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A Beginner's Resource Guide to the AEZ.
Introductory
Electronics and Alternative Energy Information If you are completely unfamiliar with electricity it would behoove you to know that there are a couple of different types, Alternating Current (AC) or Direct Current (DC). AC electricity is what you have in your home; you stick the 2 or 3 pronged end of your cord into the wall outlet. DC electricity is where you hook up to the positive (+) and negative (-) terminals of a battery. There is a bit more to it than this, but for these intents and purposes, I'll leave it at that. What's the difference? The AC in your home carries more amps (A or I, the electrical flow) and volts (V or E, the electrical pressure) because the wiring is tapped into a massive source, a fossil fuel or nuclear power plant. DC power varies in amps and volts based on the size (AA, C, D, 6V, 12V, 24V or banks thereof) of the battery you need and can afford. It can be done, but on a slim budget, considering powering your home from DC would be like motoring a large automobile by bicycle power. Allowances must be made or extensive, expensive systems will be bought. The beauty of a DC system is that you can hook up solar panels or wind generators to it and recharge your batteries time and time again. With an inverter, (which simply converts DC power to AC power) you can use AC appliances with your DC power source as you travel. Speaking of wind and sun reminds me of Burning Man where both are abundant. You prepare for the nights in your Black Rock City home by buying a stock of AAA, AA, C and D sized batteries for lights, etc. You know one set isn't enough so you buy lots. BUT, if you bought rechargeable NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride), NiCad (Nickel Cadmium) or Rechargeable Alkaline you could buy a set and it could last years! NiMH seems to be a preference. Now you have batteries, find a battery charger. Make sure your charger suits the type and size of the batteries you use. There are solar powered or wall plug type ones available. See the AEZ Web site www.ae-zone.org SUPPLIERS section (Real Goods...). A battery is simply an electrical storage device. You fill this device with sun or wind energy and ladle it out by using your lights or appliances, which are also known as your load. For bigger loads like a blender, radio station, sound system, lap top, etc, you will want a sizable battery or two. These would include 6 volt (lantern-wheel chair-golf cart), 12V, 24V, lead acid flooded deep cycle, gel or sealed varieties. The strength of any battery is measured by voltage and amp hours (Ah). For most people, a 12V system is the way to go. Relatively inexpensive deep-cycle 12V batteries can be found at most retailers like Costco, K-mart, marine supply stores, etc. To successfully build your system, you will need to match your load, battery capacity and solar panel or wind generator capabilities. For battery intricacies see: www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm and www.mywebplace.com/battery/batfaq.html. So, you want to decorate you hat, clothes and bike with lights? Great, there are a couple of ways to go about this. Electroluminescent (EL) wire is a thin wire that glows with magnificent color. You can get it already attached to the driver and battery source. Or for the do-it-yourself type, you can buy the wire and drivers and solder it yourself. There are several Internet sources to sate this curiosity and they are noted below. Another type of light you can use for your decorating pleasure is a light emitting diodes (LED). These require less power than any other bulb that I know of. They are available on line and at stores like Radio Shack. Go to the SUPPLIERS section of ae-zone.org and look under LIGHTING for an extensive list of companies that provide DC lights. The main difference (other than size and shape) between the incandescent bulbs we screw into sockets in our homes and LEDs is efficiency. LEDs don't "burn out" and because they're more efficient, they don't get hot like regular light bulbs. Unlike fluorescent lights (CCFL or CCFT) they don't require high voltage AC and will typically run off of, as little as, 1.5 to 3.6V. AC in your home is 110V. Your dryer and oven are wired in a particular way that the 110V your home provides accommodates their 220V needs. You see, heating things up is what draws the most power. I've mentioned soldering. You'll need a soldering iron (or gun), solder, surgical clamps or alligator clips, to do some reading and/or have a lesson. You might be surprised to find out who you know that has a soldering background. Ask around. If you can't get a live lesson, on line instruction should suffice; soldering is a pretty straightforward operation. These websites will get you there: Soldering EL wire - www.coolneon.com How to solder - http://www.aaroncake.net/electronics/solder.htm Instructional video clips - http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/elab/soldering.htm There is a basic law you must use to determine what LED, resistor and battery(s) you will need for your creative success. It is Ohms Law, V=IR. That is Voltage equals Current (I) times Resistance, and combinations thereof. Remember basic algebra? Here's some for you: If V=IR, then I=R/V and R=V/I; so you need to know two of them to figure the third. I have found the same equation expressed several ways, using various symbols as well as words. Here are a couple: Volts = Current x Resistance, (E) Voltage equals Amps (I) times Ohms. Volts = potential energy, electrical force Current = amount of electrons flowing or the movement of the electrical charge through the circuit. Resistance = friction caused by the lights, wire or resistor. You can either learn this basic law of electronics, use the following circuit 'recipes' or have others compute for you. Resistance, amps, watts, volts, circuits and Ohms law are pretty well covered here: http://www.school-for-champions.com/science/dccircuits.htm A glossary of terms will definitely help you weed through these concepts. Print this out. It is a must. Now a word about positive (+) and negative (-). A circuit is completed by the flow of electrons through the + and - ends of each element involved. The long pin of an LED is positive and there is usually a flat spot on the side of the LED next to the negative pin. It can be hard to find, but it's probably there. A battery always marks the + and - terminal. A resistor has no + or -. It can be attached to either + or - in a circuit. If you were to touch both + and - terminals of a battery with your hands, the current would flow through you because YOU have completed the circuit. With a 6V system you probably don't have to worry, but at 24V, you would be pushing your luck. Now back to circuits, of which there are a couple of different types: a simple circuit, series, parallel or a combination of them. These can get as numerous and complicated as you like within the V=IR equation. I recommend beginning with a simple circuit. An LED, speaker wire, a resistor and batteries (see the simple circuit sketch below).
Series circuits are several electrical devices placed in a line between the + and - poles of the battery. Each + is connected to a - and then to the battery. If one of the elements you've connected fails, none of it will work. If you were to have 4-AA batteries in series, each having a value of 1.5V, they would total 6V (1.5+1.5+1.5+1.5=6). If you hooked up 2-1.7V LEDs in series, they would equal 3.4V (1.7+1.7=3.4). To match these LEDs to the power source, you would need a resistor to bring the 3.4 value up to 6. Remember without a resistor your battery will pour too much juice into the LEDs and they will not live up to their expected and honorable lifespan; maybe not even for a couple of seconds. See the series circuit sketch below.
Parallel circuits, on the other hand, have several paths for the electricity to travel through. Think of a river branching into smaller streams and returning to one point creating the river again. If one path is broken, electricity still flows through the rest. The connections in parallel are a little more complicated. Instead of attaching + to - to + to -, as in series, you attach all - together and all + together and then to your battery. You could have 5-1.7V LEDs in parallel and their voltage would still be only 1.7V. What you lack in voltage requirements, you make up for in amps. See the parallel circuit sketch below.
With this introduction to the world of DC power, you can surely begin your search for solar panels or wind generators. This Web site (www.rain.org/~philfear/how2solar.html) has a very comprehensive guide (with pictures!), to making a relatively inexpensive 12v solar set that you can build yourself. This Web site (www.ccis.com/home/mnemeth/12volt/12volt.htm) is directed towards RV use but the first part explains 12V batteries pretty well. Another relatively inexpensive and already built solar DC (with an AC inverter, so you can use home appliances) system can be found at www.solarsense.com. Check out the NOMAD 300 series. They also have very attentive technical support staff. Other than these suggestions, I've found no one who says it better than Carl Reuter at www.landandseasolar.com/info.html. Good luck and more than anything, Have Fun! Jan
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