Tombstone Territory Dear Home Power; We really appreciate the information in your magazine as well as the inspiration it provides here in the "outback" area of southeastern Arizona. We live in the mountains amongst oak trees, mesquite and manzanita, in an old ghost mining town with only 11 residents and 13 miles of dirt road from Tombstone. We have been solar freaks for a long time, cooking almost daily with three home-made solar ovens for over 13 years. However we are new to this area and into being totally solar so would like to get in touch with other off-the-grid folks in Cochise County. Ironically enough, although this part of Arizona is a solar paradise, going solar doesn't appear to be that widespread. We have a 24 Volt system with 4 Solec S-53 panels mounted in a Wattsun tracker, 8 Trojan T-105 batteries, a Trace 2524 inverter and an old Samson windmill to pump our water. The only problem we have had is with the controller or "brains" of the Wattsun tracker which had to be replaced 3 times. The Wattsun folks were very good about sending out the part quickly and even up-graded our "brain." However our experience does make us wonder about the reliability of the Wattsun tracker especially as we were warned by two different solar experts here about their bad experiences, recommending we go with a Zomeworks tracker. Right now we are looking for an evaporative cooler to cool our 12 foot by 60 foot trailer house for those few days a year when it gets a little too warm even here at 5,000 feet. You mentioned that you use one at Agate Flat. Are there any energy efficient coolers on the market? Something in between the small, one-room coolers such as Essick-Air or the small 12 V RV Recair and the standard, high volume, large coolers? Thank you for doing such a good job and for helping us to feel less isolated. Sincerely, Dave Leib and Valerie McCaffrey, Star Route Box 12A, Gleeson, AZ 85610 Thanks for the flowers, Dave and Valerie. Our eight module Wattsun tracker has been running for well over a year now without failure. Check the installation of the tracker, especially the operation of the limit switches. The reports we get from readers indicate that the Wattsun is very reliable, with few failures (yours makes the third reported out of scores of reports). Many "solar experts" are very conservative about new products and prefer to sell what they already have in stock. Wattsun is a new product. Failures are bound to happen with new products. All I ask is that the companies involved make it right by the consumer. I am gratified to hear that Wattsun is taking care of their customers. We are currently running an 8 module Zomeworks against a 8 module Wattsun against 8 modules static mounted. In about a year we will have some real data about performance. We will publish this data. The evaporative cooler we use is called "MiniCool" and it does one room OK. Most of the 12 Volt evap coolers are underpowered and won't cool an entire house. Consider replacing the motor in your cooler with a more efficient type. Jim Forgette at Wattevr Works! has been replacing the motors in evap coolers with great success. See his ad in this issue or contact him at POB 207, San Andreas, CA 95249 ù 209-754- 3627 Ä Richard One Circuit at a Time Dear Home Power; Your magazine is great and performs a service in providing information on AE. I took some elementary steps and converted most of my home's incandescent lighting to fluorescent lighting. Many 75 watt spots got replaced with the Osram EL Series 15 W replacement. That made a very visible difference in the monthly bill! In just one room alone, the lighting load went from 375 watts to 75 watts. I recommend the Osram EL series to anybody. I have had them about a year now and they provide better lighting than regular yellowish incandescent lights. The second thing I did was add solar hot water. I was paying $65 per month in propane costs just to heat water! In HP#25, Tom Lane wrote an article on a closed loop DHW system. That seemed just right for Grass Valley as it can freeze in the winter. I called Tom and ordered most of what I needed from him. Tom spent a lot of time on the phone with me and was very helpful. Well, I got the system installed and it has been performing beautifully. I recently had 8 people in the house for Memorial Day weekend, and we had plenty of hot water with everybody taking showers. Although I am currently grid connected, I read with great interest the article in HP#25 on First Year PV Basics. Your recommendation for us grid-connected folks was to take a circuit at a time. I thought this was a good idea. I went to the Photocomm folks located here in Grass Valley. I told them I wanted to put my refrigerator on PV. It was one of my larger energy users, and I thought this was a good place to start. The people at Photocomm were taken aback by my request. I was told (and correctly I believe) that it would require a rather large PV system to run my refrigerator (not a SunFrost). I checked the plate on the 'fridge and found out it drew a "nominal" 350 watts. It would draw more during defrost. My thought was to put in a PV system with an inverter that would switch back to grid power if the batteries went low. In this