour)
Radio - 10 Watts x 2 Hours = 20 Watt Hours or 0.02 KWA (Kilo Watt Hour)
Total use per day = (0.6 + 0.06 + 0.02) = 0.68 KWA Per Day

My rule of thumb is to double your estimate therefore 0.68 KWA x 2 = 1.36KWA

Calculating your Solar Panel size.

Lets assume that on average a typical location in the UK will receive 5 hours of bright sunshine per day (Wishful thinking I know!) Notice we are working with 2 known quantities now 1. Power (Watts) and time (Hours) this enables us to work out what we need easily.
Take our total load (1.36 KWA) and divide it by sunlight hours (5) = (0.272) This is the figure in KW that are panel will need to provide for 5 hours to enable us to place enough power in our battery bank to let us use our electrical equipment for designated time above (2 Hours per day) 0.272 KWA can be converted into Watts by x 1000 so: 0.272 KWA x 1000 = 272 Watts or a 272 Watt Solar Panel Is required!

Calculating your battery bank size.

We know from our calculation's above that our electricity demand is 1.36 KWA worst case, so our battery bank is required to put out a minimum of 1.36 KW for 1 hour (KWH) If we are going to use a 12 V (Volt) battery bank then we can start looking at the figures:
We know we need 1360 Watts for one hour.
We know we have 12 Volts DC from the battery bank.
Ohms Law states that P (Watts) = I (Current In Amps) x V (Volts)
So we have 1360 (Watts) = ? (I - Current In Amps) x 12 (Volts)
So without boring you too much if we divide 1360 by 12 We get 113.33 Amps!

Batteries are measured in AH (Ampere Hours) But note that the specified AH on a battery is normally measured over a 10 hour period so the drain on a measured AH is 1/10th over 10 hours!
Lets assume for our rule of thumb and to be sure we are going to double our needs so we require 113.33 * 2 = 226.66 AH (Amp Hour) at 12VDC. Easy!

Calculating Your Inverter Size.

(The thing that takes battery DC and makes domestic AC for use with household electrical equipment!
We know that we are going to be using a 12V DC battery bank to power the inverter so we know we require a 12V DC inverter!
We know we require a Max of 1360 Watts or 1.36 KW of power and lets factor in 100% to allow for losses and inefficiencies, this gives us 2.72KW.
So We would choose a 12V DC inverter at 3000 Watts or 3 KW.

Choosing a Solar Charge Controller.

There are many different kinds of solar charge controllers available in the current market, PWM controllers (Pulse Width Modulation Controllers) Electronic controllers and MPPT (Maximum Point Power Tracker) to keep this section simple you are best sending me an EMAIL with info on what you are wanting to do and I will suggest the best solution for your needs.

If you want more information please do EMAIL me and I will provide you with a free quotation for either supply only or supply & installation.

Renewable-Energy-Types-And-Uses



Types Of Feasible renewable energy for domestic homes.

Below are the types of renewable energy groups that can be implemented into a domestic home.

Solar Panels: Domestic Grid Tied.

Solar panels are NOT a cheap option but are a low maintenance option for anyone considering using renewable energy to supply part of their electricity needs at home. To give you an idea of costs associated with a solar PV installation then budget on £6.00 per watt of installed solar, considering you will need (for a three bed roomed typical family home) something like 3000 Watts of solar panels on the roof to give you electricity for free (Most of the time - On Average) then you are looking at an £18,000.00 investment with a typical payback time of 15 to 25 years!

Solar Panels: Remote Building / Shed / Workshop / Hobby Shop.

I would recommend Solar PV panels for a remote type building where you only require a small amount of electricity, i.e. Low energy CF lighting / domestic sockets for laptops / low energy appliances etc. The great thing about remote power is you have the solar panel connected to a battery bank via a charge controller which looks after the batteries and keeps them charged and ready for use. From the battery bank you have an inverter to convert the batteries power into domestic 230VAC (Volts Alternating Current)

Solar Hot Water Panels: Domestic Use.

