My mission is to live as sustainably as I can and share my actions and ideas so that others may benefit from what I have learned.
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Thursday, June 9, 2016
Solar powered motion sensing yard lights
I live in rural Maine where there aren't any streetlights and on a dark moonless night it can be hard to navigate from my parking area to the front porch. Recently, I purchased a set of four motion sensing solar powered yard lights that I am very pleased with. The ones I purchased were made by URPOWER, but there seem to be many manufacturers of nearly identical products that range in price from around $10-$15 each.
These clever lights require only minimal solar exposure during the day to charge up their internal battery. And like exterior floodlights that come on with a motion sensor, these ones do the same thing but only come on for 30 seconds. They respond to someone moving from up to 16 feet away and provide a good bright light. This clever strategy allows these lights to be very efficient while creating a large pool of light.
I have two that are sufficient to light my front porch steps and others placed around the yard to help people unfamiliar with my property to navigate from the parking area to the porch. I consider these relatively inexpensive lights to be a very good investment and so far they have survived six months through a Maine winter which is a testament to their hardiness. They get excellent reviews on Amazon.
If you have an area in your yard that needs lighting, but you don't want to go to the great expense of pulling AC wiring, then this may be an optimal solution that is extremely effective.
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
The benefits of a rain barrel
Rain barrel on the corner of my front porch with raised vegetable beds visible in the background and Envoirocycle composter on the right |
hose bib at bottom of tank |
From an energy efficiency and sustainability perspective, this reduces the electrical usage of my 1500 Watt well pump. In a dry summer I can go through hundreds of gallons to water my vegetable beds and flower gardens. I don't worry too much about the lawn which is mostly weeds that I just cut down as I am less concerned with appearances than I am functionality. In my small raised vegetable beds, I grow rhubarb, strawberries, basil, chives, nasturtium, sugar snap peas, cherry tomatoes, and some occasional herbs.
Monday, June 6, 2016
Solar water heater dashboard upgrade
Original solar dashboard |
Basically, it uses digital volt meters with LM34 temperature probes that produce a voltage that directly correlates with temperature so that 78.1° is represented by .781 V.
Over the years I have grown accustomed to looking at this dashboard to confirm that the system is working, and also to decide when to take a shower, run the dishwasher or clothes washing loads by looking at the storage tank temperature and seeing when it has peaked during the day. The only drawback is the displays did not include a back light and sometimes were hard to read in the evening and nighttime.
I recently came across a new temperature meter designed for monitoring heat exchangers in high-end gaming computers. They are much more attractive, include a back light and use standard 10K thermistors as temperature sensors so I ordered a few to see if I could adapt them.
Temperature meter for heat exchangers |
When I received them, the first thing I did was cut off the computer power connectors and connected 5 VDC from a wall power supply to the red and black wires.
Removed computer power connector |
Original sensor above and standard 10K thermistor below |
I mounted the 2 meters in a standard plastic box and mounted it to the window frame above my kitchen sink in place of the original dashboard. I find these meters much more attractive and they are easier to read day and night.
Updated solar dashboard |
I am quite pleased with the more contemporary styling of this new dashboard.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Easy composting using an Envirocycle
Nearly 20 years ago I purchased an Envirocycle composter and have used it continuously ever since. This elegant and simple to use device has been around for over 25 years and is made in America from recycled plastic and shipped in packaging made from 100% recycled materials.
I put kitchen scraps in it every week or so and occasionally add dry materials as needed such as sawdust or leaves in the fall. Every week or so I rotate the barrel 3 full rotations, this mixes the contents and accelerates the composting process. When everything is in balance, there is little to no smell and I leave the unit off the side of the front porch where it is easy to rotate. The black drum warms up in the sun which also enhances the composting. Liquids drain through into the liquid collecting base that can store up to a gallon of compost tea. In the spring and fall I drain this tea into a 5 gallon bucket and then dilute it about 10:1 and use it to fertilize my blueberry bushes and raised vegetable beds. When I want to use the compost, I simply roll the barrel across the garden to where I need to empty it and then shovel the compost directly onto the vegetable bed or locations where it will be applied.
adding fresh kitchen scraps |
Draining the compost tea from the base |
diluted compost tea on the left |
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Picking up roadside trash
Trash from 3/4 mile of local roads (I removed the redeemables and recyclables). |
- Community service - I value my community, and Maine is known as "Vacationland" so it is important to keep our roads clean and attractive.
- Environmental stewardship - 'nuff said.
- Treasure hunt - as I walk searching for distinctive shiny or bright objects, there is an element of treasure hunting and the reward is often 5 cents.
- Good exercise - I generally walk between two and 3 miles and the roads are hilly enough that I raise my heart rate and work up a sweat even on cold days. It's not just walking but all the bending and stretching that makes it a good aerobic workout. I often stray out into the fields on each side of the road where windblown trash shows up and there is some scrambling around to get there and back.
- Visible activism - by being highly visible on the road and picking up trash I am hoping to inspire other people to follow suit, or at least raise their awareness of the issue.
- Grateful neighbors - every now and then a neighbor will stop and say "thank you". It's not the main reason I do this but it's nice to be acknowledged.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
I bought less than 40 gallons of gas last year and drove about 8000 miles!
2012 Chevy Volt |
My Volt uses around $40-45.00 worth of electricity a month, and in the summer that is more than offset by my solar array. So for 5 months I am literally driving for free on sun power. In the winter months when we have less sun in Maine my electric bill goes as high as $70, with most of that going to power the car. In Maine over 30% of our electric supply comes from renewable sources, so the bottom line is that the carbon footprint of my car is negligible. That is the main reason I own it.
