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Rainbow Power
Company Enewsletter #103
1 December
2006
Index:
1) Introduction
2) Exhaust Fans for Composting Toilets
3) Grid Connected Wind Generator
4) Sundaya Kits
5) Price Increases
6) Feature Article - Water Fountains
7) Courses
8) Christmas Break
1)
Introduction:-
This is our last enews for the year so on behalf of all our staff we
wish you a Merry Christmas and thank you for all your feedback. A special
thank you to our customers who keep the company going. Concerns about
global warming have finally become widespread and I am pleased to report
that we have installed more grid connected systems this past year than
in the previous two decades! Due to the increasing cost of running petrol/diesel
gen sets, rural off grid people are investing more and more on solar
systems.
The pre-wired
Sundaya Solar kits are proving to be a winner in the
South Pacific. Working with all our supporters, we
hope to have an exciting year ahead and to see some
further gains for the environment.
2)
Exhaust Fans in Composting Toilets:-
Several of you have written in to confirm the problem of their relatively
short life span on composting toilets. However, one person did write
in to say he has had one running for 10 years without mishap. Opinion
is divided on whether over voltage or moisture/corrosion is the problem.
I reckon it is probably a combination of both factors. If you feel the
voltage is on the high side to the fan, you might want to put a diode
or two in line to it or perhaps only turn it on in the day when the toilet
is in use.
Perhaps if
fans were not installed so close to the `compost´ they
would not corrode as much. Any more ideas to share
would be welcome.
3)
Grid Connected Wind Generator:-
Daniel Walsh wrote a good Uni essay on this topic some 5 years ago. While
a few things have changed, most of the essay is very relevant to the topic.
Incidently, we can configure a Soma Wind generator to a grid connected
inverter if anyone is interested. http://www.rpc.com.au/products/services/faq-info/wind_grid.pdf
4)
Sundaya Kits:-
As previously mentioned, we have fine tuned some of our kits in response
to customers suggestions and also because of slight product changes. For
a leaflet on what you get in the new kits, have a look at this new leaflet. http://www.rpc.com.au/products/services/distributor/sundaya/pdf/SundayaKits.pdf
5)
Price Increases:-
We regret to advise that battery prices have gone up this month due to
rising lead prices (partly because we hear that the Nicad battery is no
longer permitted in Europe). We have also been informed that composting
toilets will also go up in the New Year.
6)
Feature Article - Water Fountains:-
This time of year we get a lot of inquiries for fountain
pumps and solar systems. Often the customer is connected
to the grid but they don´t
want to have to run cables through the yard. This can be expensive if
you need to hire tradesman to come and do the work. Solar powered fountains
overcome the `cable problem´, however there is the expense of buying
a solar panel (which needs to be mounted in full sun).
To keep cost as low as possible, we usually do not have any battery.
This does mean that the pump will only work during the day when the sun
is shining. Most small commercial fountain pumps run from a 12 volt AC
(not DC) plug pack which operates from the grid (mains power supply).
These pumps cannot be run direct from a battery (except through an inverter).
Sometimes small bilge pumps are used as a fountain pump.
These are very cheap to buy but they tend to wear out after several months
if run all day. They pump a lot of water and even the smaller ones use
a fair bit of power. For small solar powered fountains, we sell a high
quality magnetic drive pump which is rated for 15,000 hours of operation.
It pumps about 13 litres per minute at 1 metre head.
For more details go to: http://www.rpc.com.au/products/pumps/inline/inline.html
This pump
could run direct off a 16W solar panel and frame. (SUN-PV16)
together with an optimizer (REG-110). The cost for
these 3 main components is AUD $568.
7)
Courses:-
Our
next Living with Solar weekend course is on 24 & 25
February 2007. Book early - the one this weekend is booked
out. The next 5 day Designers Course is 24 - 28 January.
For more details see: http://www.rpc.com.au/education/courses.html
8)
Christmas Holiday Break:-
We will be open with a skeleton staff between 22 December to 11 January
- except for the public holidays. During this period we suggest you direct
any emails to our main address - sales@rpc.com.au rather
than to specific people who may not be here. All emails sent to `sales´ will
be forwarded by our receptionist.
This will
be our last newsletter until February. Merry Christmas
to all!!!!
Dave Lambert
and the RPC crew
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