Greetings, As a result of your touting Solar Retrofit Consortium's fluorescent valance light, Model 88 SVL, I ordered one. Unfortunately, it arrived, via parcel post, with damage to the fluorescent tube so that it didn't work. I wrote to the company and promptly received a replacement tube via UPS 2nd Day Air. I agree with your praise of the fixture and wanted you to know that the company was also worthy of praise in its considerateness for its customers. Sincerely, Jack Lesh, Gustavus, AK Dear Folks, First of all, thank you for putting out a truly interesting and useful publication. Second of all, we run our homestead and soap manufacturing business on a PV, micro hydro and propane power system. Your drag-a-mouse article is the inspiration for this letter! We live in the mountains of Northern California on land we purchased in 1977. In the winter of 1978-79, when our two oldest children were reading well on their own, we put wall hanging kerosene lamps on each side of their room. From that moment we lived in fear of the inevitable pillow fight burning down the home we had worked so hard to build. Thus began our affair with alternative energy! Originally, we put R.V. lamps in the kids room and a couple of lamps elsewhere in the house, powered of of an old car battery that we charged every time we went to town.... Town being a minimum 1 hour drive (one way), we would weave jumper cables from the truck battery through the passenger side mirror and door handle and into the back of the truck to the house batteries and drive off. It was important to remember NOT to get out of the passenger side door! Well, we've come a long way since then, and now have what we call the SIMMONS RAIN OR SHINE SYSTEM. Still being perfected, of course, as we can afford panels and such one at a time only. Starting with winter, the rain side of our system is a Harris wheel, powered by the runoff from a pond. Running a 2" pipe down a 70' drop generates all the power we need during the rainy season of long nights. Charging two L-16s, we run lights, stereo, VCR and radio telephone, occasionally using our ancient Radio Shack 300 watt inverter to power our blender (an ancient 250 watt Proctor Silex) and misc. small power tools. Come the sun in the spring and our assorted PV panels take over, as the water table drops. During those terrible rainless, cloudy times in spring and fall, if they last too long, we hooked an (also ancient) Kohler 2000 watt generator into our system. Visitors to our home rarely realize that we are not hooked into the power grid. Looks like any other house, with lights and plugs and all. We also have a solar electric fence to separate our livestock from our vegetables and fruit trees and solar hot water panels. This is all supplemented by heating with wood, cooking with propane (summer) or on our cookstove (winter), a Paloma instant water heater for winter supplement and a propane refrigerator. The soap shop has it's own motley assortment of PV panels, charging a couple of 12 volt deep cycle batteries to run lights, radio, and an assortment of ventilating fans that aid in the curing of the soap. We heat with wood and have converted a steam kettle over to propane for our soap making. YEAH!! People always act like this is impossible! Anyhow, I was delighted to see the Drag-A-Mouse ad in Home Power. We've wanted to advertise with you (and support your good work in that manner) but suspected that a soap ad would be out of place even if our logo IS the sun! No More! By God, we do have alternative energy soap and we know you all have to wash sometime, so enclosed please find our check and ad copy for your Home Power Mercantile section. Thanks for the opportunity. Keep up the good work. Best Wishes, Dennis and Dottie Simmons, 42295 Hwy. 36, Bridgeville, CA 95526 We've had a few complaints about nonRE ads, but gosh, everybody has other needs AND as our database grows production expenses grow too, AND we REALLY want to keep Home Power Free so we gladly except nonRE advertising. By the way, we sent one of the Simmons Gift Baskets to Richard's Mom and she loved it! KP (great initials HUH!, that's a joke) Enclosed please find my check for $6 for issues #2, 3, and 4. My originals burned when my alternative energy powered country home was struck by lightning on August 1. Ironically, I got issue #6 with Windy Dankoff's "Grounding and Lightning Protection" about a week after the fire. It appears that a huge static charge built up on my ungrounded 2,200 pounds of lead calcium batteries and drew the lightning through the house, causing a fire which burned it to the ground. The insurance company says it is the first true 100% loss they've ever adjusted, because the heat was so intense even the foundations and slab buckled and cracked. Nobody knows quite what happened, though. Both I and my neighbor were in town when the fire started. Another irony: the reason I was in town was to work with a fellow from the Tides Foundation of San Francisco on a commercial hazardous waste incinerator public information project. My Harris microhydro turbine and photovoltaic panels survived. My system differs from Harry O. Rakfeldt's in that I have a high flow (minimum of 105 gpm), low head (50 feet) system, where water is diverted on BLM land from a spring-fed creek and flows a quarter mile to an irrigation reservoir on my property through a four inch pipeline. The