Hydrogen Fuel Cells the power source of the s
Imagine a car that can travel 300 miles without refueling, that performs as well as the gasoline cars of today, that uses one-half as much energy per mile, eliminates our dependence on fossil fuel and produces only water as a byproduct. Hydrogen fuel cells may make such vehicles a reality before the end of the decade. They could even cost less to run than gasoline cars. Practical fuel cells were first developed in the 1960s for the U.S. space program. A fuel cell is a device that converts a...
In Pursuit of Adventure and Freedom A Sea Gypsys Handbook for Living in Paradise
Reviewed by Kathleen Jarschke-Schultze The title alone intrigued me. All those buzz words -adventure, freedom, sea gypsy, and paradise conjured up visions of every ocean-going movie I had ever seen. No, I've never been sailing, but this book made me consider what a life under a spread of sail would be like for me. Here are the real and important considerations of anyone thinking of escaping their present life for the sailboat as an island retreat. Fritz works right on through all the points of...
Wildfire Across America
If you are part of a rural fire fighting organization, or planning to start one, you need this book. If you are considering employment with a state or federal agency as a wildland firefighter, you should read this book. This book also contains very useful information about fire protection for the rural homeowner, you'll just have to dig a bit to find it. The author's basic technique for residential fire protection is constructing two relatively small fire breaks in concentric circles around the...
BobO SchultzeKGMM
Don't build one of these units. Build two. There are a couple of good reasons to do this. The first is purely economic. Unless you have a very well-stocked junque box, you'll likely end up buying the components from two or three mail-order suppliers. These places often have a minimum order amount see access info , so buying enough parts to build two will most likely get you over that amount without having to purchase fillers-those neat little impulsively bought dodads which you'll never use....
Water
uses little water when compared to the 40 horsepower turbine on the same head that would be needed to meet the same peaks on conventional A.C Forget it - there is no comparison. The big machine would cost a fortune and require massive amounts of water. Hey, it is possible, I've built them. The best of both worlds would have the lighting and heavy motor loads on 120 Volt D.C. for efficiency. It would have a switching power supply running on 120 Volts D.C. putting out high-current 12 or 24 Volts...
The National Electric Code and You
In my trips around the country testing photovoltaic systems and presenting seminars on PV and in the numerous phone calls I get, I am frequently asked Does the National Electric Code NEC apply to me and my alternate energy system My response is It depends. Applicability of the NEC or other codes varies from state-to-state, county-to-county, city-to-city, and rural area-to-rural area. The National Electric Code is merely one of many codes published by the National Fire Protection Association. It...
Lil Otto Hydroworks
Bob-O Schultze KG6MM POB 203, Hornbrook, CA 96044 916-475-3401 with pre-wired ballast Just screw in amp use Introductory offer 5, 7, 9 amp 13 watt 12 VDC- 33 13 watt QUAD 12 VDC- 35.50 24 VDC Add 3 Shipping 2 per order 48 States AC Compact Fluorescents 18.50 amp Up CATALOG 5.00 ALTERNATIVE POWER amp LIGHT CO. 128 WEISTER CREEK ROAD CASHTON, WI 54619 608-625-4123 The man who on his trade relies Must either bust or advertise. Maximimum Vertical Ad size is 9 inches Maximum Horizontal Ad size is...
How photovoltaics are tested rated
Have you ever wondered how PV modules are rated for power output How do those magic wattage numbers appear on the back of every module Well, virtually every module is tested by their manufacturers. This article discusses how PV makers test and rate their modules. And how these power ratings may be different from actual module performance out in the sunshine. This series of articles grew from our PV testing over the last three years. We found differences between the performance ratings printed...
Florida Solar Energy Center
Workshop Schedule for 1991 subject to change . The Photovoltaic System Design Workshop will be held at the Florida Solar Energy Center on, Oct. 22-24, 1991. This workshop will cover solar electric technology and the design of stand-alone and utility interactive PV systems. Cost 150, in-state, 300 out of state. Energy Efficient FL Home Building the newest ideas on designing amp building an energy efficient home for home builders, inspectors amp those thinking about building. 9 19 Orlando 1991....
HandsOn Workshops in Maine
The Maine Solar Energy Association has started a series of hand-on solar workshops all around the state of Maine. The purpose of these practical, one day events is to de-mystify solar energy by showing the participants that it is practical today to use the sun to heat your home, make your hot water, furnish your electricity, and even cook your food and grow your vegetables out of season. In the past year we have had a very successful passive solar architecture workshop in Bangor, a solar...
