Welcome! I wrote these pages because I wanted to share how easy it is to conserve energy and even generate your own electricity from the sun! The state of Maryland will pay for at least 15% of your solar water or electrical system through a personal income tax rebate! A grant of up to $3,600 is also available!
Useful Web Links -- Learn about or buy renewable energy!
JHU Greening Bulletin Board -- Conversations about making JHU a more sustainable place!
Quick List - Conservation Tips
My Home Energy Consumption
Electricity -- About 6000 kilowatt
hours a year, or about 4.5 tons
of carbon dioxide, 48 lbs of nitrogen oxides, and 120 lbs of
sulfur dioxide. (This is before reductions due to solar power.)
Month-by-month view -- solar production does not look impressive...
Yearly accumulations -- a better view of the solar contribution--it adds up!
Natural Gas -- About 961 therms a year, or about 5.3 tons of carbon dioxide.
My Home Solar Systems
Overview
Phase I - Details -- Little Battery
Phase II - Details -- Making electricity is easy! Just plug it into the wall!
Phase II photos -- of the system in November 2000
Phase III - Details -- Producing 20-30% of my power.
My Home Rain Barrels -- holding 480 gallons at a time
My Solar Air Heater
MD Solar-Powered Schools -- Is one near you?
My Goals
My Journey Towards Renewable Energy
I built a small photovoltaic (solar electricity) system in July 2000. It works! I can produce enough electricity to do some useful things around the house (such as: mow my yard all summer long). You can build one for about $400 that will produce 500 watt-hours a week.
This little system is a great educational tool for older children. They will of course learn about renewable energy and conservation by watching energy accumulate and then using it each day. There are a number of scientific concepts they can explore -- electricity, work, motors, chemistry. They can explore the mathematical relationship between electrical units (volts, amps, watts) using only multiplication and division.
This way of generating power is not going to save me any money over buying electricity from Baltimore Gas & Electric company. But what we pay the utility company does not account for the true cost of the power -- the environmental damage of the pollution created from fossil or nuclear fuels does not appear in your monthly bill!
I want to significantly expand my system during the next two years, especially if state and federal tax credits reduce the overall price. Even if I do not, the small amounts of solar energy I can produce with the current system will add up over time, and reduce the amount of pollution my household creates. That accumulated contribution is worth the extra money this system costs. Solar panels last more than 20 years!
Meow!
Learn exactly how! (pdf)
