Green-Trust.Org

We just got back from our trip to Anguilla. We helped Francoise set up her new solar power system. Two Kyocera 130 watt PV panels, a Xantrex C35 charge controller, a Trimetric Battery Meter, a Morningstar Microsine 300 sine wave inverter, and a 70 ah AGM battery, power up 3 Compact Fluorescent Lights, A LG WP-680N Washing Machine (260 Watts) and a Shurflo 12v pump. Two weeks of testing, and we were never able to pull the battery below 12.4 volts. The system consistently output 1.5 kWh’s daily. More pics at http://www.green-trust.org/Anguilla Solar/.

We recently blogged about a LED headlamp on our Eco Tips page , but since we are so enamored with this item, I felt it should be mentioned here as well. With 6 brightness levels, and two strobe levels, it gives a very flexible compromise between battery life and brightness. The LED’s are constant brightness units, so no dimming with battery discharge. I’ve used it for walking, reading, and computing (on my solar charged laptop) in the dark. My batteries are rechargeable NiMH AA’s, and with over 100 hours of light per charge, it will be a long time before I need another set. I’ve decided to bundle the headlamp, 4 NiMH AA’s, and the solar charger, and make it available to our readers for a few dollars more than it cost me for the individual components, as a service to you. The total comes to $99 including S&H in the USA. The little money we make on this will be used to keep projects and info coming your way.

According to EnergyStar.Gov, If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR, we would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of nearly 800,000 cars.

Here at Green-Trust, all 20 of our light bulbs are compact fluorescent bulbs. At 1/4 the wattage of an equivalent incandescent, it saves quite a bit of energy.