way, I could keep the 'fridge running, and add PV panels as I got the money. It was my feeling that any power I could generate by PV would be that much less fossil fuel I would consume on the grid! In addition, I wanted to use nicads as it's my understanding that I could add batteries as time went on since nicads seem to be less fussy than lead-acid batteries. I wanted to install a PV system that was extendable. Am I barking up the wrong tree here? My proposed system would be a Trace 2024SB, eight Kyocera 50W (approx.) panels, about 200 A-h of nicads, appropriate controller, and instrumentation. I did not want to have to buy parts again as the system grew which is the reason for the rather large inverter. This was to be my beginner system to which I would add PV panels and batteries. Any suggestions? Thanks again for your work in providing us grid-connected folks with food for thought and providing a great magazine! Sincerely Yours, Jim Gallops, 14838 Christopher's Place, Grass Valley, CA 95945 Hello, Jim. I estimate that putting your current refrigerator on PV will require a large system, at least 16 modules. This is why we urge grid connected folks to replace their appliances with efficient types before considering putting the appliance on renewable energy. Consider that a comparable Sun Frost will save you the cost of 12 modules (almost $4000) the day it is installed, not to even mention the enlarged battery required. Your concept of a grid supplied inverter/charger is excellent. The Trace is the best unit for this job because it transfers automatically to the grid when the battery is low, recharges the battery, and then returns to being an inverter. Nicads are the technology for growing battery packs. You can add cells to the battery at any time, whereas you have at most two years to add cells to a lead-acid battery pack. Be sure to get a charge controller which has enough current capacity to allow you to expand the PV array without replacing the controller. Ä Richard Kiwi Concepts Dear Richard; A brief note from an admiring reader some 6,600 miles to your southwest. Home Power Magazine is dead-on the target audience; this from an individual with some 15+ years experience creating vertical interest slick, semi-slick and newsletter publications. An excellent job for an obviously expanding, info- hungry marketplace. It does not hurt that you and your family are so enmeshed in the topic matter as well, just as (several decades ago) the founders of Mother Earth News once also were. The core of the interest is well served by pieces such as All Things Connected (HP #28) and by your recognition that each issue brings in new enthusiasts who start off from ground zero excited by, but unprepared for the text (i.e. On Being Confused in your Back to Basics segment HP# 27). The ultimate success of the home power movement, while neither assured nor predictable, will best be nurtured by a continuing/on-going examination of the flaws inherent in a wired grid system, and analysis of the REAL advantages of being your own grid. As with any non-standard technology, offering problem solutions which do not fit the accepted techniques, you will for some time yet be walking a very thin rail separating those whom society labels "quacks" and those who society accepts as "forward future thinkers". Balancing your editorial viewpoint on the imaginary rail line will be a constant battle you must endure. With the advantage of physical separation, being a "Yank" living in a country which shares many "Americanisms" but shuns many more, it does occur to me that if Home Power could be faulted (not easily, I assure you) it would be in the area of NIH; i.e. Not Invented Here. Your market is North America of course (not a statement of fact, simply a statement of observation) and the solutions offered to problems and challenges have an American bias. Yet there are technologists throughout the world with elegant solutions peculiar to their own societies or raw materials who have much to offer to the world of home power. In my own reading, correspondence and traveling, I see wonderfully simple, low-cost technology solutions to the very problems you address from Israel to Mother Russia, Japan to the Australian outback. In my amateur radio hobby which has the advantage of instant info exchange on a global basis, we still suffer from the same NIH syndrome; i.e. American amateur press laments problems for years after their solutions have been offered in obscure foreign press. With this sort of worldwide information exchange, one runs the real risk of inventing, reinventing, and re-reinventing the same or a similar solution over decades in earth time. Not the most efficient system, you would agree. Such bottlenecks could be widened if not eliminated by adopting a wider stance and encouraging an exchange of data at least on the professional journal level. I have been exploring a similar approach to the assimilation and marriage of data in several fields of interest; the mechanics of routinely surveying all the globe has to offer in a given field, reorganizing that data (into the common language; English) is a tank of some magnitude, but do-able. To a pair of specific questions which initially prompted