I imply (and actually even say) many times on this website that it is easy to make solar panels. What I think would be more accurate to say is “If you are a green enthusiast, love new challenges, think do-it-yourself projects are fun and don’t mind rolling your sleeves up and applying a little elbow grease, it is easy to make solar panels.” In this article discover reasons why you may think it is not easy to build solar panels.
Not all information available on the internet regarding building solar panels is accurate, or safe. Take for instance this highly popular and highly incorrect article at eHow articles. It ranks #3 in Google, and yet not even one single point raised by this eHow article is accurate. My article dissects this eHow post point-by-point.
There are several options when it comes to irrigating your garden or farmlands. Is a solar irrigation water pump right for your situation? Read this article and discover the options you have. Watering livestock and your fields or vineyards with a solar powered irrigation pump is the best long-term solution for your water pumping needs. Compares solar pumping to conventional hand pumps, diesel generators and other types of water pumping available today.
Have your cake and eat it too? The cake is homemade solar panels. The eating is net metering. Can you have both at the same time? (Net metering is feeding power into your local power company power grid as storage or to receive compensation if you produce more than you consume). The problem is not qualifying for net metering with homemade solar panels — is there a solution that will allow net metering and a homemade solar panel installation?
The concept of “how long should a solar panel last” has not had enough time to prove itself yet. Many people have the notion that a solar panel will last approximately 25 years — as this is how long manufacturers warranty them for. In calculating the costs of solar panels, many people guesstimate 25 years and even say by 25 years it will only produce at 80% capacity. Read this article and you will find — they may last a bit longer!
Michael Raines is an actor on the Discovery Channel show “The Colony”. The premise of the show is surviving after a biological apocalypse. He brings his alternative energy expertise to the show. In real life, he is a solar panel installer. He has a cool website where he has a custom 7 kilowatt electric bike and a homemade grid-tied plug n play outlet inverter solar panel. This article is about his solar panel. Are grid-tied plug and play outlet inverters a good idea?
KAB (Keep America Beautiful) ran a campaign in the 70s, designed to pull on your heartstrings and convince people to stop pollution by making them feel super guilty. It is widely recognized as the most effective public service announcement (PSA) of all time. In tribute to this ad — I put together the top 5 tear-jerking guilty reasons you should switch off foreign oil and on to clean and renewable solar energy!
Being practical about solar panel installations — not every installation will serve every purpose. If you have a homemade solar panel installation, chances are it will not qualify for net metering with your utility company. The solution is to add batteries, but this elevates the real cost of homemade solar panels to way above $1 per watt. Read this article to learn more about the real costs of a homemade solar panel installation, and ways to reduce the costs.
AC/DC, a heavy metal band, or an energy conversion challenge for your solar panel installation? Solar panels produce DC (direct current) which needs to be converted to AC (alternating current) before you can use it to power your household items. To convert the energy, you need an inverter. There are two options — traditional inverters convert all the power from your alternative energy sources at one source. Micro inverters convert to AC at the panel itself. Which is better?
Most solar panel guides recommend buying solar cells off ebay to make a cheap solar panel yourself. Learn more about what you are looking for — this article outlines different types of solar cells you can buy off ebay and how cost effective they are per watt. This article shows you how less-than-$1 per watt solar panels are within your reach. Updated for Fall, 2010.
If you’re thinking about doing something as messy as commercial scale worm farming, make sure you do your research before you jump in. In fact, when it comes to worm farming, there have been many scams — typically involving a company selling worms to you and guaranteeing that they will buy them back (but [...]
My last post outlined my idea for vertical farming, i.e. raise chickens, chicken manure goes to hot compost, hot compost goes to worms, worms feed chickens, vermicompost from worms goes to gardening. It also occurred to me that I should define what I mean by vertical farming. Some people define vertical farming as [...]
I’ve recently become a nut for vermiculture (that is — worm farming). Its not just the worms, I’m more considering a completely balanced integrated system that allows you to homestead and micro farm without needing to outsource anything. It provides for itself — from waste management, to fertilizing, etc. An integrated system [...]
I imply (and actually even say) many times on this website that it is easy to make solar panels. What I think would be more accurate to say is “If you are a green enthusiast, love new challenges, think do-it-yourself projects are fun and don’t mind rolling your sleeves up and applying a little elbow grease, it is easy to make solar panels.” In this article discover reasons why you may think it is not easy to build solar panels.
First he sold over 11 million albums. Then he dated Madonna. Today? Vanilla Ice flips homes as he rehabs them DIY style, on his new reality TV show on the DIY Network. Notably, when he improves homes before reselling them, he takes many “go green” options as the homes are improved, such as upgrading to CFL light bulbs or water heaters that waste less electricity.
Not all information available on the internet regarding building solar panels is accurate, or safe. Take for instance this highly popular and highly incorrect article at eHow articles. It ranks #3 in Google, and yet not even one single point raised by this eHow article is accurate. My article dissects this eHow post point-by-point.
Drawing water from the ground to irrigate plants or water animals is a perfect application for solar panels. What are the different types of solar pumps and various methods of storing the water drawn from the ground? Learn this and more in our solar water pump article.
There are several options when it comes to irrigating your garden or farmlands. Is a solar irrigation water pump right for your situation? Read this article and discover the options you have. Watering livestock and your fields or vineyards with a solar powered irrigation pump is the best long-term solution for your water pumping needs. Compares solar pumping to conventional hand pumps, diesel generators and other types of water pumping available today.
If you are into solar panels and power generated through photovoltaic solar cells, chances are you are also interested in wind turbines, assuming there is a good breeze where you live. There is a debate about which is better, vertical axis or conventional horizontal axis, which is better?
Conserving water is good for your wallet, good for society and good for the environment.
Reduce your carbon footprint by taking a cheap moped or motorized bicycle to work or the supermarket, instead of your vehicle. Saving gasoline is good for your wallet as well as the environment. Learn all about electric mopeds in this article discussing electric bike laws, what you can expect from an electric bike for mileage and speed, and where to buy.
Have your cake and eat it too? The cake is homemade solar panels. The eating is net metering. Can you have both at the same time? (Net metering is feeding power into your local power company power grid as storage or to receive compensation if you produce more than you consume). The problem is not qualifying for net metering with homemade solar panels — is there a solution that will allow net metering and a homemade solar panel installation?
You can save big money on your power bills by becoming more efficient in how you heat and cool your home. By limiting yourself to one room, perhaps even a smaller room, and by insulating and using space heating, or air conditioning simply within that room, can easily save you thousands of dollars a year.
The concept of “how long should a solar panel last” has not had enough time to prove itself yet. Many people have the notion that a solar panel will last approximately 25 years — as this is how long manufacturers warranty them for. In calculating the costs of solar panels, many people guesstimate 25 years and even say by 25 years it will only produce at 80% capacity. Read this article and you will find — they may last a bit longer!
October 3 2010, 20 NATO tankers were destroyed in Pakistan. This is a drop in the bucket compared to all the fossil fuel oil that has been destroyed by wars in the past few decades. Plus a mention of one of my more favorite blogs, No Impact Man. Pick up a few ideas from him on going green!