Build a $300 underground greenhouse for year-round gardening (Video) Growers in colder climates often utilize various approaches to extend the growing season or to give their crops a boost, whether it's coldframes, hoop houses or greenhouses. Greenhouses are usually glazed structures, but are typically expensive to construct and heat throughout the winter. A much more affordable and effective alternative to glass greenhouses is the walipini (an Aymara Indian word for a "place of warmth"), also known as an underground or pit greenhouse. First developed over 20 years ago for the cold mountainous regions of South America, this method allows growers to maintain a productive garden year-round, even in the coldest of climates. Here's a video tour of a walipini that shows what a basic version of this earth-sheltered solar greenhouse looks like inside: © Benson Institute It's a pretty intriguing set-up that combines the principles of passive solar heating with earth-sheltered building. SilverThunder/via
A Material That Could Make Solar Power “Dirt Cheap” A new type of solar cell, made from a material that is dramatically cheaper to obtain and use than silicon, could generate as much power as today’s commodity solar cells. Although the potential of the material is just starting to be understood, it has caught the attention of the world’s leading solar researchers, and several companies are already working to commercialize it. Researchers developing the technology say that it could lead to solar panels that cost just 10 to 20 cents per watt. In the past, solar researchers have been divided into two camps in their pursuit of cheaper solar power. The new material may make it possible to get the best of both worlds—solar cells that are highly efficient but also cheap to make. One of the world’s top solar researchers, Martin Green of the University of New South Wales, Australia, says the rapid progress has been surprising. Perovskites have been known for over a century, but no one thought to try them in solar cells until relatively recently.
Wind Turbine Output Boosted 30% by Breakthrough Design Clean Power Published on April 29th, 2009 | by Timothy B. Hurst Passive structure design of “Wind Energizer” by Leviathan Energy reportedly increases wind turbine efficiency 30% in field tests. Technological advancements in wind energy efficiency have generally come incrementally and usually made via a process of increasingly large wind turbine blades. Put simply, the model has been: longer blades = more output per turbine. But that pattern of incremental improvements may be a thing of the past if Leviathan Energy has anything to say about it. The principle theory at work is that by placing passive objects around a wind farm it will change the circulation around a large wind turbine. “This is a disruptive technology,” Leviathan Energy CEO Dr. Farb is a bit of a modern day renaissance man. “We’re shaping the flow so that the highest velocities hit the blades. >>See also : Leviathan Launches US Sales Effort for Wind Energizer Images courtesy of Leviathan Energy Follow Tim Hurst on twitter
Technology - Potato power: the spuds that could light the world With a simple trick, the humble spud can be made into a battery, so could potato powered homes catch on? Mashed, boiled, baked or fried? You probably have a preference for your potatoes. Haim Rabinowitch, however, likes his spuds “hacked”. For the past few years, researcher Rabinowitch and colleagues have been pushing the idea of “potato power” to deliver energy to people cut off from electricity grids. They’ve also discovered a simple but ingenious trick to make potatoes particularly good at producing energy. The idea may seem absurd, yet it is rooted in sound science. While Rabinowitch and team have found a way to make potatoes produce more power than usual, the basic principles are taught in high school science classes, to demonstrate how batteries work. To make a battery from organic material, all you need is two metals – an anode, which is the negative electrode, such as zinc, and a cathode, the positively charged electrode, such as copper. Super spuds
World record solar cell with 44.7% efficiency The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Soitec, CEA-Leti and the Helmholtz Center Berlin jointly announced today having achieved a new world record for the conversion of sunlight into electricity using a new solar cell structure with four solar subcells. Surpassing competition after only over three years of research, and entering the roadmap at world class level, a new record efficiency of 44.7% was measured at a concentration of 297 suns. This indicates that 44.7% of the solar spectrum's energy, from ultraviolet through to the infrared, is converted into electrical energy. This is a major step towards reducing further the costs of solar electricity and continues to pave the way to the 50% efficiency roadmap. Back in May 2013, the German-French team of Fraunhofer ISE, Soitec, CEA-Leti and the Helmholtz Center Berlin had already announced a solar cell with 43.6% efficiency.
