solar

Solar racing in Texas – go Knights!

Solar racing in Texas – go Knights!

Vincent Mariano, of the SPHS Solar Knights solar race car team out of South Plantation High School in Plantation, Florida, wrote in to ask us why we haven’t written anything about the Dell-Winston solar car challenge currently underway at the Texas Motor Speedway. Because we hadn’t heard from you yet, Vincent! Thanks, and good luck […]

Soda can solar panel

Soda can solar panel

So you have a few extra cans left about the manse after the holiday party and are wondering what to do with them. How about building a solar panel? Free heat is good heat. As air enters the 2 holes on the sides near the bottom, the sun is heating up the soda cans all […]

Thinking of building a solar still?

Thinking of building a solar still?

Build It Solar has a great collection of solar DIY projects, including stills, cookers, food driers, and water heaters. But the gem of their solar-distillation collection, for my money, is this paper, from 1985, by Horace McCracken and Joel Gordes. It’s unformatted ASCII and black-and-white GIFs, but it provides a better review of the various […]

Aquaponic education and the Sun Curve

Megan Simmons of ISKME tells us about the Sun Curve Design Challenge. OERCommons is a place where they are storing and sharing educational resources about the Sun Curve and other educational projects. The structure and systems were designed by INKA Biosperic Systems. You might also check out her photos of the project at Maker Faire.

Make your plans for SolarFest!

Make your plans for SolarFest!

In the mail today arrived the 36 page schedule/flyer for this year’s SolarFest. Based on the three I’ve been to in the past, this should be an excellent time as well. There are plenty of workshops, live music, and great vendors who have either made their own wares or are willing to share lots of […]