Will Has a Question, Pt. 2
We now know a bit more about Will’s roof, his power consumption and what he…
Reverend David’s Solar Freezer
Using the hot sun to keep the groceries cold. Awesome!
Will Has a Question
Actually, Will has several questions, but they all boil down to “how do I get…
Tiny Solar Power for a Rainy Day
Tropical Storms in the Gulf, tornadoes in Alabama and lots of rain. That’s not a…
In the News
Just a few notes on solar in the news. Click in the parentheses for the…
Meters
When installing a new power system or doing a little troubleshooting, an appropriate meter can…
Troubleshooting Solar
Some folks have big systems and some have small. A small solar power system is…
Little Solar Projects
My first solar project was to put 4 tiny 6 volt solar panels on the…
Show Time!
John was just about worn out when I talked to him, yesterday. He’s at the…
So Your Power Bill This Month Was $497
It Doesn’t Have to Be! My neighbor Connie got her power bill yesterday. It was…
Don’t Do This!
This morning, going through the email editions of American Solar Energy Society’s Solar@Work and PV…
Louisiana Screws Up Net Metering
Don’t Worry, We Can Fix This After Hurricane Katrina, solar power took off in New…
Solar Air Conditioning Recap
John called the other day for some solar chit chat. He asked if I was…
A Hot Time at WalMart
Don’t Try This at Home Did you hear about the solar panel fires on the…
Evolution of Hurricane Survival
Survival Stories 460 years ago, a Spaniard named Tristan de Luna y Arellano sailed into…
John’s Home Office Solar Backup Power System
Condo Solar As promised, I am passing along John’s description of the emergency backup system…
Let us know how it goes
If you are in the storm zone, we wish you all the best. If you…
Getting Grazed by a Cat 4 ‘Cane Will Leave a Mark
I was working on a new series of posts on the basics, but something has…
Can I Do It Myself?
So you’ve been thinking about solar power or battery backup and wondering, “Can I do…
Quick and easy emergency solar
John and I have been talking about using solar power to survive in relative comfort…
East and West are Subject to Wandering
Archæologists have discovered that it is not just modern mankind that buries its dead with…
Think Outside the Box
The purpose of this post is mostly to stimulate thought and open up some possibilities…
Microinverters!
What is a microinverter and why in the world would you want one? The first…
Power Use Optimization and Free Energy Storage
In my last post I talked about some seemingly off the wall, but doable, energy…
Show and Tell
I wanted to show you a couple of examples of some really nice solar work…
Cool It
I never thought I’d be happy about a tropical depression starting to spin up in…
RTFM!!!
RTFM!!! That stands for Read The Fine Manual. There are variants on that acronym, depending…
Cool Running
We surely do get spoiled by some of our modern comforts, don’t we? When I…
Battery safety tips
Bring a big truck when you visit and work safe when you get home.I write…
Sharing Resources
In my last post I mentioned that I had gotten carried away at Sun Electronics’…
It Ain’t Rocket Surgery
How hard is solar power? Some folks are a little intimidated because they don’t know…
Solar and Taxes
The state has a pretty dismal record on solar promotion and subsidies. I didn’t even…
30% More
Once you get your first taste of solar power, you want more. You can always…
Pelicans
Just a letter to John that somehow got posted here! I’m glad to hear you…
Solar Heat
When my grandfather came to this country over 100 years ago, he worked his way…
Efficiency
Going through my morning email newsletters, I came across a press release from a company…
Backup Power System, Part 3
I have been rambling about backup power and it is time to touch on the…
Backup Power System, Part 2
Continuing on the subject of a backup power supply for your house, I want to…
Backup Power
Coming out of last weekend, the network news guy told us how many HUNDREDS of…
May I?
Remember when you were a kid and you always had to ask Mom or Dad…
Keep your powder dry….electronics, too
For some months, the wife has been grudgingly patient about the Trace 2524 in the…
After playing phone tag the other day, John and I were having a conversation about…
Increased output from fractured cells
I looked for that article we were talking about, regarding fracturing cells for greater output.…
Basics
I started taking old radios apart as a very young kid, began my career in…
More Parallel and Series Stuff
The other day we talked about series and parallel connections of batteries. You know, getting…
Enough is enough? Nah!
Can you get too much solar power? Spend too much time on Pensacola Beach and…
I want to talk about the Solar Lifestyle and what that means. Elsewhere, I have…
Cut Out The Middleman
Utility power began with a fight between AC and DC systems. Thomas Edison promoted DC…
New System, Problems, Solar Daiquiris
Stan-the-Hermit called Friday, needing some bits and pieces to finally get his 24v solar power…
Time to Hang it Up!
I like wristwatches, especially ones with classic art deco styling. I quit wearing them when…