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Showing posts from July, 2019

All-Season Solar Cookers: Make Your Food in Any Weather

Are there such things as all-season solar cookers, or do they only work in the summer during periods of maximum sun exposure? In the other three season of the year, we’re often asked how exactly is it that these stoves can cook so effectively, even in the cold. To answer this and other questions, we’ve created a handy FAQ. But first, a general overview. All-season solar cookers can work just fine in the winter, but it takes some ingenuity to achieve the same results as summer. As long as you have clear, bright sunshine, then you can make it work; in fact, some winter days can be bright than summer days. The only thing you really need to do differently is turn your all-season solar cooker more frequently to track the sun because it moves more quickly across the sky when it's low on the southern horizon. How do solar vacuum tubes work? Air is pulled out of a double-layered borosilicate glass tube and permanently sealed, forming a vacuum. This highly specialized process

All-Season Solar Cookers: Make Your Food in Any Weather

Are there such things as all-season solar cookers, or do they only work in the summer during periods of maximum sun exposure? In the other three season of the year, we’re often asked how exactly is it that these stoves can cook so effectively, even in the cold. To answer this and other questions, we’ve created a handy FAQ. But first, a general overview. All-season solar cookers can work just fine in the winter, but it takes some ingenuity to achieve the same results as summer. As long as you have clear, bright sunshine, then you can make it work; in fact, some winter days can be bright than summer days. The only thing you really need to do differently is turn your all-season solar cooker more frequently to track the sun because it moves more quickly across the sky when it's low on the southern horizon. How do solar vacuum tubes work? Air is pulled out of a double-layered borosilicate glass tube and permanently  sealed, forming a vacuum. This highly specialized proc

An Off-Grid Tiny Home: Upsides and Downsides

An off-grid tiny home brings together two lifestyle choices that are practically soul mates. The tiny-home movement advocates living simply in small houses, generally less than 400 square feet. It encourages frugality, shared community experiences, and rejecting the worst of consumerism. This philosophy goes great with off-grid living, since these houses have low energy demands and many of them come with roof-mounted solar panels pre-installed. An off-grid tiny home is likely the easiest entry point into off grid living. But there are challenges that come with accepting a radically different style of living. In this post we present those for and against being off the grid if you decide to live in a tiny home. Off-Grid Tiny Home Account #1: The Home Builders The Fontanillas are a Hawaii-based family of three that built their own off-grid tiny house complete with a solar powered array and rainwater harvesting system. Their house is 360 square feet, built on a 26-foot-long t

The Off-Grid Tiny House: Sustainability in Action

A growing movement of eco-conscious urban dwellers are rejecting consumerism, embracing minimalism and sufficiency, and trading in expensive dwellings for an off-grid tiny house. The options for such houses are growing (there are even groupings of tiny houses being tested as an aid for homelessness) and some are embracing the ultimate freedom of living completely off the grid in their off-grid tiny houses. There are many factors to consider when making such a move. How do you handle practical utilities issues like plumbing, electricity, sewage, and water? What are the challenges that come with living in an off-grid tiny house? How handy do you have to be to overcome the challenges that will inevitably come? What do you do about appliances that require electricity but you can't live without? The good news is that you do not have to be a complete hermit to live in an off-grid tiny house, nor do you have to adopt an Amish lifestyle and completely forsake electricity. New sol

Summer Tech: The Best Gadgets, From Coolers to Cookers

Now is a great time to try out some new summer tech. As Amy Iverson notes -- the summer months are a great time to test out everything form iOS updates that allow you to stream karaoke songs to electric coolers. Here are a few GoSun products that we think represents the best in su mmer tech. Summer Tech Item #1: The Electric Cooler The first item that is perfect for hot weather is the GoSun Chill, an electric cooler with a massive battery bank that doesn't need ice and has custom temperature controls. GoSun Chill is portable, efficient, and ice-free. Use the sun to keep your food cold or frozen. No ice means 2x more room for food and drinks when compared with coolers of equal dimensions. Summer Tech Item #2: The Fusion Using nothing but the sun to cook your food has never been easier with the Fusion. Create hot meals anytime, anywhere, with the highest efficiency hybrid solar oven on the planet. You can even power its lithium ion battery at night with a solar panel. The