turbine is at the end of the pipe. I will be rebuilding with a grounded system and one whale of a lightning rod! Sincerely, R. C., San Juan County, UT Greetings, Here's another big THANKS from those of us out here on the trailing-edge of technology. I eagerly look forward to each issue full of USEFUL information and connections to suppliers. Enclosed is a small donation in lieu of a subscription. Enjoyed seeing your set-up in #7, warts and all. Most of us build a house to store all our junk - it's nice to see a house built with more important things in mind like supporting radio antennas! Besides "it's not what you've got, it's how you use it" that's important. All the info that springs out of the plywood palace is real important to your readers. If you're looking for suggestions for future articles here's a couple of subjects I'd like to see addressed 1) 12 volt washing machine possibilities and 2) building your own PV modules. Are either feasible and cost effective? We're still at the 12 volt generator/battery storage stage of development. PV's are definitely in our future but I'm told there's a washing machine (or lack there-of) standing between us and them. Keep up the great work! A.L., Misty Ridge Herb Farm, Chimacum, WA Dear Friends, We first came across your publication at this summer's Country Fair in Veneta, Oregon. Since then, with the help of my brother-in-law, we have set up 2 Kyocera panels. Lights, after 5 years of candles! From the stone age to the space age! WOW! the lights have not replaced the candles completely as we still love the soft glow of candles. There is obviously a place for both forms of energy. Our 13 year old son, with a mischievous glow in his eye, suggested placing an array of candles in front of the solar panels. Another alternative to a wind, hydro or generator back-up system, if you will. Leo Morin who advertises in your publication as "Free Energy Options" gave very generously of his time in answering my many questions and helping me understand alot of the basics of photovoltaics. I would recommend him without reservations to anyone contemplating energy alternatives who lives in our neck of the woods, which in this case is Eugene to the coast of Oregon. He is very conscious of keeping the cost down and building with the option of expanding later, if you desire, incorporated into his recommendations. Enclosed is a small contribution as a way of thanking you for your publication. May the "Force Be With You", Gerry & Nancy, Florence, OR Dear Home Power, The editor of an outstanding popular magazine reported that within a dozen years species of all kinds will begin to disappear at the rate of one every hour. The greatest thinkers of our time agree that if progress and growth perpetuates on the popularized course that it has enjoyed during the last fifty years life, as we know it will come to an end within three generations. The environmental consequence is a collective effort which grows and grows. The people of the world have gradually molded for themselves a united destiny which all life has to bear. Unfortunately, we must say that the sad environmental situation was self-earned. All of the natural problems could have been solved easily. We had the brains, but not the goodwill. What then is the hope for the world? There is only one hope -- to administrate truth. People must honestly strive to understand the law of consequences. The principle of conservation can be expressed in Newton's Law of equal return. Whatever we do to the land, the air and the natural environment will pay us back with good fortune or eliminate us from this planet. Farmers everywhere are contributing to the silent spring; the forest industry and the Forest Service are not complying with well known environmental laws; factories and cities in general are polluting waters and the air; and everyone (you & me) are burning fossil fuels. We tolerate tyranny because we are weak and look at life with craving expectation. Home Power appeals to people with a need or someone hoping to save money. Very few are concerned about the environment. Selfishness is natural. So in order to implement conservation of fossil fuels, we must apply the law of consequences -- in other words, sell Home Power. Why do we need it? What are we going to get out of it? Most people even if they have a need do not understand Home Power and so they are afraid of it. They do not know what to buy or how to set it up. Depending on a gasoline powered generator is not the ideal Home Power system. Maybe we can off-set that by using the method Einstein used in dealing successfully with space problems. And that is to kindle a form of the theory of relatively. We must do whatever we can to change the human mind to one of preservation. Einstein corrected an illusion by changing the point of view. Is it possible to regard Home Power as conservation in a broader perspective and thus effect a similar change of view? Very truly yours, Arthur McCornack, Captain Cook, HI Dear Home Power Crew, I have enjoyed your magazine from the start (I still don't know how I got on your mailing list!). Enclosed is a check to help out. Your concept is worth subscribing to. In fact, this subject is the reason I became a mechanical engineer. My current employment and family concerns dictate that I live in the city within easy commuting distance. However, this serves not to lessen