bobdeloyd - October 15th, 2009

Seems to me everyone wants to blame everyone else for the predicament that we’re in with high gasoline prices and global warming; government, Iran, Iraq, Exxon, and a whole bunch more. Well I got to tell you that you are wrong! To find the real scoundrel go look in the mirror, yes that’s right it is you! We have been warned a whole bunch of times. Like back in the 70’s when we had the gas shortages and everyone had to wait in line for gas. People were buying smaller cars like the Ford Pinto and that Gremlin thing; in fact they converted a Gremlin to run on hydrogen back then. Then the prices of gas went down and it was business as usual, at least for some people.

I was talking to a friend of mine today and he said it is all government’s fault that gas prices are high, I told him that it didn’t help matters any that he drives an 8 cylinder gas guzzling truck that gets 11 miles to the gallon and he goes to town everyday for something to do. He consumes and wastes too much energy running his home and all his toys that it is a wonder that he doesn’t go broke. He laughs at my LED lights that I use to light up my house and the solar panels on my roof is an eyesore to him, that’s why he won’t put them on his house because they are an eyesore. During the Christmas season he has so much lighting on his home that it’s a wonder that airliners don’t try to land there.
What I am trying to say is that we have to take responsibility for our own actions and not wait for the Government to fix things or we may very well end up like those poor folks after hurricane Katrina. So what can you do? Leave as little a footprint as possible on our environment so that others may follow your path.

I remember the first Earth Day way back in April 22, 1970. There was a rally held in a park next to the college I was attending at the time. The main speaker, a young well dressed bearded scholar, was lecturing us poor uninformed folk about how bad pollution and our way of living was destroying the world. After the rally I had some questions to ask this knowledgeable leader of the environmental movement. So I followed him out to his car and tried to ask my questions, but he said he was in a hurry and couldn’t spend the time with me. He then drove off leaving me in a cloud of black smoke billowing out from the tailpipe of his Mercedes diesel.
I learned a good number of lessons on that day. Practice what you preach. Even back in 1970, as it is today, it was hard to find anyone who does. And another lesson learned was “Experts” don’t know crap! You just got to keep an open mind and evaluate what knowledge you accumulate, because you’re responsible for what you do and how you live. Oh and by the way, the electrical in my home is powered by solar panels. Every little bit helps!

This is what my solar panels run and more about my home solar system:

My solar panels run a small freezer that I bought at Wal-Mart that opens from the top to keep the cold air from flowing out. I put “blue ice” in the freezer and only have to run it 1.5 hours a day during the winter and 3 to 4 hours a day during summer to keep everything cold. I have a 12vdc computer fan I salvaged and placed it inside to circulate the cold air.
I had a desktop computer, but switched to using a laptop because it is more energy efficient. I also have a: printer, scanner, and other computer stuff that I run.
I replaced my old 19-inch tube type TV with a 17-inch LCD TV that is more energy efficient (I save about 100-watts or so).
For air-conditioning I use a Swamp cooler that I gutted the ac motor out of and replaced with an old car electrical radiator fan but left the ac water pump in because it doesn’t take much power to run.
For cooking I use a countertop stove that a 5-gallon tank of propane will last about 9 months. I just use the Honda generator to run my washing machine and to top off the batteries on really cloudy days.
I do have to conserve some. I don’t run stuff like electric: heaters, ovens, irons, or things that take a big drain on the batteries. I do dry my clothes with a Thermonuclear Device (Clothesline assisted by the Sun). What about hot water? I have plans for building a Hot Water Solar Collector.
What about heat during the winter? My home is well insulated but for those real cold winter days I use a wood-burning stove, and one day will build a Solar Collector to replace that too!
All my lights are LED 12vdc and draw about an amp, but I could run ac lights (Compact Fluorescent) if I wanted to. The LED’s give me enough light to navigate around the house and for reading. I also use them outside on a timer. I don’t have to turn off the LED lights when not needed because they use so darn little energy, but I do it by habit.

