A friend of mine would like to install a wind generator for electricity but the local power company won't let him connect to the power grid unless he can show that he has a million dollar insurance policy. He has called every insurance company he can think of and no one has this insurance policy that he can buy. The reason that he wants to connect directly to the power grid is that he does not want to have to use a battery bank but instead use the power grid to store electricity. Do you know where can get this kind of insurance policy in the state of Texas? Thanks.

Your friend isn't telling you the whole story. All you need to do is to call your local power company and tell them that you want a reverse meter so that they can measure the amount of energy you are feeding back into the power grid in order to assign you proper credit. There is specific wiring that you need to use that must be approved by your county. They require this specific wiring so that your system doesn't electrocute a lineman who is working on a line somewhere down from your solar power generator.

You don't go and buy a million dollar insurance policy either. You get an umbrella policy on your homeowner's insurance. An umbrella policy is property insurance that goes beyond what the homeowner's insurance covers. This is also sometimes called secondary insurance. You can google this to find a company that will sell this to you.

Just keep in mind that there are quality standards you need to follow if you connect to the power grid. You need a reverse power relay and an automatic transfer switch that will disconnect you from the power grid in case of a power outage. You also need to say "in phase" with the power grid. The manufacturer of the wind generator should tell you everything you need to know to do this.

Technorati Tags: battery bank, energy credits, insurance policy, local power company, power grid, secondary insurance, solar panel, solar panels, solar power generator, state of texas, umbrella policy, wind generator

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I was wondering if anyone has any ideas for a cheap way to use solar power or other natural sources of energy for my old farmhouse.

Obviously because it's a farmhouse, I don't need anything fancy at all and all the solutions on the market cost too much money.

So I'm guessing that your old farmhouse is not well insulated. So the cheapest thing you can do is to insulate it. Buy the thickest insulation you can find. Insulation is so cheap that you will make back your money in terms of energy costs saved in only a couple of years.

It sounds like you are on a lot of land. If you are, then you need to look into energy that is generated from compost. In a nutshell, you mow your land and then pile up all the debris in one place. You then put that compost into a burning unit that has pipes that transfer the heat from the burning compost to wherever you want it.

I am an expert on compost. I mean if you want to REALLY save a HUGE amount of money on your land plot, then you can do something that is really awesome.

You can increase the yield of whatever crop you have, even a small garden by 1,000% or more and save money at the same time.

I have a formula that I learned from a friend that makes a compost that you feed your plants, that's totally natural, and that yields the tastiest, divine food you and your family will ever have.

With this compost, you will use less water and save money.

Best of all, you can create this compost without a bin that doesn't repulse you or your neighbors with the smell. Hard to make? No way. You can create enough life giving compost in one day that will last you an entire year!

So I'm rambling a bit here, let me just send you over to my friend and you can talk with him directly. Click here.

Technorati Tags: compost, crop, debris, divine food, energy costs, farmhouse, garden, insulation, natural sources of energy, plants, solar power, sources of energy

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There is right and wrong to start a diy solar project. The right way is to use this solar power calculator before you build your own solar panel system.

You need to know how much solar power you are going to need to generate before you start buying parts.

I put together this video of the solar power calculator over the weekend while my wife and daughter were out of town.

Enjoy!

Duration : 0:6:51

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Technorati Tags: build your own solar panel, power calculator, solar panel system, solar power, solar power calculator, solar project

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Can it be that a DIY solar system was created by a man who pulled an old TV lens from the trash?

In a stunning show of intellect, a writer for Worldsnest.com, tapped an unlikely source to create a homemade energy system: the garbage can. He has created a 6 kwh solar power system for about $6,000. A comparable 6 kwh solar power system done with PV panels and a professional installer costs about $60,000.

Now keep in mind that the powers that be in America want you to think that after 10 years of research and hundreds of millions of dollars spent, they still can't come up with such a system. Yeah right. Exxon, Chevron, GE, and the U.S. Department of Energy don't like these kinds of DIY solar power systems because they can't make money off it. The big oil companies want a solution that involves keeping you as a paying customer. The government wants a system they can tax. Both only want a solar solution that enriches them at your expense.

