Subject: intro to solar elec

From: [email-masked] (Charles Collins)
Date: 23 May 1995 13:04:59 GMT

This is a copy of a column that appears on the WWW for those that are
web-less. I hope to inform you about using the dependable sun for your
added comfort and convenience. I will be writing about using sun, wind,
and water to generate pollution free electricity. I will outline the
advantages as well as the
disadvantages of each type of energy. In order for this column to be of
interest and help to you, I invite you to email me your questions and
comments.

Dear Mr. Solar: What does it involve to generate, store and power a
     home on alternative electricity? Question fromFrancis LaBonte, Miami, Fl

     Mr. Solar: An alternative energy system consists of three major
     components: a way to generate electricity, store electricity and
     an inverter to make friendly usable alternating current(AC).

     The generating component can be a set of solar electrical panels,
     a water turbine, a wind mill or a generator. The most economical
     generating system used in most parts of the world is a small
     water turbine or hydro system. They will generate 24 hours a day
     from a small stream. The use of a set of solar electric panels is
     dependable where there is non- polluted daily sun shine. Another
     choice is the use of a wind mill that is a very economical
     providing there is ample wind. The generated DC power is stored
     in a large set of batteries.

     The batteries are the only part of your system that will need
     attention from time to time. The batteries should be large enough
     to store power for several days. The two choices of batteries are
     the lead acid or the alkaline type. The cheapest in relation to
     the purchase price is the industrial lead acid batteries. But
     they require more maintenance. The major disadvantage of alkaline
     type is that they are considerably more expensive up front. On
     the positive side, they will last twenty years or more and are
     considerably less expensive over the long haul.

     The other major component of any alternative energy system is the
     inverter. This is a piece of equipment that converts your stored
     DC electrical power to friendly usable AC power. There are many
     inverters to choose from and we will cover these in depth in
     later articles.

     You will also need switches, fuses, and controls built into your
     system. These will enable you to operate you own power company
     for years with very little attention on your part. You will need
     to watch the gauges as you do on your car so that you will be
     aware of the condition of your system.

     A solar electrical system has only three major components and
     they are interconnected so that your system operate
     automatically.

Charlie Collins lives in Southwest Utah and has written a weekly column for
THE DAILY SPECTRUM in St. George, Utah for the past three years. His WWW
column also appears in NHNE (http://www.well.com/user/nhne/ ) with
contains an archive of past articles. He is also preparing to teach a
course at Mohave Community College in Colorado City, Arizona and, most
impressive of all, has spent the past 18 years living completely on solar
electricity free of pollution and electrical bills. He will sesign your
system using 

If you have any questions, or would like more information about solar
electricity, you can contact Charlie via email address:
([email-masked]). Charlie will respond to your questions in the next
couple of days and, if your question is good enough, it may find its way
into his "Ask Mr. Solar" column.