Solar Quonset Hut in Victoria Province, Australia!

I was exploring the web today when I stumbled over a beautiful architectural example of what can be done for energy efficiency and energy self-sufficiency! I was working on my Squidoo lens on Quonset Huts and found this Solar House at Mt. Best, north of the Toora Windfarm and East of Melbourne about 10 kilometers North of Victoria Province's Australian Highway A440.

The Solar House on Mt. Best also has its own wind-power generator, and uses energy conserving and energy-efficient architectural design techniques to maximize the solar and wind power generated.

Very nice. (From the looks of the place, I'd love to live there!)

Upcoming Events and Goodies for Do-It-Yourselfers -- Time to Study?

Upcoming events you might be interested in attending:

AWEA Wind Power Supply Chain WorkshopCleveland, OH December 8-9, 2008

Windpower 2009Conference and ExhibitionChicago, IL May 4-7, 2009

Links to Solar Energy Events

Links to Web-Based Alternate Energy Newsletters

Want to Do It Yourself? Or, Learn More about How These Things Work?

Good references for the adventurous "Do-It-Yourselfer" types:
Alternate Energy Resource Manual--Lots of ideas for ways you can build your own alternate energy sources for your home or small business.

Solar Power Design Manual--Teach Yourself All About Solar Power. Comprehensive Manual by Genuine Expert. Spreadsheet Included.

Renewable Energy Solutions--The Manual--The folks who put this together have been presented on TV, Google, and the New York Times as a source of Alternate Energy Information. Good stuff for those in need of Alternate Energy!

Using Solar Panel to Cook, Sera Temple, Lhasa, Tibet, China Photographic Print
Su, Keren
Buy at AllPosters.com

Here's proof that you don't need to have a huge amount of "technology" to effectively use alternate energy (in this case, solar energy for cooking). The energy from the sun is available for anyone who wants to capture it--and you can use simple materials such as cardboard, silver-coated mylar film or mirrors, and a rebar pot-holder stand to make this concept work.

Upcoming Solar and Alternate Events - Resources for Do-It-Yourselfers!

The resources are out there. All you have to do is either attend an event to get the information in person (take a lot of notes!) and get the materials there:

American Wind Energy Association

AWEA Wind Energy Fall Symposium 2008
Palm Desert, CA November 19-21, 2008

AWEA Wind Power Supply Chain Workshop
Cleveland, OH December 8-9, 2008

Windpower 2009
Conference and Exhibition
Chicago, IL May 4-7, 2009

Links to Solar Energy Events

Links to Web-Based Alternate Energy Newsletters

Or... you can also find good references for the adventurous "Do-It-Yourselfer" types:

Alternate Energy Resource Manual--Lots of ideas for ways you can build your own alternate energy sources for your home or small business.

Solar Power Design Manual--Teach Yourself All About Solar Power. Comprehensive Manual by Genuine Expert. Spreadsheet Included.

Renewable Energy Solutions--The Manual--The folks who put this together have been presented on TV, Google, and the New York Times as a source of Alternate Energy Information. Good stuff for those in need of Alternate Energy!

Happy Friday! If you get these references today, you'll be able to get the materials at the hardware store this evening or tomorrow morning and have a good weekend start at building your own alternate energy contraption!

Hybrid Concentrated Solar Energy - Do It Yourself?

Copper tubing and panels being soldered before being spray-painted flat-black. To be used in solar water heater collector. Work done at the University of Guam. Photo by Dave Gardner


The concept of "Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV)" is becoming well-known and can be seen every day on the road in much of the U.S. and the rest of the world.

But now, in a joint Australian, American, and Chinese research project, the concept of "Hybrid Concentrated Solar Energy" is being studied and has resulted in devices that combine solar heat collection with solar photovoltaic electricity generation.

Researchers at the Australian National University (ANU), China's Tianjin University, and Silicon Valley's Chromasun created large roof-mounted solar-trough-concentrator systems that use the mirrors to focus sunlight onto strips of high-efficiency photovoltaic cells. Then, the thermal aspect of the collectors uses heat-absorbing water-flow tubes that provide flow to hot water storage and in-slab floor heating. These devices were large installations (for example, 80 mirrors, 80 meters long, 20 kilowatts) used primarily for businesses and government institutions.

This process has worked so well that now the researchers are developing smaller devices to be available for individual consumer home use.

You can read more details about this project here: Hybrid Concentrated Solar Energy".

