Smart Water

A standalone desalinator needs 17 gallons of diesel fuel and 66.5 kilowatts of
electricity to make 1,000 gallons of freshwater, but now, the Solar Cube, (made
by Spectra Watermakers in California), churns out 1,500 gallons of drinking water
on just 22 kilowatts of its own solar and wind power. The innovation is a pump
that triples efficiency by recapturing hydraulic pressure during the filtering
process. Solar Cubes are now bringing freshwater to remote regions and places
short on infrastructure and electricity without paying the CO2 price – way cool. (more…)

Since before Hurricane Ike came to town, we lost electricity.  The generator
has been my close friend for about 6 days.

My generator is a 6500 watt 13 hp JEWEL.  It takes 5 gallons of regular
gas and burns at a rate of 12 – 13 hours at a pop.  If you time it right,
you do not have to run out in the middle of the night to re-fill the tank.

I have learned alot about generators these days due to the parents going
kaput on Sunday night.  Theirs just simple wore out from years of use.  It
blew out the muffler, starting blowing oil, and then found copper windings (more…)

Research scientist at two different universities are on the same path to
developing an inexpensive process that will allow you to paint on or print
out your own solar cells. Imagine, a simple and inexpensive energy alternative
for households around the world.

Last year it was reported that researchers at New Jersey Institute of Technology
(NJIT) developed an inexpensive solar cell that can be painted or printed on
flexible plastic sheets. Lead researcher, Professor Somenath Mitra said, “The
process is simple, someday homeowners will even be able to print sheets of these
solar cells with inexpensive home-based inkjet printers. Consumers can then slap (more…)

Our decision to go underground with the electrical was two fold:

1 – safety – nestled underground, no dangling wires for tree limbs, the wind, storms,
or nitwits to knock down. Just need to record the location, (nitwits are uncanny!)

2 – the view – one more time, – the view. All those who can’t wait for the day
that every stinking over-head wire goes underground, please raise your hands.

Going underground is by no means cheap. The power company will gladly do it for you, but,
get ready to give up your first born and a higher education for the rest.

Since we don’t have kids, this is the way we got around the expense:

We bought a “temp” pole for around $175. It comes with the weather head, meter box, and a large
circuit breaker box with double 100 amp main breakers, all installed. These are used for
mobile homes and new home construction sites (hense the name “temp” poles). We set the pole
in the NE corner of our property near the power pole with our transformer. So from main box
to RV breaker box is nearly a 100 foot run.

We dug a trench 2 feet deep to lay the electrical line. Paid $300 for 100 feet of 6 gauge
copper and that was cheap as they were out of 8 gauge. Threaded it through 1 inch pvc.
This was a rushed process, afraid to take a bathroom break, or God forbid, let dark catch
you half done. Because as sure as the sun will rise, that whole run would be unzipped and
nothing left but air in the trench. I can just imagine the little jerk, waiting in front of
the metal recycling place, sitting on my copper wire, sipping a hot cup of coffee, grinning!
Copper is so high now I swear they can smell it.

The whole time we were laying this expensive copper to hook up to an expensive power grid
the free wind was blowing the hats off of our heads and the free sunshine was still making
us squint through our sunglasses. We vowed to ourselves that if we ever get to the point
of getting the everyday necessities accomplished that we were going to build that wind-turbine.
That non-polluting energy generator and if we can ever find cheap solar panels, no roof on
this acre will be safe!

We vowed to get off of the grid or the grid will be paying us. Put that in your coal
burning power plants and smoke it.