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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 29, 2020 18:55:34 GMT
Here is a fascinating article about a man evangelizing for hydrogen power. He lives in the northeast of the US, where there are no filling stations for a car with hydrogen batteries. So he makes his own with water and solar power. He not only powers his house & cars with hydrogen he brews himself, he also Imade the first house in the United States to be powered entirely by hydrogen produced on site using solar power. Nine years later he made the second. He says he has built hydrogen-power home systems for conservationists and celebrities — one of his systems reportedly powers Johnny Depp’s private island in the Bahamas.nyti.ms/3nVEUmj
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Dec 30, 2020 16:51:12 GMT
Interesting article, and the fact that Mr Musk doesn't like him makes Mike Strizki even more appealing.
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Post by tod2 on Dec 30, 2020 17:55:35 GMT
As I type this message Im' using a generator for power. The electricity went off at about 10am this morning. Late this afternoon I noticed the ice blocks were melting in the freezer. Time to strike up the band!! Aparantly a sub-station was being robbed of power cables and exploded. I'm hoping like hell it took the bastards with it.
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Post by tod2 on Jan 13, 2021 15:52:33 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 13, 2021 17:46:28 GMT
Totally fascinating to see how it is done. Thanks for all of the photos.
It is well known that certain things in the so-called third world are more modern than in the old countries, because you get to skip some of the steps that have slowed us down. Just one example is everybody having a mobile phone without needing to pass through the phase of land lines.
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Post by bjd on Jan 13, 2021 17:54:32 GMT
Until recently in France, if you put solar panels on the roof of your house, the electricity generated was bought by the state electricity company and injected into a local grid. However, our neighbours here had panels added a couple of months ago and the electricity is for their own personal use.
We looked at their information brochures, but we don't have enough roof space facing south for it to be viable.
We do have solar panels to heat water so it's heated for free about 6 months a year. The rest of the time, the stored water is heated in an electric tank when there is not enough sunlight.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 13, 2021 19:30:50 GMT
On the news tonight, there was a very interesting report about the sharing of solar power among neighbours. It used the example of a number of houses on the west coast of France. Some of them have big expanses for the placement of solar panels on the roof, some do not have nearly has much space, and some are not oriented at all for being able to use solar panels. The houses that can't participate accept to house the storage batteries. There are also certain rules to respect, such as only running the washing machine or recharging electric cars during the day. I'm sure there are some other complications, but it's a good start.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 14, 2021 7:07:11 GMT
It is a good start and extremely pleasant to read about such neighborly sharing. On a more negative note, you'd think that for as long as solar power has been around and for as long as its positive attributes have been touted, that the use of it would not still be at this relatively primitive level.
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Post by tod2 on Jan 14, 2021 10:13:14 GMT
Indeed Bixa. It seems in the past our governments built big coal fired power stations just because we had the coal. Never a moment was thought about destroying the atmosphere or even the mining of the coal becoming too costly. When these problems started to appear the next bright idea was to build nuclear power stations. We built one or two but there again the money ran out and they stand half-cocked and going nowhere. Now that our backs are against the wall so to speak, we now all want free electricity from the sun. wind and water. Things that have been available to humans all along.
About excess power from the panels during daylight, it is not bought back by ESKOM , our power supplier. Not yet anyway.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 14, 2021 17:41:38 GMT
What you say, Tod, pretty much sums up how the idea of solar power to combat pollution, using up of natural resources, etc. has been treated around the world -- lots of talk, not nearly enough action. Jimmy Carter highlighted the use of solar power in 1979 -- www.treehugger.com/whatever-happened-jimmy-carters-solar-panels-sequel-4858031, the very idea of which was squelched by Reagan as soon as he took office. Carter has never given up on the idea and at present is providing enough solar power for half of a town with a population of 800: mymodernmet.com/jimmy-carter-solar-farm/It will be interesting to see if your neighbors and acquaintances are intrigued by your solution to the power outages where you live and begin installing panels in their homes and businesses.
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Post by tod2 on Jan 23, 2021 19:14:24 GMT
An update on our Solar story. Not good news. First of all when we got the thumbs up to switch on there was no response from the Inverter. Dead. Nothing. Checked every wire and everything the installer could, but no dice. So it had to be dismantled, packed up and has been shipped back to the supplier in Johannesburg. But now the dilemma was do we wait until they have had time to check it over and find the fault? This could take an unknown amount of time and if it's faulty then wait for a new one. So thinking this over my husband immediately ordered a second one which should be here by Monday. At least the man can get on with the job. When we receive the returned one all fixed up shipshape or are being sent a new one does not matter. We will use it to upgrade the system at my sons house.
But, that's not the end of the troubles. Even if it arrives on Monday or Tuesday, the electrician cannot connect it up as he has Covid. So will be isolated for another 10 days or so. His symptoms are a sore throat mainly and a bit tired. Lets hope he has a mild infection. We can wait a bit longer.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 24, 2021 18:35:45 GMT
And yet the sun will keep shining all that time. What a waste!
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Post by tod2 on Jan 25, 2021 13:19:28 GMT
Hip Hip Hooray! Our new Inverter was delivered this morning. The Installer may even be able to come a do a test run this week before the electrician needs to tie up the loose ends.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jan 25, 2021 13:41:08 GMT
Wouldn’t it be better if he wired them in? Not sure tying them up will work...
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Post by tod2 on Feb 18, 2021 16:34:09 GMT
No it would not Mick! All is wire in and apart from a random plug being omitted from the solar inverter, all seems great Had a really 32C sunny day to check how things were going.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 19, 2021 8:36:20 GMT
All is wired in and running like clockwork. Maybe a few plugs have been omitted and need to be added to the Solar system but other than that all seems great.
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 19, 2021 17:22:34 GMT
If only more of us had the opportunity to do what you did!
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