Still Room for the Do-It-Yourselfers

Although it's great that this type of research is being done at the University and Corporate level, what's to keep folks from tinkering with this concept at home and coming up with something similarly innovative or even better? Who wants to wait for the research and development to finally work its way through the government and corporate bureaucracy before becoming available for regular consumers like us?

You can buy "pieces" of solar photovoltaic chips or the whole panels on eBay or from other sources. You can also go to local hardware stores to buy copper tubing, PVC-pipes, caulking compound, flat-black paint, "glazing", plywood, aluminum sheets, and other supplies. You can also find plastic fresnel lenses (useful as "concentrators") readily available either through online suppliers or your local stores.

If you don't have much in the way of mechanical or electrical or plumping ability, you may be able to find some friends or acquaintances who might like to help you with a project like this. You only need to ask around.

If you have a website shows your own alternate energy contraptions and you'd like to share it, let me know the link--and I'll link to it here!

Losing Interest in Alternate Energy? DON'T!

Just because the gas/fuel prices have come down almost by half (here in the U.S.) since about 4 months ago, don't abandon the continuing push toward alternate energy. This drop in prices is only a brief moment in this crazy economy. You can bet that fuel prices will be jumping up toward the end of the year.

Who to blame? Who knows? It could be the OPEC folks in cahoots with the automotive manufacturers messing with the supply to lull us into buying more gas-guzzlers. It could be some kind of manipulation by the big oil companies to play games with us while they post RECORD PROFITS! But it really doesn't matter.

It's time for ALL OF US to explore our own methods of tapping into alternate energy sources--whether it's homemade do-it-yourself solar collectors for heating water or air, or assembling your own solar photovoltaic panels and then installing them on your roof. Or, hybrid-electric-vehicles (HEV) or plug-in-hybrid-electric-vehicle (PHEV), or Natural-Gas-Vehicles (NGV), or hydrogen-fuel-cell-vehicles (HFCV).

Of course, not only should we be switching to other sources of energy, we should also be conserving and cutting back on how we currently use energy. By properly insulating our homes, by switching the incandescent light bulbs to fluorescent bulbs or better yet, Light-Emitting-Diodes (LED), by not taking long hot-water-showers, by not leaving unnecessary lights and electrical appliances on when they're not being used.

Some of this will require minor adjustments to our daily habits. And some of this will take more than that--it may require a major investment into the methods of using the alternate energy sources.

But every step toward alternate energy (anything other than fossil fuel) will be a good move that will pay off quicker than most would assume.

I'm curious. With the folks from all over the world reading this blog and some of my rants here, what are you doing and what are your countries doing to use alternate energy and to conserve energy?

Paint-On Solar Panels?

There's been a lot of news lately about "paint-on solar panels"... in which the paint contains chemicals that can take the sunlight through an electron transfer process to create a current that can be collected and transmitted through wiring to provide electrical current.

This is a nifty concept--but as the researchers say, it's still being studied and has a long way to go before being viable for common domestic use.

You want another way to create a solar panel from the mere act of "painting it"?

--Get one or more wood or metal panels (4'X8' or other size)
--Get some flat-black paint
--Get some reflective silver paint or mylar film (with glue/sealant)

--Cut the wood/metal into easily liftable sizes

--Paint one side (and edges) of the wood/metal with the flat-black paint.
--Paint the other side with the reflective silver paint (or line it with the mylar)

--Let the contraption(s) dry and set.

During the day (when it's cold outside), lay the panels black-side-up in the sunlight hitting your floor near your southern exposure windows. The panels absorb some of the heat and then that heat transfers to the rest of your home.

Later, when the direct sunlight is no longer streaming into your windows, turn the panels over--the reflective side will still send some of that valuable light deeper into your home... negating the need for turning on light bulbs (incandescent, fluorescent, or otherwise --LEDs?--).

This is sort of a BASIC concept... but it works. And anything, and everything, is worth a try.

Solar Energy Doesn't Have to Result in Electricity!

Although it seems that the big push nowadays is solar photovoltaic panels and their installation (to be off-grid most of the time!), you can also get a nice savings and benefit from using solar energy in other ways!

Solar water heaters--You can make your own and install it yourself (after getting the plans, it takes a bit of work, but it's gratifying when you have completed the project!) or you can get it from the manufacturer and have professional installers put it in for you. (See the picture at the right side of this blog!)

Solar air heaters--Same as above... you can get the plans and build it yourself, or you can get professionals to get it and install it for you.

