Kaneka Solar modules

Hotwire — Thu, 06 May 2010 19:02:17 +0000

60 watts, 92 volts open circuit, 37.8 in. X 39.0 in., 30.1 lbs

A new low:

$0.98 per watt

You might also be interested in our led lights…

Wind and Solar Monitor

Hotwire — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:09:01 +0000

You can use your battery system monitor to show the amp output of the wind and solar using my package. It consists of a panel, switches, shunts, and a terminal strip. What it does is momentarily switch from the system monitor shunt to a shunt that is located in the wind or solar circuit.

$95 BUY NOW

Keep in mind that renewable energy applications need very energy efficient stuff light LED navigation lights…

Spin Dryer

Hotwire — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:20:59 +0000

- Works in only 2-3 minutes
- 12.2 lb capacity for wet laundry, 5.5 lb capacity for dry laundry
- 3200 rpm spin speed
- Portable, only weighs 22 lbs
- Compact, only 13.7″ x 13.7″ x 24″ (lwh)
- Much gentler on clothes than a conventional tumble dryer
- Removes mineral deposits and detergents, rather than baking them on
- Can be used as a standalone dryer, or with a tumble dryer
- If used with a conventional dryer, cuts drying time by 30 minutes or more.
- Connects to any 110V outlet, no installation required.

- Only uses 300 watts on average, very energy efficient

- Please note that this is a “spin dryer” which is not the same as a standard clothes dryer.
If you don’t know the difference, please ask before ordering.

-NEW electronic, motor controlled gentle ABS braking system, much more durable than the cheaper bicyle-type brakes used by other spin dryers.
- Balances better than other spin dryers, reducing the need to stop and reposition clothes.

Price: $134.95 BUY NOW

Aurinco Solar

Hotwire — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:04:40 +0000

Thin, Walk-On Solar for your Boat

• Efficient – monocrystalline silicon provides twice the power of thin film panels

• Ultrathin – All models are only 3/16″ (4.5 mm) thick

• Light-weight – ideal for racing, or for mounting on a bimini, dodger or other light structure

• Flat front – there is NOTHING protruding from the surface that can catch sheets, sails or your feet

• Snug-fit back - wires are recessed and protected in grooves, either mounted hidden through tiny holes to interior or without holes on top

• Rugged – sealed with a durable UV-resistant surface, salt water proof to IP67

• Step-on - you can step on the textured surface and add optional anti-skid strips

• Mount on curved surface - the narrow Bluewater modules are slightly flexible and can be installed to follow a curved cabin roof or deck

• Temporary use at anchor – mount on boom with bungee cords, then store under bunk or cushion while underway

• Partial shade resistance – an array of modules is less sensitive to major power loss from boom, mast and sail shadow than a large single panel

• Beautiful - not an eyesore on the boat you are so proud of

Length	Width	Power	Modules	Price
Arrays based on the Bluewater™10 module:
25 1/4″ (640 mm)	6″ (153 mm)	10 W	1 x Bluewater 10	$ 150	Info/Buy
25 1/4″ (640 mm)	12″ (306 mm)	20 W	2 x Bluewater 10	$ 291	call
25 1/4″ (640 mm)	18″ (459 mm)	30 W	3 x Bluewater 10	$ 428	call
25 1/4″ (640 mm)	24″ (612 mm)	40 W	4 x Bluewater 10	$ 558	call
25 1/4″ (640 mm)	30″ (765 mm)	50 W	5 x Bluewater 10	$ 683	call
25 1/4″ (640 mm)	36″ and above	?60 W			Contact us
Arrays based on the Bluewater™ 20 module:
47 1/2″ (1205 mm)	6″ (153 mm)	20 W	1 x Bluewater 20	$280	call
47 1/2″ (1205 mm)	12″ (306 mm)	40 W	2 x Bluewater 20	$544	call
47 1/2″ (1205 mm)	18″ (459 mm)	60 W	3 x Bluewater 20	$798	call
47 1/2″ (1205 mm)	24″ (612 mm)	80 W	4 x Bluewater 20	$1,042	call
47 1/2″ (1205 mm)	30″ (765 mm)	100 W	5 x Bluewater 20	$1,274	call
47 1/2″ (1205 mm)	36″ and above	?120 W	Example		call
Arrays based on Compact™ series modules:
18 1/2″ (460 mm)	16 1/4″ (410 mm)	20 W	1 x Compact 20	$280	Info/Buy
33 1/8″ (840 mm)	16 1/4″ (410 mm)	40 w	1 x Compact 40	$480	call
51 5/8″ (1300 mm)	16 1/4″ (410 mm)	60 W	1 x C 20 + 1 x C40	$722	Contact us
33 1/8″ (840 mm)	32 1/2″ (820 mm)	80 W	2 x C 40	$932	call
51 5/8″ (1300 mm)	32 1/2″ (820 mm)	120 W	2 x C 20 + 2 x C 40	$1,406	Contact us
33 1/8″ (840 mm)	48 3/4″ (1230 mm)	120 W	3 x C40	$1,368	call
66 1/4″ (1680 mm)	32 1/2″ (820 mm)	160 W	4 x C40	$1,786	call
33 1/8″ (840 mm)	65″ (1620 mm)	160 W	4 x C40	$1,786	call
other				Contact us

It is very benificial to use less power in order to need fewer watts of solar, by using, for example LED reading lights, LED anchor lights, and other led lights for cruisong sailboats…