The oil tycoons in America will simply not allow a DIY system that empowers the people to produce their own electricity completely free of charge.

If you think I'm making all this up, watch the video below and decide for yourself.

Duration : 0:4:08

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Technorati Tags: department of energy, electricity, exxon, oil companies, oil tycoons, pv panels, solar panel system, solar power system, solar power systems, solar solution, tv lens

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I'm new to learning about solar diy power. I was wondering how I can make some solar panels for my home. What I would like to do is to be able to run a refrigerator off of a battery that is charged by a solar panel. Does anyone have any ideas?

Not a problem and I have the plans for exactly what you need. The first thing you need to do is to get a large battery that can handle the load of a refrigerator. The XPower is a portable power system that produces household electricity for products rated at 1500 watts or less. A clean and quiet alternative to a generator, the XPower integrates a 60 Amp/hour AGM battery with a 1500-watt inverter and produces a 3000-watt surge. This system is built to run a range of appliances such as a standard size refrigerator and microwave oven, and office equipment such as a computer, monitor, and fax machine. It has a built in inverter and even an AC plug in its side so you can plug your refrigerator right into it. Check out the XPower Pack on Amazon at Xantrex Technologies 802-1500 XPower Powerpack 1,500-Watt Portable Backup Power System

Now the next thing you need is a way to charge this battery and that's where a solar panel with a controller come in. Sunforce sells a nice solar panel set up with a rack to put the solar panels on if you don't want to put them on your roof. The Sunforce pack also comes with a 7-amp charge controller so you don't overcharge the battery. It also comes with a 175-watt inverter that you don't need because the XPower Pack already has one but an extra inverter is always something good to have. Check out the Sunforce Solar Charging Kit at Sunforce 50044 60-Watt Solar Charging Kit

So here's how everything works together. You set up the solar panels outside. The solar panels go into the controller. The controller goes into the battery. You then plug your refrigerator into the AC outlet on the battery and you are good to go.

Technorati Tags: ac outlet, ac plug, amp hour, appliances, backup power system, computer monitor, fax machine, household electricity, microwave oven, solar collector, solar diy, solar energy, solar panel, solar panels, watts, xantrex technologies, xpower powerpack

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I am new to solar power batteries and so I have a couple of questions if anyone can answer them.

1. If you have a 12 volt 60 amp hour battery, and your appliance consumes 1000 watts, how do you calculate how long you can run the appliance with this 12 volt 60 amp hour battery?

2. Now if I was to have 2 60 amp hour batteries in my battery bank, would I now have 120 amp hours?

It is impossible to convert amps to watts. Amps are how many electrons flow past a certain point per second whereas watts are power. Trying to convert watts to amps is like trying to compare oranges to miles. They are two totally different things and so you just can't do it.

Basically the basis for your math concerning solar power batteries is that if you have at least two of the following three things (watts, amps, and volts) then you can calculate the missing one.

Watts = Amps X Volts.

Therefore Amps = Watts / Volts

and

Volts = Watts / Amps

That's pretty much all the math you need.

Volts is a measure of how much pressure that each electron is under. Think of a water hose. A gallon a minute (amps) just dribbles out of it if it is under low pressure (voltage). But if you restrict the end of the hose, letting the pressure build up, the water can have more power (watts), even though it is still only one gallon a minute.

As to your question, yes, two 60 amp hour batteries would give you 120 amp hours. Always figure a little less though. The wiring has resistance and batteries often can not hold a complete charge.

Technorati Tags: amp hours, amps and volts, amps watts volts, battery bank, power batteries, power watts, solar power, volts watts amps

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Yes. Keep in mind that your home is never pulling energy from a solar panel or wind generator. Your home pulls energy from a rechargeable battery array. Your solar and wind energy generators are hooked up to your battery array and are responsible for charging those batteries. The DC power from the batteries is then converted to AC to use in your home.

