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Deep Cycle Batteries and Discharge

Best Temperature for Batteries

Safe Handling of Batteries

Hydrogen Gas Production

What are Battery Charge Controllers?

What is a Battery Float Stage?

What is Maximum Power Point Tracking?

How does an Inverter work?

How to Position Solar (PV) Modules

Equalizing Battery Charging

CAUTION!
Sealed or "maintenance-free" batteries need no equalization charging.
Equalizing these batteries can cause fire or explosion.

The equalization process can be visualized as batteries being buckets with electricity being the water filling the buckets. One bucket is one battery cell.

What is Inverter Capacity?

Inverter capacity is the amount of power which can be supplied continuously by the unit. The inverter rating must be at least 25% more than the total power required by all connected appliances operating simultaneously. Multiple inverters can be series-wired or parallel-wired for the required capacity.

Pages

The 10-Degree Rule For Solar Gain

When you read about solar systems, especially solar thermal and passive systems, you may come across the "10-Degree Rule". The rule states that, wherever possible, a building... Read more »

Solar Gain in Passive Solar Homes

As with all forms of solar power – solar thermal, PV panels, solar chimneys and others – the amount and quality of sunlight to which a home is exposed is extremely important in... Read more »

Using Thermal Mass for Cooling

In most cases, we talk about thermal mass as something that absorbs and stores useful heat from the sun's light, releasing it when your home gets colder to maintain a comfortable... Read more »

The Importance of Insulation

The best advice is often the advice you hear every time you ask a question. In the case of solar energy, the best advice is always "fix everything you can fix before you start... Read more »

Alternative Water Systems

There are two main ways you can improve your home's ecological impact when it comes to water: installing alternative systems for domestic and outside water use, and implementing... Read more »

Software to Analyze Home Energy Performance

Analyzing your passive solar home's energy performance by hand is long-winded, cumbersome, and prone to error. Between ten and twenty years ago, a variety of software tools... Read more »

How a Vapor Barrier Works

No matter how much insulation you install in your home and no matter how good it is, it's completely useless if it gets wet. To avoid moisture creeping into the insulation, you... Read more »

The Importance of Insulation

The best advice is often the advice you hear every time you ask a question. In the case of solar energy, the best advice is always "fix everything you can fix before you start... Read more »

The 10-Degree Rule For Solar Gain

When you read about solar systems, especially solar thermal and passive systems, you may come across the "10-Degree Rule". The rule states that, wherever possible, a building... Read more »

Every 21 Seconds...

According to the latest data, between 800 and 900 million people are without access to good water in the world. Reliable sources like Water.org indicate that;- every 21 seconds, a... Read more »

The Beauty of a Bus Ride

There is so much beauty in using public transportation. It puts you in contexts that you would not have discovered had you taken the usual taxi or driven a car. I have spent the... Read more »

Nissan Leaf; Love it or hate it.

I invite you to participate in my dilemma. My house is off the grid, running on solar. I commute less than 30 miles per day on average. I need an electric car. Everything else... Read more »

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