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Although start-up costs are higher than other renewable technologies, PVs have key advantages:

• there are no moving parts to fix so they are relatively easy to install and maintain
• they can be sited in urban areas and are not restricted in the way that wind and hydro-power systems are
• they can replace other roofing materials, for example tiles. The cells are embedded in a flat, waterproof material to form ‘modules’, which make ideal cladding material for walls and roofs
• they need not take up any additional land space.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Solar power

• Solar power is pollution free during use, although the production of the equipment entails some degree of of environmental pollution.

• Facilities can operate with little maintenance or intervention after initial setup.

• Solar power is becoming more and more economical as costs associated with production decreases, the technology becomes more effective in energy conversion, and the costs of other energy source alternatives increase.

• In situations where connection to the electricity grid is difficult or impossible (such as island communities, desolate regions and ocean-going vessels) harvesting solar power is often an economically competitive alternative to energy from traditional sources.

• When grid connected, solar electric generation can displace the highest cost electricity during times of peak demand (in many climatic regions), can reduce grid loading, and can eliminate the need for local battery power for use in times of darkness and high local demand; such application is encouraged by net metering. Time-of-use net metering can be highly favorable to small photovoltaic systems.

• Grid connected solar electricity can be used locally thus minimizing transmission/distribution losses (approximately 7.2%).

Solar power at the Earth’s surface has a number of disadvantages compared to traditional energy sources:

• Intermittency: It is not available at night and is reduced when there is cloud cover, decreasing the reliability of peak output performance or requiring a means of energy storage.

• For power grids to stay functional at all times, backup powerplants must be kept ‘hot’, to replace solar power stations as they stop producing. There is an energy cost to keep plants ‘hot’, which includes (in the case of coal plants) the burning of coal. Without fundamental changes in the energy system, little fossil power can therefore be displaced, according to critics.

• Locations at high latitudes or with frequent cloud cover offer reduced potential for solar power use.

• It can only realistically be used to power transport vehicles by converted energy into other form of energy suitable for transport, incurring an energy penalty.

• Solar cell technologies produce DC power which must be converted to the AC power when used in currently existing distribution grids. This again incurs an energy penalty (5-10%) which reduces the real energy output of the solar panels.

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An Easy To Build & Operate Induction Generator – Portable Lightplants & Generators:  Within every home in America there are motors that can be operated as generators. They may not be labeled as generators, but they will function just the same. These motors are often called "squirrel cage motors" and are in washing machines, dryers, water pumps and other devices too numerous to mention….

Biodesign Solar Projects:  Beehive ventilator, fan, and air conditioning units, using solar energy, creating stronger bees, better pollination, and more honey. How it works, frequently asked questions, technical data and ordering information.

Bowman Pmm :  magnetic motor

Build A Generator From A Lawn-Edger Motor:  My stand by battery charger for drag strip / RV use is now a "one wire" Marine alternator of 75 amp rating on a board (a 2 x 8) with a 3 hp horizontal shaft Tecumseh running the pulley.  My first one, since sold, was a 3.5 hp Briggs & Stratton from a vertical shaft mower.  I cut a slot in the front of the mower deck (but in retrospect, if I had to do it over, I would cut it in the back); then I added brackets made from old 1.5" angle iron for the pivot and an old (from the junkyard) slotted alternator bracket for the adjuster.  By re-using the mower deck, I had a place to mount the entire works, on wheels with….

Build a simple rain barrel:  A power station’s dependence on potable water greatly reduced while assured of a reliable, continuous source. 

Do It Yourself Automotive LPG Conversion

Energy Usage Worksheet

Handmade Organic Mosquito Repellent (Homer):  The abandoned ricefields in our valley breed hordes of fierce mosquitoes, and at dusk they attack in force. But it’s hard to tell which is worse, the mosquitoes or the commercial repellents….The alternative is incense coils, which you burn — they fill the air with smoke containing insecticides. And indeed the mosquitoes keep away. We think this is very wise of them — we don’t like the coils any more than they do…..

Hydraulic Ram Page

Iron Horse Water Wheels

Low-Tech Crystal Radio

School Composting 

School Gardens

Silkworms In A Shoebox

The Beach House Fish Pond 

Toiletology 101 Care And Repair

Micro Hydro Powerin the Nineties
by Paul Cunningham & Barbara Atkinson

Micro hydro power was once the world’s prominent source of mechanical power for manufacturing. Micro hydro is making a comeback for electricity generation in homes. Increasing numbers of small hydro systems are being installed in remote sites in North America. There’s also a growing market for micro hydro electricity in developing countries. This article is a technical over-view.

Micro hydro power is gradually assuming the decentralized form it once had. Water power predates the use of electricity. At one time hydro power was employed on many sites in Europe and North America. It was primarily used to grind grain where water had a vertical drop of more than a few feet and sufficient flow. Less common, but of no less importance, was the use of hydro to provide shaft power for textile plants, sawmills and other manufacturing operations.

Over time thousands of small mills were replaced by centrally-generated electric power. Many major hydroelectric projects were developed using large dams, generating several megaWatts of power. In many areas, hydro electric power is still used on a small scale and is arguably the most cost-effective form of energy.

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Building A Staw Bale House

Shelter Kit:  Pre-Cut, Do-It-Yourself house, cabin, barn and garage kits, since 1970

A Tracking  Solar Concentrator For The Home Experimenter

DPL Inc:  DIY solar heating panels for your pool or Jacuzzi.

How To Build A Solar Furnace: 

Self Powered Solar Box Furnace: 

Solar Chimney Dehydrator: 

Solar Space Heating: 

From The Sun, To The Outlet:  You can have as many panels as you want, but until you have the right electronics, the power created could be useless. The power you are creating has to be stored, or at night time you will have no power. For this we use batteries. Not just your everyday AA batteries though, we need what is called a deep cycle battery. Deep cycle batteries are made to be discharged, and charged back up, many many times. If you did that with a normal car battery, it would not live very long. Deep cycles are use in boats for trolling, in golf carts, and even in some forklifts. If you like to scrounge, ask around your forklift dealers, and certain manufactures(they all use forklifts) for the ones they thow out. Golf courses can be good as well.

How To Make A Solar Power Generator For Less Than $300 – Fearsome Homepage:  Using parts easily available from your local stores, you can make a small solar power generator for $250 to $300. Great for power failures and life outside the power grid. Power your computer, modem, vcr, tv, cameras, lights, or DC appliances anywhere you go. Use in cabins, boats, tents, archaeological digs, or while travelling throughout the third world. Have one in the office store room in case of power failures in your highrise. I keep mine in my bedroom where it powers my cd player, turntable, lights, modem, laptop, and (ahem) a back massager. I run a line out the window to an 8" x 24" panel on the roof.

Tutorial On Off Grid And Renewable Energy:  Does the idea of harnessing the Sun’s energy for your electrical needs appeal to you? Have you listened to the wind and seen it’s effects and wondered how you could utilize that energy for yourself? We have the equipment and expertise you need to make the most of the energy of wind and sun for your home, farm, or business.