Why I am not a Florida Licensed Contractor

Hotwire — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:40:55 +0000

In the state of Florida one of the requirements for a contractors license is verifiable work experience working for a contractor for at least three years. I have never worked for a contractor, and while I thought it might be possible to get around that requirement when I took the tests, it looks like I will never be able to get the license because I won’t be closing our business and going to work for someone else. I have other certifications; Airframe and Powerplant FAA Certificates, Bachelor’s in Education, ASE (automotive) Master Mechanic, USCG Captian’s License, and others, none of which count (nor should they). I do have 12 years experience woking with wind and solar systems, mostly on cruising sailboats. I have attended various manufacturer’s seminars, including UniRac, Xantrex, Outback, Sharp, Sanyo, SMA, Morningstar, Southwest Windpower, and others. I stay in touch with new developments and give seminars on “Solar for Your Home” (nothing like lecturing in front of a bunch of people to motivate you to know what you are talking about!). In order for your solar system to qualify for the (substantial) Florida rebate, you will have to show that the system was installed by a licensed electrical or solar contractor. I have contractors that I work with that can do the installation.

Energy Audits

Hotwire — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:15:57 +0000

Click here to read the Energy Audit PDF

Click here for the Energy Audit Instructions PDF

Plant City Install

Hotwire — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:55:36 +0000

UniSolar PVLs

Pictured is a system I “integrated” in Plant City, Florida. For this roof, there is enough surface area to put down almost 6000 watts of solar panels. Because the roof has little pitch, we were able to put modules on the East and West facing roofs with less than 10% loss in efficiency. However, in order to keep the overall system efficient, we used two inverters, having two sets of strings with different number of modules in series.

If you have a steel roof, with flat “pans” of at least 16 inches between the ridges, then you can put down flexible modules. These UniSolar modules come with adhesive backing, are lightweight, and add no wind loading.

UniSolar PVL modules installed on steel roof.

West Roof

Bebi fluorescent replacement (Fautasi)

Hotwire — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:45:57 +0000

Fautasi 18 LED Marine Boat & RV 12 Volt Strip Lights

Michael at Bebi writes the following:

We ALWAYS listen to our customers, and we always enjoy getting requests for making unique lights. When Bill in Malaysia contacted us with a request for an attractive light to replace the (broken) fluoresent lights on his cruising yacht, he very much caught our interest.

Fiji has many beautiful indiginous woods, and we chose to use dakua salusalu (Decussocarpus vitiensis) for it’s beauty. Since this light is hand-crafted by our employee’s from a renewable resource, each one is slightly different from another in its appearance but will still enhance the beauty of your yacht’s saloon.

As this light was to be a replacement for a fluoro fixture, we were challenged with the question of length. What we finally settled on was to make each unit 150mm in length, so they could replace into the space of a 12, 18 or 24 inch fixture, without having to build and stock multiple sizes. Having the 150mm (6″) length also made it a perfect interiour light for small ‘trailer-sailers’, who have to watch not just their power consumption, but whether the light will fit at all!

We also spent quite a bit of time considering if the unit should have a switch or not (relative, switches are expensive). What we decided was to produce a three varients; unswitched, toggle switched, and magnetically actuated switched units. The toggle switched units have a switched ‘hot pigtail’, so you can control multiple unswitched units from a single switched one, not only saving you a bit of money, but it makes ‘ganging’ the lights together easier (don’t worry, we have instructions with all of our lights, as well as in our ‘Hints and Suggestions’ web page!)

Knowing that Baskin-Robbins has 31 flavours for a reason, you may order your Fautasi lights in either Warm White, or Pure White, colours….

The ink wasn’t even dry on our design paper before we came up with a thought for the toggle switched Fautasi LED fluorescent light replacement. We added a three way switch and a small, yellow, indicator LED. You can now choose (on the toggle switch light only) between ‘light on’, ‘light off’, and ‘indicator’, so as you can find the light switch in the dark! The indicator LED only draws 0.005 amps, so it really won’t break the electrical budget!

As is usual for us, we tested one of the proto-types in the galley of our own boat (which we also live aboard on), a Downeaster 38, with a U-Shaped galley. Perfect!

^*Yes, Fautasi is a Samoan word! During the production of our first units, we had them lined up on a picnic table at Waitui Marina, and the rows of lights looked just like the line of oarsman aboard a fautasi to my eye!

The Bebi Fausati light. $42.50 BUY NOW

Atkinson Wind and Solar Monitor

Hotwire — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:04:21 +0000

The same size as a wall switch in your house, the Atkinson will display battery voltage, wind amps, wind amp-hours, solar amps and solar amp-hours. More info: http://atkinsonelectronics.com/product_pdfs/PVWDM.pdf

$256 BUY NOW

Dr. LED Kevin deck light

Hotwire — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:37:09 +0000

Four US Made High-Flux LEDs
600+ Lumen* LED Light
Highest lumen-per-watt LEDs outperform other LED lights in its class
Best Marine LED Light in the market for commercial and recreational boating
Spreader / Deck / Spot LED Light

The Kevin is a general purpose waterproof light with four US made high-flux LEDs. This light is fabricated from the highest quality components to assure long life and trouble-free functioning. Die cast aluminum housing provides ample heat sinking to the LEDs to ensure long life operation. Their patented internal circuitry provides consistent brightness and makes them immune to life-shortening voltage fluctuations. Their incredibly low power draw (1A @ 12V) makes them the perfect way to reduce energy consumption.

$159 BUY NOW