There are 2 main types of solar hot water panels 1. Flat plate collectors 2.Evacuated tubes collectors. There is much debate over which technology is the best and I am not going to go into the 'for and against' argument here but in my opinion if you are here to look for the best way of reducing your gas or electricity bills then installing Solar Hot Water panels is the way to go. In the UK we could produce at least 70% of all our hot water requirements from the sun that shines on our house roofs! That is one big saving for the average UK home. If you think that you might pay £3,000.00 for a simple solar hot water installation and your hot water heating bill comes down by 70% then the payback time for the installation is not too far away!

Wind Turbines: Domestic Grid Tied.

Wind turbines mounted on the side of your house are one way to reduce your electricity bills considerably. When you hear the phrase 'Grid Tied' all it means is that the electricity the wind turbine produces is pushed back in to the electricity network grid, in effect if the wind turbine is producing electricity in excess of what you are using then your meter will run backwards lowering your electricity bill. This is one way to save money but when the grid goes down (In the event of a power cut) your grid tied wind turbine automatically disconnects from the grid so you have no power! Great for energy saving, no good at all if you want to keep on using power in the event of the national grid shutting down (Power Cut).

Wind Turbines: Off-Grid Power / Remote Power / Shed Power / Workshop Power.

If you require power away from the electricity supply then a wind turbine is a great option. They typically output 12VDC or 24VDC and can be used to charge a battery bank for later use via an inverter. They are much cheaper than Solar PV but you must remember that the wind does not blow all the time so you may want to consider combining a wind turbine with some solar panels.

Low-Impact-Sustainable-Living


So what is 'Low Impact Sustainable Living'?

In modern day society we have become accustomed to using a huge amount of energy (Mainly in the form of domestic electricity) and heating. We are living high impact lifestyles which unfortunately are extremely damaging to our planet.

So how do we go about living a 'Low Impact' and more sustainable existence? First thing to consider is reducing our 'Carbon Footprint' it sounds technical it's simple. Try switching your incandescent lamps to compact fluorescent (CF) lamps. The saving is instant and you will be reducing your electricity reliance. Turn off lights when you leave a room. Try fitting TRV radiator valves to all but one of your radiators. You can adjust each room to a comfortable heat setting and turn down the heat in the rooms your not frequenting as often, all these simple steps are minimizing your 'Carbon Foot Print'

Some people choose to do their little bit to help towards a more sustainable existence where as others take 'Low Impact Sustainable Living' to a whole new level.

Below are some examples with short descriptions.

Lamar's Off-Grid Solar Log Cabin
Lamar lives off-grid in a wooden cabin he built himself

Simondale Low Impact House
A low impact house hand built in Wales UK

Judy Of The Woods
A Lady of the Welsh woods

Thursday 2 July 2009

DIY-Wind-Turbine-Blades

How to make cheap, easy to build, PVC Wind Turbine Blades.

Most Renewable Energy enthusiasts have a good grasp of how to use a PMDC Motor as a generator to make a DIY Wind Turbine but the sticking point is usually how to make a set of good wind turbine blades.

Below we will show you how it is done with cheap, accessible materials, for little or nothing.
PVC Wind Turbine Blades are becoming more and more common for homemade wind turbines. The raw material, PVC pipe, is easy to find, cheap, easy to work with, and performance is more than acceptable for a small basic wind turbine generator.

PVC wind turbine blades can simply be bolted onto a Permanent Magnet DC Alternator or suitable Stepper Motor and you already have a basic wind turbine.One of the most difficult parts of making your own wind turbine is producing turbine blades. Wind turbine blades go through enormous stresses and must be made to quite exacting tolerances if they are to balance and not send destructive vibrations through your wind turbine resulting in a catastrophic failure of your wind turbine.

In strong winds the flexibility of the PVC blades is useful as it takes some of the energy out of the wind preventing the wind turbine generator from excessive spinning (Overrun) and being damaged. Obviously you need to take care to ensure that the blades cannot bend back far enough to hit the wind turbine mast.Individual wind turbine blades can be cut out of the pipe using a jigsaw or hacksaw blade, or a one piece pair of blades can be made.

Below is an example design of a one piece (two blade) PVC wind turbine propeller.This design may be adapted with more turbine blades to fit a 3 blade or even 5 blade turbine configuration setup.