Solar architecture--Just by making some modifications to where you live, you can take advantage of solar energy. In the northern hemisphere, winter is approaching. If you can arrange to have your east and south facing windows unblocked so that the incoming sun can heat the floor and perhaps a brick/masonry wall or two, you can take advantage of the "thermal mass" of the floor to help with your heating. As soon as the direct sunlight is no longer coming through those windows, close insulating drapes over them to prevent the captured heat from escaping.

Conservation efforts--If your home is not insulated well, you still should take the time now before the weather gets even nastier to weather-strip your doors and windows. Make sure your window-sills and cracks are sealed well. Make sure your doors close well and firmly against the jam. Warm air leaking from your home can cost you with more expensive heating bills.

Solyndra and Gecko Logic!

From a Solyndra press release, the following story: Solyndra Inc., a manufacturer of photovoltaic systems, has signed a new long-term sales contract with German solar integrator GeckoLogic GmbH. The thin-film solar panels for the contract will be manufactured at Solyndra's facilities in Fremont and Milpitas, Calif.

"Solyndra's light system weight and low wind-loading enables our firm to install solar on a large number of rooftops that otherwise could not support traditional PV systems," says Steve Gyoerffy, CEO and co-founder of GeckoLogic.

And while digging around to get this information, I found the following interesting solar/alternate energy site:
http://www.enf.cn/

(And, if you are wondering what a Gecko really is, you are welcome to visit my Gecko Site Here!)

The Best Way to Beat the Energy Crunch! Do It Yourself!

<--Photo by Dave Gardner. Row of Homemade Solar Ovens with a Parabolic Solar Concentrator Cooker.

I've been corresponding with folks who have come up with their own ways to beat the energy crunch. They are in the "Do It Yourself" (DIY) Mode. And this may be the most expedient and best way to get around the energy crunch!

It's well-known that you can buy photovoltaic panels and inverters, wind generators, hydro-generators, and storage batteries on eBay or through the many distributors throughout the world and close to your location. You can buy various books on how to set these alternate energy devices up with your home or business. You can either buy the nicely assembled plans and assembly instructions through some of the providers mentioned on this blog, or--if you are the "adventurous type" and you have a lot of time on your hands--you can do your own research on Google and other search engines and find free plans and instructions for setting up these devices.

The key, however, is getting out there and DOING IT.

I would like to hear from folks who have put together parabolic solar concentrators, solar water heaters, solar space heaters, solar swimming pool heaters, solar photovoltaic panels and inverter/battery combinations, wind-generators, hydro-generators, and so on. The wind and solar generators are very common in the boating industry -- large sailboats and yachts always seem to have these somewhere on deck.

So, if you have put these together and have had some success with these new options, let us know! If you have pictures that you'd like to share, let me know as well! We need the inspiration!

In the meantime, I'm adding some pictures of home-made solar collectors here.



<-- Close-Up of the homemade Parabolic Solar Concentrator Cooker. Chicken Drumstick being Cooked. Photo by Dave Gardner

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Solar Plant Applications Being Accepted Again by BLM

On May 29th this year, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced that they would no longer accept proposals for new solar plants on BLM lands in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and California. The BLM officials said they were overwhelmed by more than 100 proposals and required 2 years to study potential environmental impacts for those proposals. However, Nevada Senator Harry Reid and Colorado Representative Mark Udall put some pressure on the Feds; and on July 2, the BLM said that it would continue to accept new solar plant proposals--while they continued studies on the plant environmental impacts.

Resources for Investigating and Building Your Own Energy Safety Net

Alternate Energy Resource Manual--Lots of ideas for ways you can build your own alternate energy sources for your home or small business.

Solar Power Design Manual--Teach Yourself All About Solar Power. Comprehensive Manual by Genuine Expert. Spreadsheet Included.

Renewable Energy Solutions--The Manual--The folks who put this together have been presented on TV, Google, and the New York Times as a source of Alternate Energy Information. Good stuff for those in need of Alternate Energy!

California City Takes First Step Towards Renewable Energy

The Tracy (California) City Council voted 4-1 last night (Tuesday, October 8, 2008) to put a solar or other renewable energy generation facility on 200 acres it owns in its southwest corner of city limits. The city originally acquired the property when the General Services Administration sold 50 acres to them, but then the GSA also released the rest of the land on the condition that it be used for recreation or education. One power company, GWF Power Systems, is already discussing whether it can build a solar farm on the land to supplement the local power plant.

