Biomass stove, solar lights

Here is a picture of the new biomass burner. You can read the instructions about how to make this style here. This type of burner is what will be used for cooking and water heating in the renewable energy house.







Lighting will be provided by several systems. For most lighting, solar power garden and flood lights will be used. These lights are surprisingly effective and they don't cost a foutune. Here is a picture of a couple styles. They come in a dizzying array of shapes.



Installation for these lights is simplicity itself. Just shove the stake in the ground in a place that gets full sun. Turn the switch on and put the unit in the stake. It charges all day. Take it iff the stake in the evening, turn it off and bring it inside. When you need light, turn it on. Very handy.
My web site is here.

Cooking facilities, lighting

I have finished the biomass cooking stand. There will be two MIDGE stove units in it with exchangeable burners. To find out more about these stoves, google +"midge stove" and you will have a wealth of information. When I find my camera, (Arghhhh!) I will publish a series of pictures of how I make them. I have modified the standard design somewhat to be cleaner burning. I finished the experiment mentioned in the last post with the solar powered flood light. I am satisfied with the quality of light and length of time it runs, so I will definitely be incorporating some into the renewable energy house. It has been raining steadily here for over a week so there is not much I can do with getting the outside framing done.
http://www.winterlakeresearchcenter.org

Emergency lighting results

I let the new flood light I mentioned in the last post charge up all day. When it got dark, I checked out its lighting qualities. Admittedly, it is not a big sodium vapor flood light.
However, for such a small, inexpensive unit, it puts out an astounding amount of light. I brought it inside and used it as a house light. It was entirely adequate for all lighting needs. The conclusion is that these lights can indeed be used as a cheap source of emergency lighting.

An inexpensive renewable lighting solution

A few weeks ago, I had an idea that the little solar powered garden lights may be a good emergency lighting source. They are on a little spike that you just push into the ground. They have a little solar panel on top and one or more LED lights inside them. During the day, an internal set of batteries is charged up. At night, the unit senses the absence of light and turns on the light, using the stored energy. I will incorporate a system of these lights in the renewable energy house. The cheaper ones don't put out much light, but the more expensive ones can put out an astounding amount of light. The better ones have a switch to turn them off. So you can let them charge up during the day and bring them in at night, turning them on when you need them. Voila! Instant emergency lighting. Yesterday, my friend Don gave me a solar powered floodlight. I have been letting it charge up all day and will do a post on how much light it will do when I check it out after dark. The technology in these little lights is nothing short of phenomenal. The flood light has four AA batteries, which can be charged up by the sun and put in a wired six volt led system in a house and be used for all but the most demanding lighting needs. And the cost is only a few percent of the standard solar setup. Get the ones with a switch, so they can be turned off when not in use. You need at least two leds in each unit, but three or more really do the job. Also, the solar cells are larger and they have more battery capacity in them in the more expensive units.