| Questions? Comments? Ideas? |
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If you have any questions on solar or renewable energy projects, or suggestions to make
the site better, or have an energy related idea, or have a project
you have done or seen elsewhere -- lets hear about it...
Subscribe to the Newsletter...
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| Solar Heating |
$2K Solar Space and Water Heating System
This DIY system that provides both solar space and water
heating in a single system.
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The Solar Space Heating section has solar water and air heating
systems with and without storage -- some 87 projects.
The Solar Water Heating section provides many DIY builds for solar
water heating systems including batch, thermosyphon, drain back,
and closed loop systems, solar showers, solar stock tanks, kits, ...
117 projects and ideas.
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| Energy Conservation |
Mooney Wall
A cost effective, high R
value wall for retrofit or new construction. No thermal
bridging.
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The simplest and cheapest way ever to cut window heat loss
about in half!
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The
Energy
Conservation Page provides ranging from free bubble wrap
window insulation to complete redo's of homes. Insulation,
appliances, window treatments, lighting, drying, ... about 150
projects and ideas.
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| Solar Electricity |
Our DIY Grid-Tied PV System
This system is straight forward to install, and saved more than 50% compared to a commercially installed system.
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The PV section contains
builds for off-grid,
grid-tied, small standalone systems, DIY mounts, PV vehicles, PV tracking, ...
Plus PV Basics and DIY guides.
Over 90 projects to build.
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| Wind |
Tom Restores a Jacobs Wind Turbine Project
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The Wind Section has critical design information for DIY wind turbine builds plus
dozens of DIY wind turbine projects, windmill water pumpers, ...
55 builds, guides, ...
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| Passive Cooling |
 Cooling
with Landscaping
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The Passive Cooling section has dozens of practical and low cost
projects and ideas for cooling -- insulating, preventing
solar gain, ventilations, shading, efficient active cooling,
earth tubes, landscaping, ... 77 projects and ideas.
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| Water Conservation |
2200 Gallon Water Harvest System
An easy to build 2200 gallon rain water harvest system from our
shop roof.
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The Water
Conservation Section covers rain harvest systems of many
types, efficient toilets, grey water reuse, solar stills,
... Plus a basics and DIY guides section. 75 builds,
ideas, and guides.
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| Solar Homes |
Solar Home in the Sierras
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The Solar Homes section is a very large collection of
information on designing and building solar and energy efficient
homes -- plans, construction techniques, design information,
examples ... 293 builds, plans, guides and ideas.
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| Solar Pool & Hot Tub Heating |
Tom's PEX/Aluminum solar pool heating collector
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The Solar Pool and Hot
Tub Heating section give design and build information
for solar pool and hot tub heater builds. Plus DIY
collector designs, natural pools, wood heaters, ... 44
projects.
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| Solar Cooking and Drying |
Bill's Solar Cooking Projects
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The Solar
Cooking and Food Drying section has more than 40 projects
for building solar cookers and ovens, solar food drying, and
root cellars.
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| References, Design Data, Calculators |
Solar Site Survey
Its critical to do a Solar Site Survey before starting any
solar project.
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The References
Section has material on designing renewable energy systems,
weather and sun data, pump/fan/duct/pipe sizing, heat loss
calculators, materials information, component data, ... much
more.
I'm an engineer -- there is lots of
analytical and design information here.
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| Experimental |
Dozens of Experimental Designs, New Ideas, Prototypes and
Emerging Energy Technology
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The Experimental Section -- new ideas, new technologies, down to earth experimental
stuff. The garage inventors nirvana.
112 builds, ideas, articles.
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| BioFuels |
Conversion of VW Jetta Diesel to Burn Vegetable Oil
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The Biofuels
Section has design and build information on veggie oil, bio
diesel, making and using ethanol, methane generators, wood gas vehicles, masonry
heaters, rocket stoves, wood water heating, and heat from
compost.
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| Solar Projects for Kids |
Doing Solargraphy
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Forty great projects for kids/students to have fun learning
about solar and renewable energy -- wind turbines, PV boats,
Solargraphy, heat transfer, solar mechanics, ...
Solar for
Kids...
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| Concentrating Solar Collectors |
George's DIY Parabolic Concentrating Collectors
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The Concentrating Solar section has build and design information
on various types of concentrating solar collectors including
some that make good DIY projects.
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| Micro Hydro |
 An
Undershot Water Wheel for Electricity Generation
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The Micro-Hydro Section provides design guides and a number of DIY builds
ranging from a few watts to multiple kilowatts. 31
projects, builds and guides.
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| Frugal Solar Projects |
Using bubble wrap to reduce window heat loss -- effective and
cheap
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A collection of solar and
conservation projects that cost much less than you think
they would -- several
that cost nothing!
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| Solar Wood Kilns |
A Collection of plans and design information for solar
powered wood drying kilns.
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| Solar Water Pumping |
Solar and wind powered water pumping
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All sorts of information on Solar and
Wind Water Pumping.
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| Solar Engines |
| A small collection of
Solar
Powered Engines |
| Sunspaces and Greenhouses |
Doug's Solar Greenhouse and Sunspace
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The Solar Sunspace and Greenhouse section has much design and
build information for solar space heating sunspaces and for
solar greenhouses. 90 projects, plans, ideas.
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| Solar Vehicles |
Restoring an ElecTrak and Using It for Backup Solar Electric
Power
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The Solar
Vehicles section has information on EV conversions,
efficient cars, latest developments in transport, solar tractors and mowers,
... all DIY oriented.
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| Solar (and efficient)
Lighting |
Giving LED Lighting a Try in Our House
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The Solar and
Efficient Lighting Section has information and projects on
how to design solar lighting and on LED and CFL lighting.
23 builds, guides, articles.
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| Interesting Odd Energy/Solar Stuff |
The Solar Heated Ice Fishing Shack
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| A collection of very interesting, off the beaten path, but
often quite practical
projects and ideas. |
