U.S. Gas Electric & Telecom

We closely monitor our building energy demand - as well as solar power generated - because it's as useful toreduce our demand, and so avoid a need for power in the first place, as it is to make energy renewably. Energy demand is thus displayed live above. While these surprisingly simple efficiency steps that we'll advocate for, may be given less public attention than innovative ways to make power, we believe there's ample reasons to act first to reduce the need for power. Many solutions we've adopted are indeed compelling for their very simplicity, and widely repeatable. Among these easy, reproducible steps are: We use compact fluorescent lights, instead of hot, incandescent bulbs: this also reduces a need for air conditioning in summer, exacerbated by bulbs in the first place; We use a simple retractable awning to shade the windows on the South of the building. On hot days, we flip a switch extending the awning for shade when the sun's high; on cool days we leave the awning retracted to let sunlight heat much of the building. This system could conceivably be automated. We've also planted deciduous trees on the building's South-side, to add shade in summer, while bare branches let sun through in Winter; We seek energy-efficient appliances in the first place. By thoughtful shopping, we found a 55 inch HD TV diode projection TV using 280 watts, roughly half that of a plasma TV. Yet ours has arguably better picture quality, than plasmas consuming far more energy; We use small 1-watt white led emitting diodes (WLEDs) together with solar PV; One large lighting structure here could traditionally use 12 (hot) bulbs for 720 watts: by using more efficient lights, we consume about 75% less power for appropriate lumens - and again, without added heat; Additions Sought Next: We now have an electric bike, that's charged using solar power. However, a full-sized electric vehicle (EV) powered by solar would be much compelling in this home/office site. We seek to bring in an electric car, to demonstrate ways to move off carbon and gasoline, and to use solar/wind to run both the building, and vehicle in everyday chores; We also seek to bring in a fuel cell. For example a 5 KW FC that supplements our combined solar PV, wind, and micro-hydro power could together run the building, plus easily fuel an electric car too. This fuel cell would best run off 'green hydrogen' that's made by surplus PV/wind and electrolysis: or, it could run off a more conventional fuel such as propane; We seek to bring in a small wind turbine, 0.5 to 2 kilowatts in size. We do have some limited but usable wind resources on this 1-acre demonstration site; We seek to bring in micro-hydro power too, since our site has a seasonal stream running through it with a sizable head & drop above. This could be a small demonstration unit; We seek to bring in another 600 watts of solar PV panels, to run a dedicated DC pool pump directly off the sun. This can demonstrate efficient pumping that also eliminates building load, facilitates solar thermal, and renders the building entirely solar-powered to boot. We welcome your thoughts and suggestions. Notably, requests over five years regarding our energy and investing ideas, helped us to conceive the WilderHill Clean Energy Index (ECO), the first Index on Wall Street for renewable energy solutions - now successfully run by our 'sister' for-profit group, WilderShares, LLC. After much encouragement, we've recently grown here too at the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Institute, and have become a 501c3 organization now able to receive tax-deductible donations to support our vision for a clean energy tomorrow. As we build from a modest showcase of energy solutions, we're working towards solar/wind-renewable powered buildings, cars, & fuel cells based on 'green hydrogen'.