Pond Aeration Photovoltaic Powered
Scott Ely, Tami Schneck, and Ken Olson Pond Aeration is a technology used by ranchers, recreationalists, scientists, and entrepenuers for improving water quality and fisheries management. The basic principle involves the pumping of air into the water column to increase the supply of oxygen. We would like to share with you our collective efforts and experiences with PV powered pond aeration systems. Pond aeration allows ranchers the opportunity to keep ponds free from aquatic vegetation which...
Gerhard Dekker
Those of you living with small children can appreciate the convenience of a low power light source in the bedroom, bathroom, or hall that stays on all night. The design presented here draws only 25 mA., will turn off at dawn and on at dusk, further reducing power consumption and extending bulb life because the bulb never sees the higher line voltage when your solar modules are active. Power consumption over a typical 12 hour night will be replenished in 6 minutes by one 3 amp solar module. The...
PVs Yes Seabrook No
1991 Paul Hodgdon and Dianne Burgess When I bought this land in New Hampshire, I knew that the house I'd build on it would get its electricity from the sun. The power line runs right by the driveway, but the Seabrook nuclear power plant is on the other end of that extension cord. I've known since the early 70's that I would use renewable energy, because too many spokesmen were saying solar energy is not yet feasible. My wife, Dianne, and I built the house by ourselves- the only things we hired...
Jim Forgette
f these water saving methods were employed to their fullest, up to three times less water would be wasted on doing laundry. If you used a washer that's also been converted uses three times less electricity see HP 22 , this major appliance would no longer be so major. Smaller home power systems could then afford to support one. Having a full-sized, automatic washing machine at home is wonderfully convenient, and having enough water electricity to feed it brings a larger sense of pride in one's...
Jim Cooley
As one becomes involved in the design of a PV power system, be it large or small, a critical factor is the number of modules needed to supply the power. This is, in theory, a simple case of arithmetic, somewhat equivalent to balancing a check book. In reality, you need to put back what is taken out, plus the percentage lost to inefficiency. Basically, you figure your loads, and then use the module rating to estimate haw many are necessary to replace what is used. A PV module in southern Arizona...
Quintin Myers
I know you like to hear of unusual projects related to PV power, so here is a new one for you. During these long winter evenings I decided to fiddle with my trusty old Commodore 64 actually a SX-64 portable with built-in disk drive and color monitor that I modified to work on 12V . First I took the Bat-O-Meter circuit from HP 10, removed the LEDs, and plugged the leads into the joystick ports. Then I took some telephone wires, hooked them to the USER port data lines, and put IRFZ-30s at the...
How an Inverter Works
The process of converting low voltage direct current DC electricity into high voltage alternating current ac is not particularly hi-tech but it has several levels of complexity. The most complex levels use high tech solutions and are frequently employed because they make efficient and reliable inverters. In this article I will not try to explain the esoteric details of such techy stuff - I'm not qualified - but I will try to give the novice user a basic idea of what is going on inside that...
Things that Work Alternative Energy Engineerings High Lifter Pump
Let me start by saying that I am completely sold on the High Lifter pump for my application. My High Lifter is pumping 240 gallons per day from a 6 gallons per minute spring that is 132 feet downhill from my water tank. The High Lifter is located 26 vertical feet below my spring. Shipping Container and Documentation The High Lifter comes well wrapped in a 6 in. x 6 in. x 28 in.cardboard box. Alternative Energy Engineering uses recycled materials for packaging their products. The shipping weight...
Jeff Damm
Battery charging systems can be constructed from very simple to extremely complex circuits. Many people learning how to make electronics work for them with charging systems only need a few components to get the job done. The general rule is that charge controllers will increase their user friendliness as they get more complex. In this article we will learn about some basic techniques for accomplishing the task of battery charging. Figure 1 is a block diagram of a typical charging system for use...
How Photovoltaic Cells Work
Photovoltaics are indeed magical devices - who would think, really, that you could put a shiny blue flat thing out in the sun and get electricity from it They do work. Moreover, they need not be mysterious. It does take a little patience you may need to read over this twice or more to get comfortable with the terms but you do not need to be a semiconductor physicist to understand qualitatively how PVs convert light into electricity. Ninety-nine percent of today's solar cells are made of silicon...
Backwoods Solar Summer Workshops
Backwoods Solar will be holding several one day workshops on photovoltaic equipment and installation. Each workshop is limited to ten people. The cost is 40.00 per person, non-refundable pre-paid, which includes lunch and a text book 30 per person if 2 people share the text book . The workshops will be held on the first Saturday of each month, July 6, August 3, amp September 7, 1991. For more information contact Steve or Elizabeth Willey, Backwoods Solar Electric Systems, 8530-HP Rapid...