Showtime for solar
Solar power is going mass market even in Northern regions. We tell you what price to expect and checklist the pitfalls if you decide to run your house from solar panels.…
July 8, 2007
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Solar power is going mass market even in Northern regions. We tell you what price to expect and checklist the pitfalls if you decide to run your house from solar panels.…
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Solar Power for Your Home (second edition) by Dan Ramsey with David Hughes
What is it?
One of the latest in the popular Idiot’s Guide series (published by Penguin Group) helps readers understand the basics of solar power and other renewable energy sources, determine if solar power is an option for them, and investigate what’s involved with installing various on- and off-grid systems.
How’s it work?
Organized in easy-to-understand chapters, the book discusses: Advantages and disadvantages along with costs and benefits of solar power. …
A California company has introduced a solar powered wireless internet router.…
In an attempt to break the high initial cost of solar power for remote regions, an MIT team has developed a small – 1kW – solar concentrating combined heat and power system. It uses the concentrated heat in an Organic rakine cycle, in which a liquid with a low boiling temperature is reused over and over – to turn a turbine salvaged from an old car. …
Pope Benedict has Vatican engineers install solar panels on some of the Hole See buildings.…
India receives solar energy equivalent to nearly 5,000 trillion kWh/year, which is far more than the total energy consumption of the country today. A government-led campaign to promote and harvest solar has been launched.…
Gizmodo reports on new concentrated solar panels turn out to be premature.…
SolCool One LLC of Redlands, California, is marketing an air conditioner that uses so little power it can be run from the power generated by no more than four solar panels. The air conditioner uses less than 400 watts of power, allowing it to run off the power of four or fewer solar panels or a wind turbine. …
When it comes to renewables, you�ve got to be realistic. Try taking one small solar panel and think: what can I power with this? That�s the question Richard Rogers asked himself, and his answer � a hi-fi. Music-lovers can re-create his design using some basic equipment and a little electronics know-how. …
Al Gore has been under attack ever since the release of his documentary �An Inconvenient Truth� for allegedly not practicing what he preaches. Most notably, his frequent flying and lavish energy-guzzling home were revealed to be causing the environment a whole lot of damage.
But, Gore has had some vindication lately. It seems that zoning laws have prevented the former presidential candidate (and some suspect potential candidate for 2008 despite his denials) from installing solar panels on his roof.…
Residents in Colorado are getting around 50% back on their solar installation spending � all thanks to renewable energy incentives offered by Colorado utility companies. In 2004, Colorado voters passed Amendment 37, requiring large utility companies to get 10% of their energy from renewable sources. As a result, Xcel created the Solar Rewards program, offering an up-front rebate for homeowners wanting to install solar systems.…
Oprah’s opened an off-grid school as part of her Leadership Academy in South Africa.
She…