Build your own solar-powered water pumping station by Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM Issue #91

In the last issue, there was an excellent article by Dorothy Ainsworth on water pumping using mechanical windmills. In this issue I will address another form of "free" water pumping. There are many remote applications where a solar-powered water pump is more cost effective than installing a conventional grid-connected AC pump. I recently designed a solar-powered pumping system for a local farmer wanting to pump water from a lake up to a watering trough for cattle in a distant fenced field. We have also designed larger systems to pump directly from drilled wells up to elevated storage tanks, which provide gravity-fed water back down to remote ranch buildings. Basic system description These solar applications made economic sense because the location was too remote to run a long power line. By adding a storage tank and increasing the size of the pumping system, excess pumped water can be stored, which can continue to supply water during the night or when it's cloudy and the pump is off.

How to Achieve Energy Independence Edit Article Solar (Heat)Solar (Photovoltaic)WindMicro-hydroWaste Vegetable Oil/Straight Vegetable OilBiodieselAlcohol/EthanolAlgae cultureMethane Gas ProductionWood/Ag WasteElectric transportationHydrogen transportationAnimal labor Edited by Evildave, Glutted, Sondra C, KnowItSome and 15 others This subject will be more of an index and overview to information about how to become personally energy independent. If you want to live comfortably 'off the grid', you certainly can. Ad Steps Method 1 of 13: Solar (Heat) 1You need a sunny environment (unless you use an evacuated tube solar heater). 4Learn the types of solar heating Solar water heatersSolar home heatersSolar cooking/baking Method 2 of 13: Solar (Photovoltaic) The simplest, lowest maintenance, but still expensive. 1You need a reasonably sunny environment. 2Get a way to store energy at night. 3Acquire a backup for cold, dim days.See also: How To Make Your Own Electricity Method 3 of 13: Wind Method 4 of 13: Micro-hydro 1Learn your options.

Drill A Water Well In Your Backyard! A Rocket Stove Made From a Five Gallon Metal Bucket The principle behind a rocket stove is simple–rather than cooking on an open fire, you burn wood in an insulated chimney. Rocket stoves are highly efficient and easy to make. They run on twigs, so you can avoid cutting down a whole tree just to cook dinner. We’ve had a rocket stove made out of brick in our backyard for several years. Using a piece of 4″ vent pipe and a 90º elbow, I made the chimney. I traced the outline of the vent pipe on to the lid of the bucket and cut this hole out with a jig saw. Using the vent pipe as a guide again, I cut out a 4″ hole near the bottom of the bucket. I used one part clay (harvested from the yard) to six parts vermiculite as my insulation material. With the vent pipe in place, I packed the insulation into the bucket and let it dry for a few days before putting the lid on. I found a barbecue grill at Home Depot that rests on the top of the bucket to support a pot. The last step was to add the new Root Simple stencil to the back.

Welcome to my DIY website for re Back to main site Welcome to my DIY website for renewable energy enthusiasts. The purpose of this site is to share my experiences of designing and making renewable energy projects for very little money. It is a resource for DIY enthusiasts and for educational purposes, to ultimately share thoughts and ideas via the forum. About mehere gotwind.org 2010 Garden Shed Plans - How to Build a Shed If you're like most homeowners, you know that there's no such thing as enough storage space. There's a limit, after all, to the things you can squirrel away in your basement and garage. What you really need is a garden shed--one large enough to house an arsenal of outdoor power tools while providing organized space for everything from rakes and shovels to fertilizer and fuel. There are two choices when it comes to building a wooden garden shed: You can buy a kit--and put up with the manufacturer's choice of materials and layout--or you can design a structure to suit your own particular needs and tastes. Click on link for high-resolution version of the plans.

Hybrid solar panel (photovoltaic and thermal) I am not going to repeat all the details on how to build a solar panel, there are plenty of other instructables for this (search tool is your friend!). I will give some basics, though... and then focus more on the "hybrid" nature of my panel (PV + thermal). General characteristics: - about 0.5 m^2 area, at a maximum of 1 kW/m^2 of irradiation and 12% efficiency this should produce UP TO 60 W of electrical power. (at the same time this means that about 440 W of thermal power could potentially be harnessed!). Materials: - 36 cells, 3"x6".

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