Lister-CS-Stationary-Engines



Lister CS Stationary Engines

Lister CS (Cold Start) stationary engines, or their Indian clones referred to as Listeroid stationary engines, are one of the most versatile long running stationary engines the world had ever seen. They are more than capable of running on almost any viscous oil including Peanut oil, Canola oil, Vegetable Oil, filtered waste vegetable oil, filtered waste motor oil, diesel oil, crude oil, gearbox oil, sunflower oil and many more. There are a number of enthusiasts out there who are experimenting with running them on a mixture of Fuel Oil and Wood Gas Fumes.

The Lister CS range of engines are Slow RPM (650RPM to 700RPM) 4 stroke single cylinder stationary engines. They are over engineered and have been known to run unattended for in excess of 200,000 hours.

They use the simplest of technology which lends them to less maintenance and breakdowns.

Below is a list of interesting websites that document their progress on Using the Lister CS (Listeroid) stationary engines to provide heating and power for domestic dwellings / Low impact homes.

Using a Lister CS / SOM (Start-O-Matic) Stationary engine to produce both power and heating is commonly referred to as a CHP (Combined Heat Power) CHAP (Combined Heat And Power) or MCHP (Micro Combined Heat And Power)

The Diesel Engine Basics

A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine which operates using the diesel cycle (named after Dr. Rudolph Diesel). Diesel engines have the highest thermal efficiency compared to any internal or external combustion engine.The defining feature of the diesel engine is the use of compression ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber during the final stage of compression. This is in contrast to a petrol (gasoline) engine or gas engine, which uses the Otto cycle, in which a fuel/air mixture is ignited by a spark plug.
Diesel engines are manufactured in two stroke and four stroke versions. They were originally used as a more efficient replacement for stationary steam engines. Since the 1910s they have been used in submarines and ships. Use in locomotives, large trucks and electric generating plants followed later. In the 1930s, they slowly began to be used in a few automobiles. Since the 1970s, the use of diesel engines in larger on-road and off-road vehicles in the USA increased. As of 2007, about 50 percent of all new car sales in Europe are diesel.

For my complete system design on DVD Rom (Requires A PC To Use) please see my Generate Free Electricity page.

Ken Boak's Lister
Ken is producing electricity and heat from his Lister CS engine setup in Surrey - Kent.

Ken Boak's Lister Video
Here is a short documentary about Ken Boak's generating plant - Interesting & inspiring.

Robert Bodel's Listeroid
Robert Bodel retired to Texas and lives in a sea container. He uses a Listeroid for power.

David Edgington's CS Book
Covers in great detail the venerable Lister diesel produced between 1929 and the 1980s.

Lister CS Owners Group
Lister CS Yahoo Owners Group - Great place for technical know how.

F1 RocketBoy's Genset
Rocket Boy lives in Florida and has built a backup Listeroid Genset for his home

Lister CS CHP Genset
Another of Ken Boak's earlier venture into using a Lister CS for Power & Heating

UtterPower's Listeroid Page
Interesting Information on Listeroid / Lister CS Stationary engines

Lister Engine Forum
A free online forum dedicated to all things Lister, Lister CS, Listeroid, Start-O-Matic

Lister-Petter
The home of the famous Lister CS Stationary engine! R A Lister
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LED-Lighting-Energy-Efficient-Lighting



LED (Light Emitting Diode) Lighting are a fast emerging high efficient light source. The primary benefits of LED lighting is low maintenance, long life and pure vibrant colors they produce.

LED technology is now been used in Floodlighting, LED floor panels, LED Up lights, LED Wall Panels, LED Strip lights and LED Spot Lights.

Philips lighting are one of the worlds leaders in LED technology and have just released the LUXEON Rebel ES which boasts in excess of 100 Lumen's per watt.

See THIS LINK for more on the Philips LumiLEDS
Philips Luxeon Rebel ES Power LED

HERE is a very informative article posted on the N Y Times website about the latest emerging LED Lighting technology. I suggest readers read it and learn about the latest LED Technology

How-To-Make-Biodiesel-Bio-Diesel



Learn more about how to make Biodiesel.

I have hand picked some information on the processes and techniques of producing your own 'Green Diesel Biodiesel'


Make Biodiesel At Home Article


How to make Biodiesel at Home

Before we go into the details of producing small amounts of Biodiesel at
home we must first stress the importance of safety. The chemicals used
in the process of making Biodiesel are dangerous and if used without
taking the correct measures to protect yourself can cause serious injury
or even death. Please, please be careful and make sure you are in a well
ventilated area with access to running clean water.

