Open Letter to Home Power Readers Thanks to all of you who responded to the first issue of Home Power. The support, praise, and information has been overwhelming. At times, working on the first issue, we wondered if anyone really cared about home style AE. We no longer doubt. Your response has replaced doubt with certainty. We are everywhere, and we care about energy and the environment. Everytime another batch of subscription returns comes in (about 100 per day), all other work stops. Everyone opens and reads your comments. Your interest and support has warmed our hearts and given us the energy to carry on. It's like re-meeting old friends. Many of you have asked who and what is Home Power Magazine. Well here are the facts of the matter. Home Power is basically 3 of us (Glenda, Karen & I) working full time, 3 others part-time and many folks contributing information and articles. We are not financially supported by anything or anyone other than the ad space we sell. We started Home Power about a year ago with less money than it takes to buy a used car. It took us 8 months to sell enough ads to put the first issue in your hands. It has taken us 2 months to sell enough ads to produce this issue. To date, all revenue has been spent on printing and mailing; no one has received any salary. We've been doing it for free because we have faith in this project and AE. We have high hopes. The challenge for us is to deliver Home Power to you free and make enough out of it to eat regularly. Time will tell. Some of you have been sending money to help out. We thank you for this, it has certainly helped. We are not going to charge a subscription fee, even though many of you have written you would cheerfully pay for this info. However, if you can afford it, and wish to send us whatever you think Home Power is worth to you, then thanks. It'll help out. For those who haven't yet responded to Home Power, please fill out the Subscription Form. Some of the forms have arrived damaged in the mails. If you are not getting your copy of Home Power, please let us know. We are listening to your ideas and comments. This issue contains information you have requested. Keep telling us what you want to know and we'll do our best to get it into Home Power. This month begins our THINGS THAT WORK articles. Many of you have asked for specific equipment tests and recommendations. Well, Home Power is supported entirely by advertising, so this puts us in a delicate position. Here is our idea concerning specific equipment testing and recommendations. Actually, its not really our idea, we borrowed it from Thumper Rabbit: "If you can't say something nice about something, then don't say anything at all." We will test and recommend specific types and brands of equipment in the THINGS THAT WORK columns. In order for a piece of equipment to be featured in this column it must meet three criteria: 1) It must do its job as specified by its manufacturer. This is determined by actual objective testing in running AE systems. 2) The equipment must survive. Once again this is determined by real life testing in actual AE systems. 3) The equipment must represent good value for the money spent on it. If you see equipment in the THINGS THAT WORK (TTW) columns, then you can purchase it and know that it met the three criteria above. Equipment not meeting these criteria will not be in the TTW column. This gives manufacturers that don't meet these criteria a chance to try again. We are a fledgling industry. A bad review can kill a small company. We are interested in fostering the growth of AE. And as such we are going to follow Thumper Rabbit's advice. Any comments on this? Our Thoughts on Alternative Energy People Consider AE people as pioneers. When we move beyond commercial power we have, by definition, moved to the edges of society. Power lines, like crime, disease and pollution, follow the spread of mass culture. AE people are truly pioneers. Not only in an electrical sense, but also on the frontiers of attitude and perspective. What we are doing now is novel-- we make our own power instead of relying on someone else. We have chosen this for many reasons-- the best deals in property are beyond the power lines, the desire to do for ourselves, our concern for our environment, and many other reasons. Whatever the reason, we are all charting new routes to self-sufficiency and happiness. What we are doing now may be unusual, but our efforts point the way to a livable future we can all share. Resources now used commercially to produce electricity are finite. We are using them up at an alarming rate. The consequences of unrestricted combustion, tinkering with the atom's interior, and damming our rivers are now apparent. "Only a stupid bird fouls its own nest." The world's peoples are looking for something better, something that can provide our power without polluting and bankrupting future generations. Alternative energy users light the way to a better future. So, stand up, give yourself a pat on the back. You deserve it. Thanks for having the courage to look the future (not to mention the power company) in the face and not flinch. We cannot personally answer your letters and comments, the volume is simply too great. We are starting a letters column in this issue. We encourage you to send your AE experiences to Home Power. We will print articles, comments and letters written by readers. The only requirement is the communication of information and experience. Home Power is a forum for this exchange. Information stands on its own merits, and any having merit will be communicated within these pages. So let other Home Power readers learn from your experiences. In the words of Bob Dylan, "You can be in my dream if I can be in yours." Let's dream together...