this unsolicited letter: 1) In HP#28, page 10, the Ciotti's mention the RIFE hydraulic ram. Might you have a company address for Rife? 2) In HP#27, page 53 Things That Work you review the Exeltech SI-250 sine-wave inverter. All you say about inverters vis-a-vis "sensitive" electronic equipment is true of course. What you do not tell me is whether the sine wave from the inverter is accurate to 60 hertz. And if yes, how accurate short and long term. Reason for asking: Many VCR products, especially in the 3/4" tape size field, reference their frame (video image) timing system to the alternating current field frequency, i.e. 60 Hertz. The timing system which determines how the tape plays back (smoothly or in electronic jerks) must see a +/- 0.1 to 0.2 hertz accuracy of the 60 Hertz cycle or it will not function. I have been searching for a reasonable-cost solution to playing back (here in New Zealand) 3/4" tapes which were originally mastered in a 60 Hertz world (Kiwi being a 50 Hertz world. Obtaining 120 vac is no problem; 60 Hertz is). Bob Cooper Jr., POB 330, Mangonui, Far North, New Zealand I agree with your assessment that the success of the home power movement rests on a "continuing or on-going examination of the flaws inherent in a wired grid system, and an analysis of the REAL advantages of being your own grid..." There is lots that can be written about the evils of current large scale electricity generation methods. Perhaps writing about it could win over even more converts to home sized renewable enemy. But already magazines like The Ecologist, World Watch, Third World Resurgence, groups like Greenpeace, and hundreds of recent books have done a good job educating the public about the problems. We think our limited staff, time, and pages in the magazine are best spent talking about the nuts and bolts behind solutions which each of us can do. On being ignorant of inventions elsewhere: for goodness sake, let us know what's going on in other places! We're serious about increasing our readership in other countries in large part so we can be informed about what they're doing. Answers to your inquiries: (1) Rife Hydraulic Engine Manufacturing Co., P.O. Box 857 Montgomerville, Pennsylvania 19401 USA ù 215-699-8870. Also consider Folk Ram Pumps 2770 White Court, N.E. Conyers, GA 30207 USA ù 404-922- 4918. (2) The Exeltech 250 maintains 60.0 Hz ñ a couple of hundredths of a Hz. This is true of all contemporary, crystal- controlled, FET inverters. Ä Chris No Ground Required for 50 Volts DC Dear Home Power: Trying to get useful information out of the National Electric Code book can be tricky. The jargon is a mixture of technical and legal mumbo jumbo. The answer to a simple question can take hours of research as the reader is bounced around the book by referrals from one baffling section to the next. Many are of the opinion that the Code is composed of Druidic riddles from which only vague, esoteric answers may be gleaned. After many years of study, I no longer believe this to be true. At the bottom of this giant heap of convoluted verbiage appear traceable threads. Some sections, in fact, jump off the page with such astounding clarity that they seem to violate the basic principle of befuddlement under which the document appears to have been created. The reader may wonder if it is safe to accept straight forward sounding information at face value. Perhaps it is more appropriate to view such statements with suspicion and paranoia. One area where considerable confusion seems to reside is in the issue of grounding low voltage DC installations. Many believe that it is necessary to ground both the system and circuit to a ground rod, regardless of voltage. This usually means bonding the negative wire to the ground rod. A separate equipment ground would be run with the circuit wires, also bonded to the rod. This issue is of importance in wind generation systems. Many in the industry report that a grounded circuit wire can damage the reliability of the system. According to my reading of the NEC, this grounding isn't necessary for two wire DC systems under 50 Volts. If you thumb through the Code book to Article 250 (B), section 3 (a), you find a remarkably straight forward set of dictates. The passage is in the form of a general rule, with listed exceptions to that rule. Leaving out the non-applicable parts, we can simplify the section as follows. Article 250 GROUNDING B. Circuit and System Grounding 250-3 Direct Current Systems. (a) Two-Wire Direct Current Systems. Two-wire dc systems supplying premises wiring shall be grounded. Exception #2 A system operating at 50 volts or less between conductors. In plain English, two wire DC systems need to be grounded unless they operate at 50 Volts or less. If they are kept to 50 Volts, grounding is not required. In some instances, it is necessary to ground exposed metal on equipment regardless of voltage. This does not require grounding any circuit wiring, only the metal frames of equipment. In this category are motor operated water pumps and a number of cord and plug connected appliances. Cord and plug connected equipment which need to be grounded include refrigerators, air conditioners, clothes washers and other appliances. The