solar and wind power

[brent]

I am trying to understand the solar power and wind powered systems but its all a blur. How do you now what your energy needs are? Are these systems easily set up or do they have to be installed by trained folks. How or where do I learn more about this?

brent

[jd]

Brent, if you go to realgoods.com they have a form that helps you figure out your electric use. I hear they also have smart folk who will help customers, or possible customers with answers to questions. I've been there, and if nothing else they got neat stuff.
JD

[jd]

Oh, and I ain't the smartest apple off the tree, but having looked and asked folk who have done this, I figure I could do it. The installing part that is. As for the rest, electricity is majic ya know. ;D
JD

[frostbite]

Hi jd; Here is a site that I belong to, www.12vman.com It is an open forum just for people living and wanting to "Live off the grid" . There is tons of Alternate Energy information here. I'm sure you can find the answers to your questions or someone will be able to guide you with your inquiries!

[ugashikrobert]

JD:
I know that when you first consider RE there is a lot to digest. I would recommend subscribing to Home Power Magazine. www.homepower.com/ It has a lot of articles that show individuals experiences from start to finish and I found it very helpful. I have seen articles that dealt entirely with determining your energy needs. One of the things I've learned is that during that process you will find a great deal of waste and you will probably determine it is more practical to do without some things. I won't say full size home scale systems are easily set up but if you feel that you could learn how to wire a house you could learn how to install your own system. One of the advantages of designing and installing your own system especially in a rural area is that the knowledge you gain during that process will be very helpful in maintaining it.

[Washkeeton]

There are quite a few places we found in Ak that service the solar homes.

My new fav site is
www.absak.com

another site www.remotepowerinc.com

I have a few more but I havent looked at their sites yet. When I remember(having lots of problems with that as of late) will post the rest of the sites on here. There are more that sell solar stuff up here than I thought. I am pleased to see this.

[babaji]

Hi Brent;
I am in the same place that you are and there seems to be a fairly large learning curve to this stuff. I found a great book entitled, "Solar Living Source Book The Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Technologies & Sustainable Living" by John Schaeffer and The Real Goods staff. Here is the link to check it out at Amazon.com www.amazon.com/gp/product/091657105X/sr=8-1/qid=1142528728/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-9460204-2357423?%5Fencoding=UTF8

The authors specialize in helping folks set up off grid systems, designed for each individuals need-
. Check out their website at www.realgoods.com. From what I understand you can call them and they will send a questionnaire to help assess what modules would best serve you, considering the size of your home and the appliances you plan to use most frequently, etc...Some of the systems I have seen that will be suitable for my needs, me, being a single person in a small 500 foot home run around 2500. I don't recall if that is installed or not. Anyway, hope that helps. It is a great book and worth having in your resource library.

[longrider]

You would be well served by going to www.backwoodssolar.com

these guys will send you a catalog which is half catalog and half guide to understanding what you might need. best of all it separates systems based on how many watts you use and gives you presumptive prices and alternatives.