MATERIALS REQUIRED

1 litre of Vegetable Oil- new (SVO) or used (WVO)

NaOH (lye / caustic soda), at least 6g. This is often used as a drain
cleaner and can often be found in your local supermarket.

Methanol (at least 250ml).Used as an Antifreeze, can often we found in
Motor supplie shops

EQUIPMENT REQUIRED

1 to 2 litre Plastic Bottle - I often use an empty Vegetable oil
container

A measuring cup

A scale

OR

A teaspoon

A container to mix the methanol and NaOH (methoxide) Not plastic. Heavy
duty glass is recommended

A Funnel

OIL PREPERATION

If you are using waste oil (WVO), take one litre and heat to at least
120 deg c to remove all water. If water is present the oil will spit and
pop, when the water is removed this will stop. Be careful - this can be
quite a violent process. Then Allow to cool

If you are using new vegetable oil it should not contain any water so
just heat to 55deg c when you are ready.

MAKING THE METHOXIDE

WARNING Making Methoxide is dangerous. Methoxide is highly toxic. For
this reason, the safety of the design of equipment and workspace should
be carefully considered before use, and protective clothing and a
respirator should be worn during handling. Only as much as is intended
to be used immediately should be created.

'YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED'

Take 250ml of Methanol and add 4g (about half a Teaspoon) NaOH.

If you are using Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) just use 6g- 7g NaOH (about 1
level teaspoon)

Methanol and NaOH do not easily mix. Start with the methanol at body
temp (not warm). NOTE that as you mix the two chemicals the temperature
will increase. Do not panic... is normal. You will need to ensure all
the NaOH is disolved in the Methanol, this could take over ten minutes.

After **ALL** the NaOH has disolved you may need to top up with fresh
methanol as the process may cause some evaporation

MAKING THE BIODIESEL... the final step

When the Oil's temperature has dropped to 60 deg c or less, using your
funnel, pour the litre of oil into you dry plastic container. Take your
methanol/NaOH (Methoxide) and add to the oil. Ensure the container is
sealed securely then shake vigerously for about 15 seconds.

Leave your Biodiesel to "set". You will notice that after about 10
minutes the glycerine or "soap" will settle from your mixture. It will
take a day or two for the Biodiesel to completely separate. You will see
two defined layers - the Biodiesel and the glycerine.Typically the
glycerine layer is about the same or a bit more than the amount of
methanol used.

Now remove the Biodiesel from the container leaving the glycerine and
you are ready for the washing...

WASHING YOUR BIODIESEL

Although the glycerine or "soap" and water has separated from your
Biodiesel - it will still need washing. Please do not violently shake
your unwashed Biodiesel as it will form an emulsion that may take days
or evn weeks to fully seperate. The gentle approach is whats needed.

Wash One:

Pour 1 litre biodiesel into a a clean and dry plaric bottle.

Gently pour in 500ml water (body temp).

Replace bottle top.

Now GENTLY rotate the bottle end for end for about 30 seconds.

After 30 seconds place bottle upright.

Only If you have been GENTLE the water and Biodiesel will seperate
immediatly.

You will notice the water is not clear.

Remove top and using your thumb as a stopper, turn bottle upsidedown and
drain the water using your thumb as a valve.

You have finished wash one.

Wash Two:

Pour in another 500ml water and repeat wash one, except rotate GENTLY
for about 1 minute.

Drain as in wash one.

You have finished wash 2.

Wash Three:

Again pour in another 500ml water and GENTLY GENTLY GENTLY shake bottle
for a minute or so.

When water and biodiesel seperate discard water in same fashion as
before.

Wash Four:

Another 500ml water and a bit more aggitation for about 1 min.

After seperation of water and biodiesel Drain as above.

Wash Five:

You should now be able shake fairly vigerously.

If the washing has been completed sucessfully the water should be almost
clear. Be aware that in your later washes you should be able to shake
mre violently although it will take considerably longer to seperate
because the water forms tiny bubles in the biodiesel that take time to
settle out.

Your washed biodiesel will be VERY CLOUDY and much lighter in colour
than the unwashed biodiesel a. After a day or 2 settling and drying it
will clear

Your Biodiesel is now ready for use!

