PV Gap

Ruby Said:

manuals on how to make your own green power?

We Answered:

The web-site below is a great place to start. Solar is good in most places, but even better at Southern lattitudes. Wind turbines are good if you're in a windy enough place. SOME people are even able to take advantage of micro-hydroelectric.

If you live in an area with 'grid' power, you might consider setting up a grid-intertied system. You basically use the power grid as your backup battery system. If you produce more electricity than you use, the electric company will send you a check. (If you've installed your system without "going guerilla" and doing it illegally.)

The components you'll likely need include:
1. Power producing hardware (i.e. solar panels, wind turbines, etc.)
2. An inverter (to convert 12VDC/24VDC power to 120VAC if you intend to run standard appliances an inverter is NOT necessary IF you decide to run on 12VDC/24VDC, but this requires special appliances.)
3. Storage system (batteries, backup generator, and/or tied to regular power system)
4. Support system components and installation (i.e. mounts for solar panels, poles for wind turbines, outdoor or very vented storage area for batteries, etc.)

Keep in mind if you're simply looking to save money, making everything as efficeint as possible will pay off the most. Install a programmable thermostat for heating and cooling, use compact flourescents and/or LED's instead of incandescent bulbs, and energy efficeint appliances normally pay for themselves within a few years.

You can also produce your own fuel, which I've heard isn't THAT hard. Biodiesel may be made from any vegtable oil, and ethanol may be made from certain farm products.

Ricky Said:

How do i make a solar powered waterfall?

We Answered:

The first thing I'd suggest doing is to evaluate the feasibility of doing this in terms of how much electricity would be required.

This would be determined by the water volume you want to flow, the rate at which you want it to flow, and the rise from the pond pickup to the top of the waterfall. From this information, you can determine the pump size and the wattage required to power it. (A pool supply or gardening company that works with such things may be able to give you some additional ideas as well.)

Once you've determined the power requirements for the pump, the solar requirements will fall out from that.