I have a friend who needs to generate his own electricity because he lives on a remote island in the Philippines that has no power station and no electrical grid.

He combines 3 wind turbines with an array of solar panels on the roof of his house. He connects those to a bank of connected rechargeable car like batteries in the basement. He said that he produces more AC power than he needs but unfortunately there is no power station to sell the power back to.

He built the solar panels and wind generators using these plans:
For solar = http://www.mysolarsecret.com
For wind power = http://www.mysolarsecret.com/how-to-build-a-wind-turbine.htm

Technorati Tags: ac power, array, batteries, dc power, electrical grid, electricity, energy generators, how to build a wind turbine, solar panel, solar panels, wind energy, wind generator, wind generators, wind power, wind turbines

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There are several ways to convert a house to solar-source power. First of all, you want to do an assessment of your geographic location and the number of average solar access hours per year. If you are in Minnesota, for example, it might be very difficult to get enough exposure. You also will want to check the exposure to sunlight that you housing lot has and any obstacles caused by vegetation or buildings. There are just some things you can't change, like your neighbors 50-foot tall eucalyptus trees that are between your lot and the path of the sun.

Some people use passive solar design to achieve lower energy bills, rather than go to the expense and trouble of buying and installing a solar-powered system. This can mean insulating your house more efficiently, improving R factors through the intelligent use of batting, windows, materials, etc. You can also try installing zone HVAC systems. Additionally, using any local winds or planting vegetation to help cool your house helps.

Passive solar can lower your dependence on electrical or gas source powered, but you will still need electricity. IF you get enough sun, or have enough acreage and money, you can install photovoltaic solar panels (think sky lab) to capture energy which you would store in fixed batteries (a lot of them, even today). For example, a 20W flexible solar panel costs about $300 (you can charge a 12V battery or use some minor DC appliances (as long as you have sunlight).

There are all kinds of different ways to do what you have in mind. The type of method will depend on the desired outcome. Heating water, for example, will be different.

For plans on how to build a solar panel system go to http://www.mysolarsecret.com/blog/diy-solar-energy/build-your-own-solar-power-system-instructions

Technorati Tags: 12v battery, dc appliances, diy solar, energy bills, heating water, how to build a solar panel, passive solar design, photovoltaic solar panels, solar energy, solar panel system, solar power system, source energy, source power

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I'm planning to buy solar films from the local DIY shop to install on my residential windows. For those who have done it, did you encounter problems? What exactly needs to be done to install them properly? If i screw up while doing it, can it be removed without damaging the windows permanently?

Go to www.gilafims.com and read there. I have installed on several house windows and very happy with results. The biggest thing is getting the windows clean beforehand and keeping them clean during the installation. Lots of fluid sprayed front and back of the film. Do it on a cool window. Window cannot have any cracks or signs of stress like a shot from a BB or it will crack worse with heat. Some films can come off easier than others.

Technorati Tags: diy solar, solar film, solar films

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I want to buy a solar panel and some other device X that will let me smoothly power appliances from X. X will use power from the solar panel first, and then from the grid if there isn't enough. I don't want a battery system due to the costs, if there is too much power from solar, I'll just waste it in this system. What is X that I would need to buy or how would I build X?

Some of the answers so far pointed out that my plan is a bad one for cost reasons. I'm well aware that it isn't going to save me any money. Leather seats in my car don't make it go faster either. Still, I'm interested in playing with the technologies in a bigger way than a little toy car or something. The DIY part is the main interest, not the saving money or environment.

2n2222 is right about the power you could get from the panel not being enough for what you want.

There's also the fact that you need an inverter to convert the DC from the PV cells to AC for the fridge and that everything between the inverter and power point is mains voltage and therefore deadly.

There's also the need to have the grid connection completely shut off during a power outage so that you don't accidentally feed power into the grid while someone is fixing the power lines (otherwise you may end up killing a maintenance worker and getting charged with manslaughter).

Technorati Tags: battery system, pv cells, solar panel

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