my concern for energy and the environment, but to learn how I, as a grid-connected user, can do better and better. To that end, I make the following observations: A) When buying a refrigerator, be sure it has a condenser mounted on the back for natural convection. The fan power and noise is thereby eliminate. We chose a unit manufactured by Gibson. B) Electric resistance stoves and dryers are silly. Since natural gas prices have dropped, it's being burned to run steam turbine/generators. Thermodynamically, only 43-46% of the energy available in the fuel gets onto the powerline. The electricity user not only pays for the gas, he/she pays for all that expensive (I know; I used to work on steam turbines/generators; a row of blades can get into six figures) power station equipment. Bottom line: burn the gas directly in your house if you live in the city or wherever you have a choice. C) It seems to me that microwaves are worthy of mention as primary cooking devices in an AE (or other conservation-conscious) home. My wife estimates she uses our 1.45Kw unit for 60-90 minutes/day. This covers breakfast, lunch, and at least 1/3 of dinner for four. (Unfortunately, the microwave cannot do all types of cooking.) D) Burning wood is, to me as unconscionable as dumping sludge. Wood burning should be minimized or discouraged, as it produces some nasty pollutants and denudes forests. This is why microwaves running off PV produced DC (or inverter ac) could probably reduce the total impact of a person on the environment. How many people/creatures like to breath other people's smog. E) Propane, while cleaning burning, is also non-renewable and should not be viewed as a panacea to independent living (doesn't it have to be hauled in too?) F) While your magazine focuses on electricity, water and space heating are equal or greater concern and certainly impact the environment. Mention is made in one of the issues of the zero impact of photovoltaics on the environment. GREAT! Now, let's kill two or more birds (utilities) with one stone. It occurred to me that ARCO's photovoltaic glass could be used as the cover sheet for a solar collector. Whatever light is not converted into electricity passes through the glass and is absorbed by the heat transfer fluid in the collector. The heated air or liquid is circulated by the appropriate fan or pump to do useful heating somewhere else. Another fine feature of this low to no impact device is, if it's mounted on your roof, no more valuable real estate need be used. G) Please mention to the do-it-yourselfers not to use solder containing lead in cooper plumping. Lead has lousy effects on children's brains. Please also have used motor oil disposed of properly. Most gas stations act as collection points for re-refiners to pick up the stuff. NEVER pour it on the ground. In conclusion, I'd like to thank you for your efforts and I hope I've provided some useful thoughts. I'm available for any engineering-type questions from staff or readers. Yours truly, Charles Bright, Kent, WA Hi! I read with interest the article in #7 on "Cookin' with Sunshine" because I have been using a solar cooker since 1979! While it is nice to see the fancy & shiny cookers pictured, I wanted the other readers to not get put off thinking that they must first have such a "state-of-the-art" device! I initially made a parabolic reflector cooker (left most cooker in picture on page 15, HP#7) for my first "test" of solar cooking. This cooker was made out of cardboard and aluminum foil following a pattern in a book called "Solar Science Projects". Yes it did work, but it fell apart from the moisture outside. That's not the only reason I gave up on it... it's use was limiting in that it needed constant attention to keep the focus in the cooking area. It also tended to limit the items cooked to those using higher heats (frying). Luckily I made another oven, this time the slant faced style. I had seen a box type in an article, but after seeing the 2 slant styles in "action", I decided to make one of those. Mine consisted of a double plywood box, insulated between with fiberglass, and faced with 2 layers of glass. A hinged back became the door and inside I lined the floor and walls with a thin sheet of aluminum flashing mounted 1 inch away from the surfaces. Everything expect the glass and hinges came from leftovers or scraps and was built with a hammer and a saw by a very inexperienced person! I completed the box with three reflector fins of plywood faced with aluminum foil. It worked!!! I no longer had to stand over the camping stove to eat something cooked. It also saved time because when my husband and I too our mid-day break from construction (and the HOT sun), our meal was ready. And the best part was that I didn't have to give this oven the constant attention the parabolic cooker needed. The slant style only needed turning about once every 2-3 hours! I have learned that high temperatures are NOT necessary! My oven gets about 200-250¡. This is like a crock pot for cooking, slow and easy, and NO burning! But that doesn't mean that I am limited to stew etc. Baking of almost any item (except bread) can be done if you cut back a bit on the liquid. You will also need to at least double the time required by a standard recipe. I make (brown) rice in my cooker by putting the water in a lidded ovenware bowl and first letting that water get hot (15-30 minutes). Then I add the rice to slow cook another 2 or so hours. To cook potatoes, I poke them then wrap them in foil and give them at least 3 hours. It is also good to make more potatoes than for one meal and then use the precooked ones for salads or scalloped dishes. Meat cooks tender and juicy too, but I use a thermometer in pork roasts. Almost all of my cooking in the oven is done in dark metal cookware, either direct or with a glass ovenware insert. Baked items don't get as sticky on the bottom when I put the pans on a cookie cooling rack to allow the heat to circulate better. The main difference I had to learn was to plan my dinner in the morning so that it could be done when I wanted it to. That effort has paid off because I became free to be available for other things we had going on at our development site. My cooker is showing its age and wear, but I do have a "better" one planned for future "development". Solar cooking is a part of my life that will remain, it isn't a hobby here! Katcha Sanderson, Paicines, CA I have gone through HOME POWER #2 through #7 and listed the articles on back-country communication systems so far presented. This listing of references should be of service to others. You can print my name. There may be a reference in #1, but I never received that issue. The titles may not be word for word exactly as the article has it. I am more interested in giving the general descriptive name of the communications equipment referred to in the articles. Hence there may be sub-references in the same article. I will also give names mentioned in articles of equipment to be covered the future so as to have pretty much the gamut of communications equipment for remote locations. This is the list: 1) "Back Country Communications", (an introduction to future issues), HP#2, pg. 16 2) "CB, Citizen Band Radio", HP#3, pg. 36-39 3) "Radiotelephone", HP#4, pg. 29-32, Radio Common Carrier, simplex type and Improved Mobile Service, duplex type 4) "Amateur (Ham) Radio", HP#5, pg 31-31 5) "Amateur (Ham) Radio for HOME POWER People", HP#6, pg 34 6) "Radio Links Telephone", HP #7 pg 32-33, Telemobile UHF radiotelephone, to be reported on in HP#8 7) future communications columns, mentioned in HP#3, pg32: More antenna projects, cordless telephone (should cover foreign-made models, which have a longer transmission-receiver distance, say 2-3 miles, than U.S. models and U.S. models), TVs, Satellite TV, FM stereos. I would also suggest: cellular phones, though the above articles say these are urban 2-way radio and transceivers, I am supposing there are other names for the above communication equipment. We have a hermitage about one and one-half miles into the hills. In my opinion a cordless phone would meet our specifications: 2-3 mile range, able to send and receive outside calls as regular phone, relatively inexpensively. We have a U.S. made cordless phone, but only reaches one thousand feet. It is excellent for that distance. We understand the greater distances of foreign-made models are not yet allowed in the U.S. If you know where such foreign-made cordless phones can be purchased, or someone who reads this letter, please let us know. Very Sincerely, Father Virgil Dusbabek, OCSO, Engineer, Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity, 1250 South 9500 East, Huntsville, UT 84317 I really appreciate all the info packed into HOME POWER. My wife and I are medical missionaries in Sierra Leone, West Africa and this past term have been using solar panels to generate power for lights in our house. The compound has two diesel generators, but these are only used for about 3 hours in the evening and for surgery days. So the solar lights in our house get alot of use The address I have given is my parents' address who will then forward it to me. Thank you so much. Keep up the good work. Ron Baker, MD Dear Home Power I noticed your request for information on wind power systems. The need for a site survey, before making a decision about installing a wind generator is the focus of my letter. In 1981-82, I had a Bergy wind machine. My system consisted of a 1000 watt wind generator on an 80 foot tower, and an inverter to pump excess electricity back into the grid. Norman Oklahoma is on the edge of the great plains, and has average wind speeds of @12-13 mph. However, my machine did not produce much electricity, primarily because the tower was too low. There was too much turbulence at 80 feet, and not enough energy in the wind. (The size of the tower that would fit in my yard was limited because of the small size of my yard.) Another man had two machines in different parts of Norman. The west side of Norman is flat and almost barren of trees, where as the east side has small rolling hills and is very wooded. As you might expect the machine on the flat side to town outperformed the machine located among the trees. Based on my experience in Oklahoma, a wind machine needs to be a least 50 feet above surrounding trees, not only to intercept more wind, but to avoid turbulence which can be caused by surrounding trees and buildings. Turbulence causes a wind generator to "hunt" for the wind, and it's speed will vary a lot. Simply installing a tall tower is not the answer. Flow patterns vary according to the terrain. The speed and direction of wind can vary a great deal within a small area. This information is not technical or