rules differ slightly between residential and non-residential occupancies. Sections 250-45 (c) and (d) give the complete listing. For equipment fastened in place, see section 250-43. The bottom line appears to be that for a two-wire DC system under 50 Volts, we may float the ground if we want. In some cases an equipment ground is required for conductive metal frames. This conclusion assumes that the NEC is truly written in English rather than ancient Celtic. It also assumes that there are no secret interpretations lurking in the catacombs which are rumored to underlie the NEC's offices in Batterymarch Park, Quincy, Massachusetts. Thanks, D. Chamberlin, DC Wiring, 12788 New England Rd., Amesville, OH 45711 ù 614-448-4894 Downstrike in Stafford Our system was destroyed by lightning about a year ago. We suffered a $4,500+ loss. There is some question as to where the lightning struck. The telephone interface box on the house was literally disintegrated. Some people feel that the strike came in the telephone line. Some people feel that the tower was the target of the strike, yet I can find no evidence of a hit on the wind AE system. We are rebuilding the system and are very thankful there was no fire damage to our home. Richard D. Smith, 8445 RT 237, Stafford, NY 14143 Sorry to hear about your loss, Richard. Every wire going into a system is a potential path for lightning. The phone companies in our neighborhood install a lightning arrestor at each line termination. There is no sure way to protect a system from lightning damage. All we can do is minimize the probability of a direct strike, or damage caused by a near strike, by properly grounding the towers, arrays, and other equipment. Ä Richard Grid Resistance As a 51 year old former submariner (yes, for real) and electrical engineer who has been living "off the grid" (terms that didn't exist when I started designing the system 17 years ago) I want to caution you about jumping too soon on the "code bandwagon". At 12-24 Volts your system should easily be thoroughly insulated against any conceivable short circuit. Not a single car starter cable has a fusible link at the battery terminals. Lock or protect the battery room against kids as you would any other hazard. Don't run #00 wires to appliances drawing only 10 Amps. Incidentally, submarine batteries do not have fusible links in the well! Why does this bother me so much? Because I watch all the hassles for anybody who wants to do something like install a composting toilet for instance. In fact, now that I've read that last statement, I have to ask you to leave off my name and address! Pumping up the enthusiasm is great - but standardization ain't here yet.Your AVERAGE county building inspector does not care and he does not want to be educated by you. What he does is tag along behind the grid and anything else he finds gets tagged out. As for Bob-O telling us that streams are important so go tell someone about your hydro-system, La-La land isn't the word for it! And I did not start off with an "attitude". Too many of us are STILL bareknuckling it with the bureaucrats. That all sounds like a lot of criticism Ä you're still doing great Ä but the AVERAGE person out there still does not believe we're FOR REAL and losing that frontier attitude too soon could lead to some really ridiculous future hassles. Name and Address Withheld by Request Dear Name and Address Withheld by Request, Being a "Question Authority" kinda guy myself, I can sure appreciate your viewpoints Ä especially about composting toilets. My county requires a full septic & greywater system to be in place as a "back-up" before allowing a composting toilet to be installed. This in a place that's been parched by a drought for the last 6 years. Makes you wonder who's running the zoo, eh? On the other hand, FOR THE SAKE OF THE PLANET, I'm willing to put up with a lot to see RE go mainstream, for the same reasons that I'll pay a little extra to get recycled paper products, I'll pay a little extra to install safety equipment where it may or may not be totally necessary. Never mind the inspector, people pay me (and others like me) their hard-earned bucks to install or recommend safe, reliable systems. The words "I'm sorry" just won't cut it to someone looking at the ashes of their home, ya know? Bob-O Alaskan Assessment Dear Karen and Richard; Issue #30 was Ä aw shucks, I"ll say it Ä just "swell". Yep, it has been a long strange trip. Jenasy and I were sitting around the dining table this morning analyzing our energy prospects for the day..."Well, I can see the mountain waves setting up (lenticular clouds), so we're gonna get a lot more wind than solar"..."OK, so we can do laundry and garden (water pumping) any time..." We both then marvelled at how, unlike our neighbors who are constantly trying to insulate themselves from the vagaries of nature with large generator systems or commercial power, we are literally going with, and getting into, the flow. Most Alaskans are anti- environmentalist because they perceive the environment up here as so harsh that it must be conquered and so vast that it can be plundered with impunity. Our Home Power inspired and guided systems are causing quite a local stir because