Wednesday 1 July 2009

Saving-Planet-Earth



Tips on saving our planet (Saving Planet Earth)

There are a number of things you may do for our planet. Let me try and give you some suitable answers to help you out a little.Fossil Fuels: You can 'Lower' your dependence on fossil fuels. I don't expect you to go run away and live in a cage or become a 'Tree Hugger' but you can, for example;

1. switch all your lights from incandescent filament lamps to high efficiency low energy compact fluorescent lamps.

2. Strip out the gas fire and install a wood burner (Wood is a carbon neutral source of heating fuel) They can come with a back boiler so you can feed the excess heat into the heating system to heat other rooms.

3. Cut back on the travel by (Car / Van / Bus / Train) and try cycling short routes. If your distances are large for commuting then why not set up a car sharing scheme with friends so you can all commute in the same vehicle and save burning excessive fossil fuels (Petrol and Diesel)

4. Buy your fresh vegetables from local farmers / farm stores, supermarkets fly / ship fruit and vegetables from all 4 corners of the globe and add to the excessive burning of fossil fuels. Why not support your local farmer and purchase his vegetables and fruit that were grown in the field next door and delivered by hand by the farmer himself?

5. Try educating others about turning lights off when they leave the room, why have the radiator in the lavatory on full when you are in there for 2 minutes 2 times a day? Try and see logic!

6. Swap your CRT (Cathode Ray Tube - The Big Glass fronted TV's) TV with a LCD flat screen one. They use much less Electricity (Which is mainly produced by burning fossil fuels Diesel & Gas)

7. Set your Laptop and or desktop PC to hibernate after a set amount of inactivity so it is not needlessly wasting Electricity.

8. When you go to bed for the night go around the house and switch off all non essential electrical equipment at the plug, putting TV's and Microwaves into standby does not shut them down but only puts them into a lower consuming mode.

9. Grow your own fruit and vegetables, it is so much fun and very satisfying, plus you get to know you are reducing your carbon footprint whilst getting free food!

10. Opt for as many bills as possible to be sent to you electronically, you save them printing them on paper, save the rain forests and save on the delivery van burning fossil fuels in the process!

Hope this helps you out a little.

Domestic-Wind-Turbines



There are 2 main types of wind turbine that are suitable for use with a domestic house.

1. Grid-Tied Wind Turbine:

Grid-Tied, simply put, means your wind turbine is connected in line with your national grid electricity supply. When you are using less electricity than your wind turbine is producing then the excess power is pushed past your electricity meter and back into the nation grid. This enables your meter to run backwards and reduce your bill you have to pay to your electricity supplier.
The disadvantage with a grid tied wind turbine is that in the event of your electricity supply shutting down (Power Cut) then the wind turbine supply shuts down also meaning you will have no electricity supply until the grid supply is restored. This is a safety feature to prevent your supply back feeding the national grid in the event of a power cut.

2. Isolated Wind Turbine Feeding Batteries:

A system that supplies batteries is not as efficient as a grid tied wind turbine due to the losses in storing electricity in batteries instead of directly feeding the national grid but the plus side is that the electricity you produce can be stored for later use.
You require a wind turbine designed to charge your battery bank. You also require suitable, maintenance free batteries for power storage, if you require domestic AC (Alternating Current) power then you will need an inverter to convert the DC (Direct Current) back to 230V AC that can be used with mains powered domestic appliances.

DIY-Wind-Turbine




Basics!I have read countless books, mails, how to guides and the rest on how to build a wind machine, in the end I ditched them all and did it my way!The guides where OK but did not really get to the point, which was insimple terms what do I need to obtain to make one!
My chimney mounted wind machine!

As you can see from the picture above, my wind machine is in motion and it is almost all of the time, so long as there is a breeze it is making free power to supply my battery bank, all day and all night!My wind machine specifications6 x Carbon fibre reinforced plastic blades 3ft long1 x Circular steel hub 3mm steel (Homemade) 150mm Diameter1 x 10Ft standard steel scaffolding pole1 x 4ft Angle Iron type steel for tail1 x Custom mounting swivel bracket (Homemade)12 x M6 roofing bolts, nuts and washers for blade mounting1 x Brooke Crompton 90VDC 3000W permanent magnet DC motor 1 x Length of 16MM 2 core copper twin wire for power transfer1 x 600MM x 300MM x 5MM Perspex clear Perspex for tail fin1 x Lucas blocking Diode to prevent batteries spinning wind machine!

