PV Gap

Kay Said:

If the electric car works, solar powered homes, wind power, etc. then why when politicians talk about energy.?

We Answered:

Oil companies have politicians in their MySpace. They're friends with benefits. Lots and lots of benefits.

Carrie Said:

Solar powered homes.?

We Answered:

my brother in law built a solar house in 1987, then moved to Alaska and built one 4 years ago but has since retired from building.

you might try these sites.

www.lipower.org/cei/solar.contractors.…

http://www.solargenerations.com/download…

Jimmy Said:

Do you think that solar powered energy for homes will catch on in the Philippines?

We Answered:

Actually, the Philippines has the largest solar power plant in Southeast Asia and number 9 among the countries in the world having the largest solar power plants!

Irene Said:

Could someone please find me some information on the history of solar powered homes...?

We Answered:

Depends on what you mean by solar powered homes.

Passive solar has been used since the beginning of time to heat and cool houses, it's all about working with nature to allow the sun in in the winter and shade it in the summer.

Solar water heating began in 1891 in Southern California, houses would pump the water to a collector on the roof to heat the water. This was then popular in Southern Florida in the 1920's and 30's, In 1941 most homes in Miami had solar water heating until WWII made getting copper too difficult. The Carter administration made solar water heating popular again in the 1970's and 1980's with strong tax incentives, which the Reagan administration canceled, thus dealing a blow to the solar industry. Incentives and popularity were both restored in 2003.

Solar electric panels were developed as part of the space program in the 1950s and were first too expensive for residential use. They started becoming efficient enough for home use in the 1980's.

There's an excellent timeline at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/pdfs/s… (google "history of solar electric panels")

Rafael Said:

how many people in the US have solar powered homes?

We Answered:

Often called off grid homes too this is becoming very popular for many reasons. Quite a money saver obviously, and also a great way to help the environment by using renewable energy, but there is a new 'movement' so to speak, where people are returning to simpler living and smaller homes and living self sufficiently so they do not have a need to depend on society for survival. I am a fairly new member on a yahoo group called simple solar homesteading and just the month or two that I have been a member, let me tell you, these people make a whole lot of sense and the information that I have learned is priceless. If this is an interest of yours, I highly recommend that you join this yahoo group but they do get a whole lot of e-mails so you should set your membership to daily digest so you are not overwhelmed by the amount of e-mails.