The city was originally going to put sports fields on the land, but then they discovered that there were underground high-pressure natural gas pipelines and heavy industry (including the current power plant) in the same area. So the sports-field idea was squelched.

To be able to build the solar energy facilities, the city must now negotiate changes to the Federal requirement about "recreation or education".

Of course, they might be able to get around this by not negotiating with the Feds, but to use the solar or alternate energy facility as a teaching center and model for students and teachers (whether for elementary, secondary, or college studies). That would satisfy the requirement for "educational purposes".

There would have to be some coordination between the engineering and power company building the facility and educational representatives, but that could probably be worked out a lot more effectively than fooling around with negotiating with the Feds (the Feds seem to have a lot of other problems on their plates to fool with this little matter).

I, of course, being an ex-science teacher and having taken many alternate energy classes myself, propose to be one of their "educational representatives" to create educational materials for different grade-level audiences for all the students and teachers coming to take tours of the facility.

These resources would consist of coloring pamphlets and short and simple energy lessons for the younger crowd and more complex booklets for the older and more advanced students. Since I've taught elementary kids, junior high kids, and high-school level kids basic science (and I was a teaching assistant when I was in Grad School at the University of Guam), I feel that I have the qualifications to develop these materials. And, of course, it would be great to get "sponsorship" from PG&E, BP, Exxon, Chevron, Shell, and other energy-companies in addition to that from ZomeWorks, SolarPower, Aram Solar, Bloom Energy, and Solyndra.


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Solar Panels? We Need Options?

According to a report by the Solar Energy Industry Associaton--in 2007, solar installations in the U.S. rose by 45% to 150 megawatts. That's equal to the total energy use of about 37,500 homes.

But that's not enough.

There's no excuse anymore for building homes without consideration for energy conservation as well as at least partial self-generation capabilities.

In addition to proper construction with correct insulation, homes and business buildings should have energy-efficient designs, orientations, and landscaping. You can retro-fit homes and building with solar panels, wind-generators, and other energy-conserving or electricity-generating devices, and this would still be a good option. However, retro-fitting sometimes is "too obvious".

New buildings (for homes and business) can be built such that the alternate energy devices and construction is integrated into the structure. They can be built such that their positioning on the construction site takes into consideration the optimum conservation of energy and use of ambient energy. Landscaping can also enhance the buildings' efficiencies.

SunPower (controlled by Cypress Semiconductor) is a leading manufacturer of solar panels that work seamlessly with flat-roof tiles and the Spanish-style curved clay tiles common in California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and other sunny areas. Lumeta, a division of DRI Energy, is also making similar "integrated panels". New advances in solar photovoltaic technology are enabling manufacturers to build solar panels into a wide variety of roofing tiles, walls, and even patio awnings such that they are not as obvious.

The time has come for folks to stop whining and complaining and fussing over the "Return on Investment" or "payback" on solar energy in the form of photovoltaic panels, solar air heating, solar water heating, and so on. It's now becoming a necessity--particularly in areas where ambient sun is plentiful.

When you buy a refrigerator or a vacuum cleaner or a washing machine or an air-conditioner, you don't ask "what's the payback time?" or "what's my return on my investment?". No, purchasing one of these things makes your life more convenient and has some benefit that you can enjoy. Refrigerators keep food from spoiling quickly, and thus can in the long run save you money (because you don't have to run to the store every day to get fresh food and you can save left-overs for extra meals--and you won't come down with food-poisoning so frequently). Vacuum cleaners are not a necessity--because you can always use a mop or broom and a dustpan. But they are time savers and perhaps more efficient at getting allergy-producing dust and dirt and pollen off your floors and other things needing to be swept. Air conditioners are also not a necessity. However, living conditions in some parts of the world would be borderline unbearable without an air-conditioner. Can you imagine a hotel (or worse yet, a hospital) without air-conditioning? Particularly in the southern part of the U.S. and in most tropical parts of the world, being stuck in a hospital bed without air-conditioning would not be pleasant. It might be downright dangerous. And... no-one fusses about the "payback time" or the "return on investment" for air-conditioners.

So, this being said, we should continue with research into new ways of capturing the power of the sun, geothermal, hydropower, and wind-power--and we should get our lawmakers to lighten up and help the construction industry and the citizens to bring electricity generation home and more in control of individuals.

More later....

Photo by Dave Gardner - Fuel-Efficient Toyota Prius Parked in Front of Home with Solar Panels. (If this were a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle - PHEV - that had the engine converted to run on used vegetable oil, it would never need to go to a gas station! And it would be plugged in to the sun!)



