Sharing Knowlege... Feeding Nations Solar Panels Compared What is the best solar cell you can buy? It all depends on what is important to you. Two things that can be important are cost and size. For applications where space doesn't matter (like putting panels in your back yard or on your roof), you want to make the most power for the least cost. Solar Panels ranked by least cost per unit of power (best first) Clearly, large panels bought in bulk are more economical. For mobile applications (solar powered cell phone or lawn mower), you want the most power per unit of area. Solar Panels ranked by minimum size per unit of power (best first) Interestingly, some efficient panels are also economical. Please note that I am basing these lists on the data supplied by the referenced web pages. Q: Why didn't you include X? A: If you know about an interesting panel that is commercially available and not included here, send me a link where I can see its specs and actually buy it and I will add it to the list. A: I agree. Q: Why didn't you make a nice graph?
Green Home Business Opportunities: How To Start a Permaculture Design Business Permaculture is an approach to the design and maintenance of landscapes and communities that seeks to mimic the relationships found in natural ecosystems. The permaculture system was developed in the 1970′s by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, though elements of permaculture design have been used by different cultures around the world for thousands of years. Permaculture has always placed a strong emphasis on sustainability and environmental responsibility. As interest in sustainable landscaping increases, interest in permaculture is on the rise, and there is a growing need for qualified permaculture designers. Permaculture Design Courses and Other Certification Options Though permaculture shares many of the same principles and techniques as other sustainable landscaping approaches, such as xeriscaping and edible landscaping, it tends to take a more holistic approach, incorporating elements of green building, urban design, and general green living. Main Image Credit: sterlic
Hugh Piggott's home page Clever Tunnel System Makes Chickens Do The Gardening (Video) Image credit: Ecofilms Australia We've already seen how one farmer trains her chickens to eat slugs, and the internet is full of examples of chicken tractors—portable coops that can be moved to allow hens to till, fertilize, and weed a plot while providing pest control in the process. (see also this overview of chicken tractors at Planet Green.) But one Australian permaculturist has taken this idea to the next level—designing an intricate system of "chook tunnels" that let him funnel his ladies into any part of his garden. Of course many vegans will object to the idea of animals being used as "slave labor", but a system like this does go a large way toward answering the accusations of inefficiency so often leveled against animal husbandry. From processing weeds and food scraps into eggs and fertilizer, to replacing the need for human and/or mechanized labor in tilling, this really is yet another example of farming with animals the right way.
Plans for solar thermal, PV, Wind, Heating, Cooling, Cooking, and energy saving projects for Do It Yourselfers Search The Renewable Energy site for Do-It-Yourselfers More than 500 renewable energy and conservation projects you can build. Free plans and information on: Conservation, water, solar homes, solar space heating, solar water heating, passive cooling techniques, solar sunspaces and greenhouses, solar pool heating, solar electricity (PV), wind generated electricity, micro hydro, biofuels, methane generators, solar cooking, solar food drying, solar and efficient vehicles, solar water pumping, solar engines, and solar wood drying. So, what were you looking for that you did not find? Questions?
Start a 1-Acre, Self-Sufficient Homestead - Modern Homesteading Everyone will have a different approach to keeping a self-sufficient homestead, and it’s unlikely that any two 1-acre farms will follow the same plan or methods or agree completely on how to homestead. Some people like cows; other people are afraid of them. Some people like goats; other people cannot keep them out of the garden. Some people will not slaughter animals and have to sell their surplus stock off to people who will kill them; others will not sell surplus stock off at all because they know that the animals will be killed; and still others will slaughter their own animals to provide their family with healthy meat. For myself, on a 1-acre farm of good, well-drained land, I would keep a cow and a goat, a few pigs and maybe a dozen hens. Raising a Dairy Cow Cow or no cow? On the other hand, the food that you buy in for this family cow will cost you hundreds of dollars each year. 1-Acre Farm With a Family Cow Grazing Management Intensive Gardening Half-Acre Crop Rotation
How I built an electricity producing Solar Panel Several years ago I bought some remote property in Arizona. I am an astronomer and wanted a place to practice my hobby far away from the sky-wrecking light pollution found near cities of any real size. In my attempt to escape city light pollution, I found a great piece of remote property. The problem is, it's so remote that there is no electric service available. That's not really a problem. I built a wind turbine to provide some power on the remote property. Here is a video of the solar panel set up and in use on my remote, off-grid property. Let me state up front that I probably won't be able to help you out much if you decide to build your own solar panel(s). So what is a solar panel anyway? I started out the way I start every project, by Googling for information on home-built solar panels. After a while, I came to some conclusions: Once I came to the realization that I could use blemished and factory-second solar cells to build my panels, I finally got to work. seller. Oops!
Stelle Winter PDC: Snow, Rocket Stoves, Biochar, Guilds, Permaculture, Mexico, Etc, Et al…Snow Posted on | February 7, 2011 | 1 Comment We are here at Stelle, Illinois (the home of Midwest Permaculture) for our winter farming course. After only two days we are full already. Comments