PV Gap

Victoria Said:

How to turn over home to solar power?

We Answered:

20,000 to 30,000 $'s should get you started.

Julia Said:

Best Solar Power Home related magazines?

We Answered:

Actually, check out some of the links on http://www.builditsolar.com

If you are going to do much of the work yourself, you will be sadly disappointed by what is available in print:

Homepower magazine http://www.homepower.com for example, it most often reads like a sales brochure, because "hands on" to a number of people usually means buying most of the system ready made in a kit. Hands on for me is breaking out the soldering iron and doing point to point wiring on components to construct the regulators (often called charge controlelrs.) Too much chaff for a hands on person to find useful. Some of the ads are useful.

Nuts and Volts http://www.nutsvolts.com/ is a bit better, but their topical coverage is far ranging so you do not always get as much as you would like. Spendy, might be better to sheck it out at the bookstores and buy it off the newstand when a decent article appears.

Mother Earth news http://www.motherearthnews.com is pretty good, but the best bang for the buck there is to buy their archives on CD rom, which is 3 disks, broke down by decade. There is a fair amount of substance, sometimes you encounter an article that sought to convert one item over to another, only it would have been much less work and cost for them to have started out from ground level and construct (with used parts) the same thing, which they sought to construct in the first place, a solar charged electric tractor is one specific item I have come to mind as one the author of the article could have done better. You might find the book they published "The Mother Earth News Handbook of Homemade Power," which is not real good for specifics in some areas, but is good for some ideas if you are good at working from thumbnail sketches, you can fill in the blanks where there are gaps in detail. The book was written more as a "primer" than a complete compillation.

For your wind systems, there is a lot to be found at http://www.lindsaybks.com Hugh Piggott has written a few good books on the home construction of windmills. The LeJay Manual is a good reprint that has a lot of good info for home constructing- down to the wooden propeller profiles. As well as the book "Generator Secrets."

One of the good sources for materials and tools supplies and systems is Northern Tool http://www.northerntool.com

One thing on propeller materials- never us ABS and never use PVC. As tempting as those can be they break. When they break, the blades will go for a great distance in modest winds. They can kill too.

Angela Said:

Could your home become energy self sufficient using solar power?

We Answered:

It depend on where you live and the design and construction of the home. The location determines the number of days of sunlight vs cloud cover and average local temperature. If you live in Portland Oregon, you will never get enough sunny days to power the whole house every day. Also, if you live in the desert southwest, unless your home is extremely well insulated the air conditioning will need more power to deal with 100 F temperatures than solar power can provide.

Katherine Said:

Does anyone know where to find TRUE grants for individuals who want to change their home to solar power?

We Answered:

Most states have some sort of grant program since I do not know where you are from, go to www.dsireusa.org they have a listing of grants by state. I am from Wisconsin and the Focus on energy program will pay up to 25% of the cost but you need to follow their rules to get the money. I got a large grant twards the cost of my wind turbine.