This short post gives several options to installing photocells to control dusk to dawn lighting. You can do this project with little money, tools, and experience.
Over at Watthackers, one of the ways we help the environment, our pocket books, and the economy is to buy local and buy used when practical. Reusing objects helps to cut down on manufacturing, reduces material in our landfills, and in many cases puts cash directly in the hands of local citizens. I’m amazed at [...]
No matter how I slice it, adding solar panels to our house is just plain expensive. Even with the current tax incentives and credits from the utility companies, I ran the numbers and a system will still set us back about $20,000 by the time it’s all said and done. With that in mind, we set out to tackle all the passive solar and energy reduction projects that we could before jumping into active solar. In case you don’t know what the difference is between passive solar and active solar, let’s start with a brief explanation of the two
When it comes to installing solar panels on your home or business, there are more choices now than ever before. Chances are good that a manufacturer is making a solar panel that will be perfect for your application; the challenge is figuring out which one to use, the proper size, voltage output, etc. There is no shortage of data out there, but real information is scattered about and confusing, so I built this guide based on the data I have collected for my own solar installation project. I hope you find the guide useful.
I must admit, I’m a big fan of unclutterer.com. The shiny clean offices, organized cables under the desk, color coordinated boxes to hold every misguided purchase, and the endless stream of information that calls out that I’m a complete failure at getting my “stuff” in order. I buy things to organized, and then I find [...]
Project: Add photocell (dawn to dusk switch) to existing outdoor fixture.
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30 minutes
Benefits: Eco Friendly, power saver, time saver, esthetically appealing
Cost: $5 - 10 depending on you collection of tools.
Today’s Watthack covers adding a photo cell to a patio light. This light is on our front porch and we typically turn it on when [...]
Right now there are some great solar tax credits and ways to reduce you taxes by making your home more efficient, but will the programs be continued beyond 2008? Here’s how to reduce your tax liability by making your home or business more efficient.
Last Saturday was a dark day. It didn’t start out that way, but somewhere along the way it took a drastic turn for the worst. Let me explain.My weekends are typically full of projects around the house. Some having to do with Watthacking, but mostly I settle into projects that have a home improvement theme. [...]
On Sunday I posted on the new Solana Power Generating station that is being planned for an alfalfa field in central Arizona. Three miles of solar PT1 Trough will collect the sun’s heat energy and transform it into steam; in turn powering clean energy producing turbines. But this is not the first trip that Abengoa [...]
While channel surfing the radio at lunch, I catch Rush Limbaugh on a rant about the silliness of solar power and how in the end the very government who encourages the use of renewable energy, will tax us for it when the coffers run low. Now in some cases adding solar panels to your home [...]
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