we are SHOWING that its not necessary to have polluting power production or endless-struggle, environment raping jobs like gold and coal mining, and oil plundering, to live comfortable, healthy, guilt free lives. Meanwhile, Patrick and Zachary are absorbing the message in a way that will maybe even stand up to their future adolescent, hypocrisy-piercing, gaze! As for price increase: $2.50/issue is fine. Back Home charges this, and in comparison, they have nowhere near the meat; their articles are so "lifestylish", which is better than People Magazine, or The Enquirer (actually, what else would we do in the check-out line?), but nowhere near the value of answering a practical question like, "I wonder if an LCB would help my wind turbine put out more?" Mike Welch's "Power Politics" article of course doesn't fit the "How-To" mode, but one of these per issue is great. I would like to see some more stuff on hot-water heating how-to. Actual systems that integrate with wood burning stoves, etc. This is our last big energy-hog problem to tackle. The new index format was good and these indices ('though, I imagine, a pain-in-the-ass to compile) are very important, making HP truly a Hands-On manual. Karen, you may be having problems with the current printer, but the product quality of issue #30 is quite good. Photos were all good shading, clarity, etc. with exception of a small (1 cm) red blotch on panorama photo, top of p. 101. If the new guys really are a lot cheaper, might production glitches be worked out? It seems that HP is not so dateline-conscious that a week or two delay would make that much difference, if you could save significant money, thereby. Therese, your Next Generation article was great. Jenasy was very interested and is going to use her school board position and your great references to build up a district-wide alternate energy curriculum. It seems that education and reference are your emerging speciality. Kathleen, your writing continues to be top-notch and lend an invigorating different creativity. Your use of packing materials and other "junk" is impressive, and redolent of early Mother- Earth-News type innovation, in an otherwise high tech (and inevitably, expensive) field. Your 2+2 Systems article was wonderful. I have shown it to two neighbors who are intimidated by our whiz-bang system, which they could never afford. Your article shows that 90% of the lifestyle improvement comes with the first 10% of the cost. The large catalog type advertisers may not like this message, but what are we trying to do here, anyway? We would like to know your opinion of parabolic reflector-type cookers, such as that shown on Kansas Wind Power ad., HP#30, p. 67. I'm afraid we might need a little more solar concentrating up, here than is possible with the regular cooking box style. Jenasy is enthusiastic about dehydration, because our garden is so bountiful this year. Chris,we loved your "MREF Saga" article. Reading it, we were able to ride along in Moby Dodge, and attend the fair! Good reporting on the fair. -We are so remote up here, that we sort of despair of ever actually attending one ourselves. One comment; corn may be plentiful in the midwest, but, did you know that there is now no unpolluted groundwater in the state of Iowa? To The Wizard: Thanks for the good "10% probability" argument. I have incorporated it into my spiel. All in all, HP crew, a sterling effort. Keep up the Big Mo! Your Alaska buddies, John, Jenasy, Patrick and Zach Dailey, HC 1 Box 3102a, Healy, AK 99743-9604 The model you refer to certainly looks interesting, John. All the principles of solar cooking seem to be intact. I have never seen one or know anyone who has used one. I have seen parabolic cookers demonstrated and they do attain very high temperatures. Frying and popcorn is possible. In your letter you mentioned wind power. If you get a parabolic cooker, or make one, you need to be able to secure it very well as I have read of fires started by cookers falling over. I have often wondered what one could do with an old satellite dish in terms of solar cooking. Jenasy, I am trying to figure out how to suspend my dryer box over the woodstove, remove the bottom and keep the solar fan for ventilation to keep drying food in the winter. It works so well I don't want to give it up in the wet weather. Ä Kathleen Solar Cooker Coverage It has been an unusually cloudy Spring and Summer so far, dampening the spirits of us solar enthusiasts slightly. Still, there have been some sunny days and no doubt they will become plentiful again. The less than perfect conditions are spurring me on to keep developing more efficient solar ovens and to keep in contact with the larger solar cooking community so we can share valuable information. A very large international conference was recently held in California and I hope to obtain a report of the proceedings. I have a lot of the $160.00 ovens available (medium size). I have just begun work on a bunch of large $250 ovens, and a higher efficiency medium size oven priced at $200. More consideration is being given to aesthetics these days. Offer a free trial period before purchase and partial barter payment, especially to those belonging to the Local Employment