My Solar System consists of:
1) AIMS 1250-Watts dc to ac Power Inverter.
2) 4-Uni-Solar US 64, 64-Watts solar panels @ 16.5vdc @3.88 amps.
3) 1-Arco 55 Watt solar panel @16vdc @3.4 amps. (I had this one for over 20 yrs)
4) 2-40 Watt solar panels @17vdc @ about 2.3 amps (I bought them second hand)
5) For a controller, I have a ASC-12/16 Specialty Concepts 12 Volt 16 Amp and a Lyncom SR-7 7-Amp Charge Controllers (regulates the amps to the batteries so that they don’t over charge)
6) 4- golf cart 6vdc deep cycle batteries.
7) 1-2500 watt Honda generator (for those real cloudy days and washing clothes)

My thoughts on how to get started:

There are several ways to begin a solar electric system. I will tell you how I would begin one. First you have to look
at all the electrical stuff you have and the power that you consume.
Find ways to make them more efficient or get better ones that are.
Remember that the less power you consume the less costly your solar electric system will cost. Then after that and depending how much you want to spend right off you can start planning.
It’s good to start off with a generator, like the Honda I have. You can power some of your home with it in an emergency.
Next step would be to get a dc to ac inverter, AIMS makes a good one, and your L16 batteries. Now what you have just done is increased your time off the “GRID”. You can charge your batteries with the generator and when that’s done turn off the generator and run just off the batteries.
Now you can get your solar panels and controller. You’re not sure how many you’ll need? No problem. You can keep adding to it as you go along.
That’s it, you have just gotten yourself off the “GRID” and you are now your own power company… Of course this is over simplified version, there are building codes, where to put panels, wiring the batteries, 12, 24, or 48 volts dc, sine wave or square wave inverter and stuff like that, but these are the basics. This is just what I did and it works. You should get an electrical contractor if you’re not into do it yourself projects.

My thoughts about solar power:

Some people will argue that Atomic energy, Television, the Internet, or whatever were the greatest inventions of the 20th century. Well now, let’s take a look at solar electric power. It’s inexpensive, easy to use, no moving parts, just sits there and produces electric power. Done, end of story. No not yet, it was invented in the 19th century, 1839 to be exact by Edmund Becquerel, a French experimental physicist.
I am not going to write the history here for you, I just wanted you to know that it was created a very long time ago.
What I am trying to say here is that “IF” solar electric power were invented today… with our energy industry is such a mess and customers being held hostage by increasing rate hikes… and “IF” you heard about a new energy invention that you could buy and install yourself, that just sat there with no moving parts and could produced enough power to run your home and you wouldn’t have to pay or depend on Power Company again. What would you do? Now that’s end of story! It works, it’s here, use it!
I have talks about my solar home with folks. Mostly they say that their electric bill is small and they don’t need alterative energy because it cost too much. I have to remind them that it’s what we put into the air that’s killing our planet and us, not a low electrical bill from the power company. Invest a little in the future buy solar! You’ll actually feel better when your electric starts coming from the Sun and not coal or oil!

Let’s don’t forget Light Pollution!

There are folks out there who have never seen the Milky Way. We get visitors up here who ask me what that bright cloud that runs across the sky is! I remember the first time I seen the Milky Way and saw satellites transverse the cosmos. It was when I was twelve and I was on an outing with the YMCA and we traveled to Yosemite National Park. I had a telescope (a little Tasco 4” reflector) when I was about nine years old but I could only see what stars were bright enough to outshine the city lights where I lived. The night sky in Yosemite was clear and dark and I’d lie in my sleeping bag stargazing for many hours until I fell asleep. Now where I live in Joshua Tree the night skies are pretty dark but we have folks moving into the area that want to bring their city habits with them; lighting up the night sky and wasting precious resources as they pollute our environment. We now have to worry about this Indian Casino that’s being built in Twentynine Palms polluting our wonderful night skies. I moved here in the High Desert because the skies are dark and I wanted to do astronomy and it would be a shame if this happens.

Tags: blog action day, climate change, environment, led lights, light pollution, solar clectors, solar power
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