Tor those that may be unfamiliar with the Chevy Volt, it is unique in the industry because it is an electric vehicle with a built-in "range extender". My model has an electric range of approximately 37 miles under ideal conditions. When the battery runs down a four-cylinder gas generator kicks in that maintains a battery level allowing the vehicle to continue driving at around 40 miles per gallon. Since most of my driving is local, I rarely use gas. The vehicle does turn on the gasoline engine generator in the winter occasionally to help warm battery when temperatures drop below 20°F.
I recently test drove the 2016 model Volt. The vehicle has been completely redesigned although it it looks rather similar from the outside - with some sexy improvements to the style lines, the interior is quite different. There are so many changes in its design that it is essentially a different vehicle entirely. The driving experience was even more sporty than my model because the 0 to 30 acceleration time has been shortened quite a bit, so it literally surges forward and burns rubber if you tromp the accelerator. This model has a rated 52 mile electric range and gets better gas mileage when in "range extender" mode.
2016 Chevy Bolt |
Friday, January 29, 2016
More fun with time-lapse photography
In my last blog post, I had just started getting to know my new Brinno TLC200 Pro time lapse camera. Since then I have made a number of videos under varying conditions, all of which have turned out really well. Here's a picture of the camera:
(Click here to purchase on Amazon - As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Once you own a time-lapse camera, you think of all kinds of uses for it. I have always wanted to see a day in the life of my cat. She is over 12 years old and relatively sedentary and she likes to sit in her window seat and sleep and then watch the birds at the bird feeder outside the window occasionally. So I set up the camera to document her from mid-morning until dusk.
Click image to see YouTube video |
Click image to see YouTube video |
Update Feb 5, 2016: I always wanted to see myself clearing snow using my Craftsman snow thrower and we got 7" today so I set up the camera outside with it's waetherproof housing.
Click image to see YouTube video |
These videos were all shot in 1080 P high-definition video, so you can view them full-screen and they look great. Stay tuned to my YouTube channel to see more videos as I put them up.
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Exploring time lapse photography
Brinno TLC200 Pro camera and weather proof case |
click on image to see video on YouTube |
I could not be more pleased with the video quality and all of the advanced features of this amazing little camera and look forward to using it a lot in the future.
Friday, January 1, 2016
The Visual Handbook of Energy Conservation
If you have been reading my blog or website, then I assume that you're interested in energy conservation and living sustainably. A few years ago Charlie Wing published his excellent book: "The Visual Handbook of Energy Conservation". (click here to get it from Amazon) Charlie is well known for his excellent books on a variety of building topics and I have met him and worked with him on a number of occasions. In fact he used to live down the road from me a few years before I moved into the neighborhood.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough for anyone who is interested in reducing their energy consumption and lowering operating costs in their home. The book is written in simple clear language, and every page contains exquisite illustrations, charts, and diagrams in Charlie's inimitable style. He covers everything from the basic physics of energy to detailed specifics of how building heating systems work. For instance, he covers every possible detail of every kind of building construction in order to explain what is optimal and how to improve it from an energy conservation standpoint.
I was just re-reading the book and found that there were major "aha" moments for me in every chapter. I found myself running around the house reviewing what I have done and considering improvements. Most of his suggestions for energy conservation are easy, inexpensive things that any home handy person can handle.
I am confident that the investment of $20 or so in purchasing this book will yield an excellent return on investment if you only implement a very few of the suggestions contained within. If you are planning to make substantial upgrades to your home's energy efficiency, then this will be the perfect handbook to guide you through optimal choices and could save you thousands of dollars both now and in the future.
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Why I love paying my electric utility bill
The chart below shows the energy flows for my property over the last several years:
Take a moment to study this chart and look at how everything interacts. The yellow line shows how much surplus energy I export back into the grid on a monthly basis from the solar array. Clearly, in the summer I am exporting a lot more and this more than offsets my net energy for the month. Whenever the green net energy line goes below zero, that is when I have a credit.
This chart shows my actual bottom line monthly electric bill:
Over the years I have scaled up my solar power system and now my electric bills flatline in the summer, bottoming out to the minimum connection fee. This year I had a surplus from May through October and the utility gave me a credit that carried forward until it was used up. This electric bill covers both my house, workshop, and the electricity used to charge my Chevy Volt. So, not only am I not paying for utility energy for months at a time, I am also driving up to 37 miles a day for free on solar power.
During the summer months the energy I am exporting into the grid reduces the load on the power lines feeding my immediate neighborhood. As neighborhoods grow, the utility often needs to upgrade the infrastructure in order to deliver power to outlying areas. If new housing developments were all to incorporate solar roofs on their houses, this would reduce the cost of deploying and maintaining power lines to those areas. You would think that utility companies would appreciate this benefit, but in reality they are pushing back against it because of the lost revenue. Some utilities are even trying to punish customers with solar power with a surcharge to cover maintenance costs on their power lines.
My solar power system, like most systems installed in the last 5 to 6 years is utility inter-tied. This means that there is no battery bank and surplus energy is returned to the grid rather than being stored in batteries. However, battery technology is now reaching the point where it is beginning to become relatively affordable to pull the plug on the utility altogether and simply store that surplus energy in a battery for use overnight and on cloudy days etc. This is referred to as "grid defection". Renewable energy pundits are suggesting that entire communities could pull the plug in the future and that utility companies will need to figure out a new business model.