A down to earth explanation of how it works!The reason I chose this particular motor is because when you spin a PMDCmotor then it produces DC, DC is what charges SLA batteries so PMDC motors are the ideal solution for a Homebrew wind machine, these can befound world over in surplus shops, look out for them!So if we spin up a PMDC motor then we produce a DC voltage, the fasteryou spin it the higher the voltage will get.

When you connect a PMDC motor to a battery then the motor spins, this is using power from the battery bank to produce motive force, now if youwhere to manually spin the motor at the same speed as it was trying to goconnected to the battery then effectively the motor would be producing thesame voltage the battery was supplying, so the battery would not be underany load i.e. 12V battery connected in parallel to a PMDC motor spinning ata rate to produce 12VDC produces an equal and opposite electric force.However, once you begin to spin the motor faster than the battery bank voltage then you are effectively charging the battery bank i.e. 12VDCbattery bank connected in parallel to a PMDC motor producing 13.5VDC ischarging the bank or in simple terms putting power into your batteries!

Now we could go into overcharging, regulating, desulfating, trickle charging and more but for now we have the basics in place and we are producingpower and storing it in a chemical form (Batteries) for later re use.

More information:

Blocking Diode Purpose is to allow the produced voltage to flow from the wind machine(PMDC Motor) into the batteries but not the other way, so in wind thebatteries will charge but in no wind the wind machine will NOT rotate.

SLA Batteries Purpose is to store electricity in a chemical form

PMDC Motor Purpose is to effectively use it in reverse to induce a current flow into the motor windings from magnets and provide us with a useful charging currentat the right voltage.

16MM Copper cable Purpose is transport our voltage from the wind machine to the battery bankwith the least amount of electrical resistance, copper is a good electrical conductor but of course it has a resistive value, the larger the cross sectionalarea of the copper conductor, the less resistance we have.

Big really is better when it comes to your cabling!

Solar-Cookers





Solar Cookers or Solar Ovens are very simple, easy to build cookers that use the power of the sun to cook food.

Open fire wood cooking is a huge problem in developing and poor countries. Cooking in a poorly ventilated kitchen on an open fire can cause respiratory diseases and premature death over time. Many poor countries are in hot climates where the population receive many hours of bright daylight for much of the day. Solar cookers are a simple, clean, environmentally responsible way of cooking hot vegetables and meat.

The principle is simple enough. Create a box or enclosure with an open top that is well insulated and has a reflective / mirrored finish on the inside of the container. Inside you place a blackened / very dark, non reflective pot with your raw vegetables and meat in and finally place a clear (Glass / PVC) lid on the top and pop the box in bright sunshine until your food is thoroughly cooked.

More reflective shutters can be added to direct more sunshine into your solar cooker for better results. The preferred material for the reflected surface is Mylar or Melinex but can be substituted with tinfoil, turkey foil or polished stainless steel.

Notes on Mylar: DIY Solar Cooker enthusiasts usually utilize Mylar as it claims a 65% reflectivity.

Something I have recently come across is Diamond Reflective Mylar that claims a 99% reflectivity, how true this claim is I have no data on but I am going to be building and documenting 2 solar cookers and comparing the efficiencies to see what benefit there is using Diamond Mylar over traditional Reflective Mylar.

External Website Links


http://solarcookers.org/
Read and purchase Solar Cookers / Solar Ovens

http://solarcookers.org/basics/how.html
The basics on Solar Cookers / Solar Ovens

http://solarcooking.org/
Large website for Solar Cooking

http://www.sunspot.org.uk/ed/
Fresnel Lense Solar Cooking

http://journeytoforever.org/sc.html
Journey To Forever's slant on Solar Cooking

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Cooking/cooking.htm
Build It Solar provides some interesting information

DIY-Geothermal-Ground-Source-Heat-Pump-By-Rick-Faszold





Rick Faszold decided to take on his very own geothermal ground source heat pump installation, A DIY project larger than anything he had previously attempted in his 20 years of marriage. His main objective was to complete the entire Geothermal ground source heat pump domestic system within a budget of $10,000.00 USD.