supported by any numbers, but it points out the need for a site survey before installing a wind generator. HOME POWER has received good reviews in PV NETWORK NEWS and TRANSITIONS recently. You are doing a good job! John Luker, Norfolk, VA Hi There POWER Crew How are things on the ranch? Enjoy your fine magazine. I read it from cover to cover many times. I start watching for the mailman at the earliest possible delivery date. Richard, I enjoyed your magneto battery conversion. But much of it was Greek to me. All connections need not be electronic. A workable low-tech system would use the 6 volt coil you mentioned, mounted on the coolest place on the engine or on a separate bracket, use an aircraft type single throw double throw center off toggle switch. Connect 12 volts to one end of the switch, tap battery at 6 or 8 volts and connect to the other end. If the tap is not possible, use a resistor of 5 or 6 ohms, 30 watts across the ends of the switch, connect the center switch to one side of the coil. Connect the other side of the coil to the points. If the engine has a kill switch to points, this wire may be disconnected from the switch and connected to the coil. The old coil wire must be disconnected from the points. Leave the points and condenser as they are. If the condenser is bad, it may be disconnected from the points and an auto condenser can be mounted near the coil and its leads connected to the coil post. Flip the switch to 12 volts for easy starting, then lower the voltage to run. I have changed several old Farmall tractors such as a BC and Cubs by unbolting the old coil and snipping the coil wire from the points. Reinstall the old coil for a dust cover. Use the post on the side of the magneto to connect the points to the coil. The original kill switch is removed and the single pole switch is used to connect a 6 volt battery to the 6 volt coil. In response to Jake the wind generator man. The Jacobs will run slower and be partly stalled by a 24 volt battery because it will produce 24 volts at a lower speed. It will not be able to rev up to full power. This could be compared to starting your car in second gear. A 12 volt battery like third gear, a 6 volt battery like fourth. A blocking diode would be used between the generator and the battery, where a reverse current relay or cutout was originally used. With the generator running at a speed to produce 30 volts, the battery wire could be removed from the diode without a spark using a 32 volt battery. If 24 volt batteries were touched to the diode it would arc like a welder, if the cut out relay were used it would have to have a 24 volt coil. If you used a 32 volt relay the generator would speed up to 32 volts when the points closed, then they would burn up and probably weld up and the generator speed would drop back to the 24 volt speed. With the points welded the wind stopped, the generator would run as a motor till the battery was dead. This is a large shunt or compound generator comparable to a large aircraft or welding generator. Its field is fully connected at all times, it could be adjusted by removing the brush cover and locating the field lead. This will be a small insulated wire connected to the insulated brush holder. Disconnect from the holder and insert a 10 ohm resistor in the gap. The resistor should be adjustable so it can be fine tuned at the prevailing wind speed. This will change the overall speed power curve, but will make the most of actual conditions. Whatever happened to Power House Paul? I would like to see more of his generator articles. Please renew my subscription. Best Wishes, Tom Burnett, Fruitvale, TX You get your wish, Paul's back this issue and will be a regular contributor. Thank you, gentlemen, (HEH! What about us gentlewomen. KP) for putting it all together. You produce a fine publication. Not all of us were driven to solar by present necessity. I live in a small town with utility power but I also have, so far, 19 ARCO 701's, 32 golf cart batteries ($10.00 each, almost new when the local golf course went to gas powered carts), & a 6kw Dynamote inverter. All this is wired in two systems. A 12 volt and a 48/120-240 volt. Each system has two battery banks. I bought one tracker and made two more. I also built a cord wood greenhouse with yard thick walls. VERY efficient, the sun heats it in the coldest weather. That's about 20¡ below. My main heat source for the house is a wood stove that will change when I get the roof rebuilt strong enough to hold collectors. There is a use for solar power that I have not seen you touch on, that is a solar powered forge. I am a blacksmith and a bladesmith. I try to make a living selling damascus steel and knives. For years now I have done all of the yard blacksmithing. That is hinges, hooks, hangers, pokers, door knockers, handles, cookware, strickers and all the tools and decorative iron work. It's low tech and cost effective. Most of the iron can be got for nothing or next to it. Burning fossil fuels (coke coal) bothers me but to work iron you've about got to and I don't use it where I don't have to. Home heating and such. Also how about an article on hardening a PV system from EMP? I'm one of the odd balls who isn't going to roll over and play dead just because somebody wants to have a nuclear war. Please stop by if you are ever coming through. You'll be most welcome. Chris Peterson, Aurora, UT