Today's Green Construction » Solar Power

Lempster Wind Farm

Todd — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:12:00 +0000

It is a very exciting time here in this rural part of NH as a large wind turbine project is nearing completion. The Lempster wind farm is a $48 million project that will bring online 12 large turbines that will produce 24 megawatts or enough electricity to power 10,000 home each year.

The towers are 240 feet tall with 139 foot long blades. You can see these wind mills from miles away and I must say I get excited each time I see them. It’s hard to believe that these 12 wind mills can power all of the houses in several of the surrounding communities.

During the design phase there were quite a few skeptics about the aesthetic damage these giant towers would do. Considering the crisis we are facing today in our country I can only look at them and hope that we see more and more of these beautiful engineering wonders.

Photo Credit Don Himsel

PickensPlan

Todd — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:55:00 +0000

Join me and go sign up for the PickensPlan Pledge and join T. Boone Pickens and other Americans to demand that an Energy Independence Plan be enacted within the first 100 days of the new administration. Regardless of your political party this is one of the most important issues facing our Country. So do your part, read the plan and make a difference.

DIY Solar Panels

Todd — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:44:00 +0000

A blogging friend of mine writes a really great blog, Homeowner’s Blog and he wrote a great post today on DIY Solar Panels. If you’re at all like me and love building your own things then I suggest you read his post. Paul is a very intelligent guy that has a serious knack for designing and building really great solar devices.

Orient Your New Home For Optimum Solar Gain

Todd — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:07:00 +0000

If you’re planning on building a new home then the orientation of your new home will have a significant impact on any future solar system. Placing a new home on a lot is a challenging design process. It’s a real challenge sometimes making making a house sit on a lot so it looks good, meets all the zoning requirements and it “fits” the topography well. Combine that with trying to orient the roof so that you can take advantage of solar energy and you’ve got yourself a real puzzle.

If you live in the northern hemisphere you’re going to want to make sure one of your large roof surfaces faces as close to due south as possible (north if you live in the southern hemisphere). Even if you’re not going to install a solar energy system now you’ll want to consider the roof orientation during the design for future options. I prefer to place the front of the house towards south anyway so that the front is in the sun all day long.

If you’re interested in reading more about solar hot water, then you might enjoy reading Evaluating Domestic Solar Hot Water.

10 Ways To Go Solar

Todd — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:38:00 +0000

I’d like to share a guest blog post that I published today on my other site, Ten Ways To Go Solar in the Home. It’s certainly a good article about solar power for today’s homes.