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What Ever Happened to Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)?

Are there any operational Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) plants anywhere?

Or, was this just another option that folks were scrambling to investigate during the "energy crunch of the 1970s/1980s--and it became a dead end?

As a former marine biology major at the University of Guam, I remember that researchers were finding that biofouling was a major problem. The intake pipes would quickly reduce in volume because algae, barnacles, and mussels would coat the linings and other internal areas. Another problem was how to protect the plants during tropical storms... some of the storms, such as hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones could severely damage the main structure as well as the accessory structures of such a plant.

OTEC was an interesting concept--but it didn't go very far.

OTEC uses the temperature differential between deep water and surface water to liquify and vaporize a coolant (much in the same way a refrigerator works). The cooler water liquifies the coolant, the warmer surface water vaporizes it. When the coolant is vaporized, the gaseous form can move turbine blades of a generator--thus producing the power. Back in the late 1970s, there was a pilot plant in Hawaii. Another was being investigated on Guam.

Evidently, the interest in this method of generating power has waned and the plants are no longer working (they've probably been scrapped by now).

Hawaii was investigating all sorts of power/energy alternatives--geothermal (with all their volcanos, this would be viable in some ways), wave action/tidal (these are also in action in France, I believe), biofuel (halekoa, tangantangan--a fast-growing legume/tree that many consider a weed--shredded and used for boiler-style electricity-generating plants), and small-scale hydroelectric (dams aren't that pretty and can wipe out indigenous plants and animals in their flood area--a major concern in tourist destinations).

However, the best bet for places such as Hawaii (and other places as well) is most likely solar. I was digging around again for solar info... and I stumbled over this solar contracting and research facility -- based in Hawaii: Sopogy. Their headquarters are in Hawaii, but they also have offices here in the U.S. --one is in San Jose, California.


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Learning Resources for Alternate Energy Advocates!

I have been collecting solar and alternate energy references and resources for the past 30 years. It started when I was in high school and got interested in other ways to create heat and light (mostly for during typhoons) when we lived on Guam.

I've recently discovered an interesting resource that you can see when you click here. Lots of ideas for ways you can build your own alternate energy sources for your home or small business.

And here are two more:

Solar Power Design Manual--Teach Yourself All About Solar Power. Comprehensive Manual by Genuine Expert. Spreadsheet Included.

Renewable Energy Solutions--The Manual--The folks who put this together have been presented on TV, Google, and the New York Times as a source of Alternate Energy Information. Good stuff for those in need of Alternate Energy!

Do-It Yourself versus Buy What's Available

When I was studying alternate energy in school many, many years ago (1974-1980, if you must know), it was not easy finding good alternate energy products. And, in our classes at the University of Guam and the University of Hawaii Manoa Campus Guam Extension, we wound up making our alternate energy items--including a solar water heater, a solar oven, and a solar cooker.

As students, we each acquired the plywood, copper pipes, solder, butane torch, nails, flat-black spray paint, glass/glazing, glass-cutter, duct-tape, and other tools necessary to build these things. It required some heavy lifting, some hot soldering, teamwork with holding the copper pipes while they were being soldered and for heavy lifting of the assembled units.

I was taking the classes as a public school science teacher (taking additional classes to satisfy my teaching certification requirements)--so the units I made wound up being part of the science curriculum at the high school I was teaching at-- and those things may still be in the science department storeroom.

But the solar energy principles and the learning experience of hands-on work with building the units have stayed with me ever since.

Now? Maybe instead of building my own solar water heater and solar cooker and solar oven (although I probably could easily do this, if I had the inclination), it might be better to buy those that are now available commercially.

My experience with building the things is helpful now when evaluating the quality and performance of the commercially-built units.

Why buy a commercial unit? Even though it may seem costly, you may get a higher-quality product. If you are not a metal-worker or experienced carpenter or construction worker or engineer, you might not get a good unit even after all the time you've put into assembling an alternate energy unit. If you buy a commercial unit, chances are good that the assembly is well-put-together and it will have a warranty on it.

You can always meet the solution half-way -- you can buy a solar or alternate energy KIT -- which provides you with a box or shipping crate of the proper components, and all you have to do is assemble it on your intended location. This ensures that the basic components are good and functional and saves you on the installation costs.

There are many different ways of looking at alternate energy resources for your home or business--I hope these help with your decision to act on avoiding the oil monster.


Power your home with solar or wind power, visit the Alternative Energy Store!


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