DIY Solar Projects

DIY - Cheap Solar Energy Projects

by Deb Powers

Solar energy DIY projects (Credit: reznor70@stock.xchang)Every morning, I make the rounds of about a dozen news sites and at least as many blogs about renewable energy so that I can put together a green blog post about what's going on in the world of renewable energy. The ReNewsable Energy Digest is fun to research and write, but it has one major failing.

I freely admit that I'm easily taken in by the WOW factor. I look for the big numbers - billion dollar energy projects that will supply electricity for thousands of homes - or the NEW factor - the first manned airplane to take off solely under hydrogen power. They're the "that's so COOL!" forward-thinking this-is-the-future-of-energy news stories, but I sometimes forget to make room for the littler stuff - the things that you can be doing today, right now, each and every day to use solar, wind and other renewable energy forms in your home and your office.

A lot of these ideas are good old-fashioned ideas that your grandmother did as a matter of course. Of course, in her day, it wasn't solar energy or renewable energy source. It was simply the way that you did things back then. Most of them are low-tech, all of them save energy and reduce your energy bill as well as reducing your carbon footprint, and every one of them is powered by a bona fide source of renewable energy.

Solar Powered Clothes Dryer (RAWKUS @ stock.xchang)Solar Powered Clothes Dryer

Grandma called it a clothesline. There are dozens of ways to use solar and wind energy to dry your clothes, from a simple rope clothesline strung between a pair of trees to a revolving clothes reel that hangs from the wall of your house. Even the most extravagant clothes reel will set you back all of $50, and most won't cost you more than $20. If you've got a porch railing or backyard fence, you've got all the space you need to dry a load of laundry, and on a sunny day with a nice breeze, the clothes will dry just about as fast as they do in your energy-hogging electric dryer.

If you've never dried clothes on the line before, here's a few tips to help you avoid some of the mishaps I've run into drying clothes outside.

• If possible, avoid setting up your clothesline under trees, especially pine trees. It's no fun trying to get pine pitch out of your tighty-whiteys.
• String your clothesline tightly and brace it every 10 feet or so. Wet clothes are heavy and they WILL drag the line down toward the ground.
• Skip the chlorine bleach for line-dried whites. Instead, add a half cup of lemon juice to the final rinse water. You won't believe how bright your whites are.
• Hang t-shirts and shirts from the bottom edge with the neck facing down. They dry more quickly and you don't have clothespin marks in the shoulders.
• You can dry clothes on the line any day that the temperature is above freezing. For colder days, invest in a $20 clothes drying rack and put it in front of a sunny window.

 Solar Heated Outdoor Shower

Outdoor solar shower - Credit: katjung @ flickrOne fun way to use solar energy is with a solar-heated outdoor shower. Most of the simple solar outdoor showers rely on passive solar heating and gravity feed. Basically, you fill a dark container with water, hang it overhead in a sunny spot, and when you're ready to shower and the water is hot, you stand underneath and open the spigot.

Most pre-packaged outdoor showers hold five gallons of water - enough for a five minute shower. Some of the cooler DIY solar showers I've seen include these:

• Mother Earth News: Portable Solar Shower from Inner Tube
• Build It Solar: Discussion of Hose Solar Shower setups
• Build It Solar: Description of How to Make Black Pipe Solar Shower
• Home Power: Excellent article on Solar hot water installation basics

Heating and Cooling Your Home Naturally

Grandma also had some tricks for heating and cooling the house naturally, summer or winter. For instance, you can reduce the amount of energy you use for air conditioning by simply installing retractable awnings above your south-facing windows. That will cut down on the direct sunlight coming through those windows and keep the rooms cooler. Cut down on heat loss during winter by making a set of velcro-trimmed window quilts. Some other ideas for capturing solar energy and using it in your home:

• CNN: Solar power curtains
• Warm Windows: Warm window shades
• Planet Green: 7 DIY Weekend Solar Projects