Wind power Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electrical power, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships. Large wind farms consist of hundreds of individual wind turbines which are connected to the electric power transmission network. For new constructions, onshore wind is an inexpensive source of electricity, competitive with or in many places cheaper than fossil fuel plants.[1][2] Small onshore wind farms provide electricity to isolated locations. Utility companies increasingly buy surplus electricity produced by small domestic wind turbines.[3] Offshore wind is steadier and stronger than on land, and offshore farms have less visual impact, but construction and maintenance costs are considerably higher. Wind power is very consistent from year to year but has significant variation over shorter time scales. History Wind energy Wind farms Feeding into grid Growth trends
12 Awesome Books To Get You Off The Grid 12 Awesome Books To Get You Off The Grid Please Share This Page: Google + stumbleupon tumblr reddit If you are a first-time visitor, please be sure to like us on Facebook and receive our exciting and innovative tutorials and info! This fantastic collection of books provides tutorials on many aspects of the off-grid lifestyle – including building your own eco-home, harvesting water, generating your own power and growing your own food! If you’re planning on going off-grid, downsizing, homesteading, survival prepping or simply living a more “down to earth” lifestyle, it’s great to have access to information and tips from people who have already done it. (Note – off-grid is an Amazon Affiliate and makes a small commission on sales). Earth-Sheltered Houses: How to Build an Affordable Underground Home Earth-sheltered houses utilize thermal mass in order to create a low-impact dwelling. Projects to Get You Off the Grid: Rain Barrels, Chicken Coops, and Solar Panels I like the “realness” of this book.
How it Works | Sheerwind Watch this: Watch 3 actual turbines in action! SheerWind’s INVELOX Wind Delivery is simply a better way to harvest wind energy. Wind is captured at the top of the funnel shaped INVELOX system. The omnidirectional intake area allows wind collection from any directionWind is funneled through the systemWind is concentrated and further accelerated in the Venturi Effect* section of the INVELOX system. *The Venturi effect is the phenomenon that occurs when a fluid that is flowing through a pipe is forced through a narrow section, resulting in a pressure decrease and a velocity increase.Wind is delivered to the turbine/generators to convert the accelerated wind to electrical power. This system of capturing, concentrating, accelerating, and harvesting wind power in a funnel is a patented system we call INVELOX™ (for INcreased VELocity). SheerWind’s mission is to provide sustainable, affordable, electrical energy to anyone, anywhere. inShare213
The Greenest Dollar Video: DIY Rainwater Collection System Here’s a great video from MrNativeTexan that will show you how put together a simple-to-construct rainwater collection system for your garden! There are a couple of neat ideas going on here – connecting the barrels with a manifold not only makes them fill at the same rate, but there’s also only one tap needed. Four barrels leads to an increased pressure at the tap and the barrels drain from below so they can be fully emptied. Water is synonymous with life, it’s a precious resource and we need to reduce our demand wherever possible to save trouble for future generations. If we don’t act with this in mind it’s easy to see that people could be fighting over clean water in years to come. Collecting your rainwater is one way to avoid having to use mains drinking water for watering your plants – in fact it’s better for them without the added chlorine, which is toxic. Rainwater harvesting is being promoted by the charity WaterAid to relieve drought and water supply problems in Africa.
How I built an electricity producing wind turbine 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. I found a great piece of property. One thing I noticed right away about my property is that most of the time, the wind is blowing. Let me state up front that I probably won't be able to help you out much if you decide to build your own wind turbine. Since no one seems to be reading the FAQ, I will answer the No. 1 question I get many, many times a day right here up front. Update: Here is a video of the wind turbine in operation. Update: Here is a video of me assembling and setting up the wind turbine on my remote off-grid property. I started the process of designing my wind turbine by Googling for information on home-built wind turbines. A generator Blades A mounting that keeps it turned into the wind A tower to get it up into the wind Batteries and an electronic control system . Finally!