I have been interested in alternative and solar energy since the 70’s when I joined a solar club. I was in the Army and stationed at Ft. Bragg with the 82nd Airborne Division and found many people were interested soldier alike due to the recent gas shortage associated with the Iran hostage situation.

While in the club all members attended a solar energy course at Fayetteville Technical Institute after sponsoring a visiting professor. We learned a lot of very useful information and took much of the ‘brain surgery’ out of alternative energy. As a result I built my own two-story post and beam passive and active solar heated home. As the army is a transit employer soon after completion of the home I was transferred to Germany and lost interest until just a few years ago when I relocated to Puerto Rico.

I’m retired now and a househusband and love to tinker with inventions so I got busy with solar again. I have come up with several pretty good inventions and would love to share them with anyone interested. Home hot water heating was my priority and I came up with several ideas and even managed to sell an article to a magazine in NC titled Junkyard Hot water. Aptly named, the project heats my family of four needs year round at a very low price outlay. I also came up with a couple inexpensive automatic sun-tracking devices to allow maximum sun angle efficiency for PV panels.

Should you be interested in solar hot water or the tracking plans then feel free to PM me and I’ll send the plans.

Hello, OldSarge, an old sailor here. I too have been interested in solar, passive mostly, since the 70's. My domestic supervisor and I have a place in northern Utah and have built a shop on it already. We hired a local college employee/architect to do the plans based on my crude drawings and wanted to start next spring, but situations change and it will be spring of 2006. I have ideas for a very sturdy, in not quite so efficient, water solar collector that will also be unobtrusive on the appearance of the house it sits on.
I will send you an IM with my email address....