Considering he was in receipt of quotations in excess of $25,000.00 USD he has certainly set his targets high!

Richard Faszold's Geothermal DIY Website

Why is Richard Faszold taking on such a huge challenge? Below are his very own words....

The Short Answer - I want to save money, help the environment and have a project/hobby that I could work on at home.
The longer answer is….. a few years ago, I began to look at the solar power as way to reduce our energy bills. Our propane bill was going up (same usage), our local electric utility went up a smidge and we endured a few “longish” power outages. (Looking back over 4 years, our propane bill went up 40%!.)

I thought solar would be a way to pay one more time for power and be done with it forever. No more bills, power outages and wasted refrigerator items. As I looked down the road to retirement, it occurred to me that our current (2007) energy bill of $4,400, would probably double by the time I retired. (We live in a 2,100 sq/ft home.) Taking an estimate of $8,800 annually for energy costs at retirement, ten years of energy cost into retirement would be tough to deal with. Perhaps this amount is too much or not enough for you, this is merely a guess as to what could be. We felt that trying to compensate for this bill by saving more for retirement would have too much of a negative impact on our budget.

So, I started looking for ways to deal with this issue.I started with solar first. It seemed simple and it would be able to do everything we needed it to do. Just purchase a bunch of panels and no more electrical bills. Move to electric heating and a nice generator (for rainy days) and all is well. Unfortunately, part of the solar calculation is Peak Kilowatt Hours or what your peak energy demands are. From there you size the system to meet your peak needs. Along the way you increase capacity to compensate for winter (less hours of sun) and lost efficiencies. Meeting our peak needs would have costs us about $35,000 upfront. (2006 costs) This was far too expensive. The solar folks know that it is important to weather proof as much as possible, buy different appliances, and make some lifestyle changes in order to reduce the cost of a system. This is wise; but, not workable for our family. Again, it would be a budget issue or a lifestyle problem that we faced.As of July of 2007, solar was really ramping up to the point where there were world wide shortages of photovoltaic panels and prices increases.

Various countries have committed to utilizing this power and manufacturing facilities just did not see this type of demand coming. It will be well into 2009 before enough manufacturing comes online to meet demand and reduce prices. Also, there are some exciting new technologies that promise to increase the overall conversion efficiency by two fold.What I was really trying to do with solar was to never pay another utility bill again. Since solar was not working out financially, I took a harder look at our energy bill and broke it down into a few categories to see what I was really dealing with. I realized that our heating bill was roughly $2,200 annually (propane and going up very quickly) and our summer cooling bill was over $1,000, thus our heating and cooling alone were about 75% of our energy needs. I felt that if I could find a cost effective way to take care of heating and cooling, then I might be able to go back to solar.

In searching through the Internet, I stumbled upon Geothermal.Geothermal, “seemed” simple and cheap. (It is neither.) I jumped at wanting to get a geo system until I started getting bids that were north of $25,000. $25,000 is still too expensive plop down for 75% of our energy needs. Yes, it “seemed” to pay for itself over time (Nine year ROI); but, it really didn’t financially do everything I hoped it would do. It was cheaper than solar; but, not that much cheaper. So, this was very depressing.

I thought I would be stuck paying utility companies forever.As I was surfing around, I found a gentleman who said he did his geo system by himself AND did it for under $7,000! (That was in the later 90’s.) $7,000 is definitely budgetable and has a very nice ROI considering a current $3,200 a year heating and cooling bill. An interesting note is that a 1998 study by the EPA indicates that for every $1 reduction in energy cost, the value of the home rises by $20. It would be nice if they would update this study a bit in light of current energy costs and the sub-prime market melt down. This is 1998 dollars AND since the stock market is going nuts due to the sub-prime meltdown, I have no idea of what this means.

Note: As of February 2009, we decided to re-fi our home. Our appraiser gave NO added value to the house due to the Geo system. This began quite a while of searching and talking to folks about geo in order to get to a point where I felt comfortable doing this myself. Thus, I began my own geo project. The only thing that I can offer to you is… ask a LOT of questions and know that if you do this, you will still miss something… Hopefully, it will not be big.