and Trading System. I don't mind explaining solar cooking over the phone or by letter. I have long since promised new build-your-own plans to many people, but due to the time involved, I have not yet produced these. If somebody would like to take this on, give me a call. There has been some talk of making solar oven production into more of a co-op effort. I am happy about this and hope this eventually happens. Solar cooking seems to be inherently grassroots and well suited to the cooperative approach. The Habitat Re-Store in Winnipeg has plans to begin producing solar ovens using salvaged materials. This seems like a wonderful idea! I have declined a position to spearhead their project, but perhaps somebody else would like to learn this easy trade and apply for the job. Experiments with water distilling using a solar oven have shown it to be quite workable. However, I believe the better approach is to build a separate unit for this purpose. My next attempt will be a very simple hot-box in which evaporating water will condense on the window glass and collect in in a trough. I have had several letters and a phone call from (Solar) Joe Froese. He is in the Montreal area and scheduled to be in Africa by September. The Eritrean Solar Oven Project is receiving incredible support from both the Canadian-Eritrean community and from many others. You may have heard Joe on CBC Radio. If not, you may in the future, as CBC has requested Joe to keep in contact, even to call collect from Africa! How nice to hear of Joe and the Eritrean Project's success, so far! Howard Boldt, Box 152 RR4, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, S7K 3J7 ù 306-239-4742 It is good to hear from you again, Howard. It sounds like Canada is really taking off with solar cooking. The Eritrean Solar Oven Project sounds really great. There is an article by Allan Sindelar on the Solar Cooking Conference in this issue. Keep up the good work. Ä Kathleen Northern Composure Dear Home Power; Enclosed is a check of $15 for my subscription renewal. Although my primary residence is very urban (NYC), I spend as much time as possible at a small (600 square foot) house that my wife and I built about 2 hours northwest of the city. I expect that, especially in the Northeast, there are many folks in this situation, needing power just for some lighting, a water pump and possibly a TV or small fridge (we use ice). One issue relevant to our situation are concerns that develop from leaving an alternative energy setup unattended for weeks, and occasionally in the winter, for months. What needs should be attended to, what are the risks, etc. Another interest of ours, that I'm sure would be shared by others, would be the possibility of establishing an extremely low-head (2-3 feet) hydroelectric power unit that would only need to put out 2-3 Amps at 12 Volts to keep a small battery pack fully charged. I have almost got working a small (30 inch) water wheel attached to a geared up DC motor, but I expect there is a more efficient approach. Although extremely low-head situations are obviously much more limited than sites where you have a real drop, there are many people who might build a small summer cabin (like us) by a relatively flat but swiftly flowing stream, if they could easily get 20-30 Watts, 24 hours a day, without major dam construction. Because we live in a narrow, heavily wooded valley, solar is really not an option. I realize that the magazine's main focus is energy, but I also wondered whether you, or any of your readers, would have any info about electric or propane incinerating toilets. Our deep valley location, 20 feet from a trout stream, makes both septic and composting toilets unacceptable. As waste water treatment is probably the other key issue of living in harmony with nature, and with neighbors downstream, I thought that others might have some ideas. Anyway, keep up the good work. Jon Rubin, 121 N. 5th St., Brooklyn, NY 11211 Hello, Jon. Try Incinolet, Research Products/ Blankenship, 2639 Andjon Dept SS, Dallas, TX 75220 ù 800-527-5551. This is the only incinerating toilet that I know of. Ä Kathleen Ultra low-head hydro is do-able if you've got lots of water to work with.(see HP#23) Without considerable dam construction, your 30 inch wheel (overshot? undershot?) and a fairly large diameter pipe are as good as you're going to get. Let us know how it turns out! Ä Bob-O Earthship Rising I feel truly and deeply inspired!! I recently completed devouring The New Solar Electric Home Book and now I am writing to subscribe to your incredibly powerful and electric magazine! (Just found "you" yesterday.) I am in the process of generating ideas to an "Earthship" home which will be completely off- the-grid and will incorporate sun, mass, wind, and gravity for electric power and heating. I look forward to my first copy with much anticipation! Any readers out there, especially other women or newcomers, who would like to network, please write to me. Thanks, Home Power! Susan Slatky, c/o Morrison, 12421 K Hickory Tree Way, Germantown, MD 20874 Such enthusiasm from our readers is vitalizing. I refer you to George Chase's article in this issue, A Clean Solar Life, to help you outline your plans. Ä Kathleen