tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85253713878155150842010-01-07T23:03:29.287-08:00Real-world reviews of books, products and DIY guides that promote the use of ALTERNATIVE FUELS and RENEWABLE ENERGY, with special focus on Electric and other Clean fuel vehicles. Feel free to add your own comments, but please keep it clean and relevant.J.D. Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760328241179398728jdkennedy@cleanenergysolutionz.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525371387815515084.post-19499861611344242952009-10-17T20:25:00.001-07:002009-10-19T17:42:22.164-07:00

Ok, so I don't actually expect you to go out and build this one...

J.D. Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760328241179398728jdkennedy@cleanenergysolutionz.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525371387815515084.post-27121538200589991172009-09-30T11:30:00.000-07:002009-09-30T11:30:01.667-07:00

If you're looking for some good resources for EV or other alt-fuel information, parts suppliers, etc., look at my links list to the right. I'll only be including truly useful web links - no advertising or bait 'n switch sites. If you have suggestion, add a comment to this post and I'll take a look at it. Thanks.

J.D. Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760328241179398728jdkennedy@cleanenergysolutionz.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525371387815515084.post-6580983731912050062009-09-16T20:59:00.000-07:002009-10-16T19:34:14.384-07:00

This is it! The absolute best EV manual you can find, plus accompanying videos that show you, not just tell you, how to do it yourself. All the EV conversion books I've read so far seemed to be lacking in some area or another, but I think I've found the best resource for converting to electric. When I found it I got really excited. Electric Conversion Made Easy was written by Gavin Shoebridge

J.D. Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760328241179398728jdkennedy@cleanenergysolutionz.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525371387815515084.post-65898908903824925782009-09-09T12:04:00.000-07:002009-10-16T19:40:03.429-07:00

If you want to jump right into making your own solar panels and wind turbines, might I suggest HomeMadeEnergy. The book has a simple, straightforward approach without a lot of fluff. If you're already sold on renewable energy and have taken energy efficiency measures, you can skip the intro, go straight to the meat of the text and get right to building. Some good tips on materials as well as

J.D. Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760328241179398728jdkennedy@cleanenergysolutionz.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525371387815515084.post-59641990426277547642009-09-02T12:50:00.000-07:002009-10-16T19:43:02.013-07:00

Took some time off there, but I'm back now. In the mean time, I tried out another ebook manual for converting your car to electric, called Electricity4Gas. This was a no-fluff, "get down to brass tacks" type of manual. To me, that was very refreshing. The author was clearly not trying to impress me with how many pages he could fill with stuff I didn't care much about. In my opinion, most books

J.D. Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760328241179398728jdkennedy@cleanenergysolutionz.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525371387815515084.post-79646005904236959392009-08-07T14:32:00.000-07:002009-10-16T19:45:08.417-07:00

So this isn't a product, per-se, but I wanted to do a quick review on a web site that I think is very helpful for the everyday person: Electric-Cars-Are-For-Girls.com, authored by Lynne Mason, here in the Seattle area. In spite of the name, the web site isn't just for girls, in fact I think most of the viewer comments and questions are from guys. In any case, the web site is very informative for

J.D. Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760328241179398728jdkennedy@cleanenergysolutionz.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525371387815515084.post-50394498551542998572009-08-05T16:40:00.000-07:002009-10-16T19:56:52.183-07:00

Les and Jane Oke put together a pretty comprehensive package for anyone wanting to wean themselves off of the power grid. Indeed, that is what they did; in fact everything they cover is from personal experience. That doesn't mean you need to go off-grid completely, but every little bit helps. I'm going to group solar and wind energy together, because they really work together to make a complete

J.D. Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760328241179398728jdkennedy@cleanenergysolutionz.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525371387815515084.post-40520994148097160132009-07-28T12:01:00.000-07:002009-10-16T20:00:08.445-07:00

Along with the Convert-2-EV package, I got a handy e-book on how to make your own bio diesel. I have to admit I was more excited about this prospect because, though I don't have a diesel-powered vehicle, I do have an oil furnace that is about 81% efficient. Heating a 5-bedroom house with sub-par aluminum windows... Well, you can imagine what that would cost. Last winter we shut the furnace off

J.D. Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760328241179398728jdkennedy@cleanenergysolutionz.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525371387815515084.post-30034771823328803792009-07-27T13:05:00.000-07:002009-10-16T20:03:23.376-07:00

I finally decided to give one of those online e-books a try. You know, the ones that promise that you can build a nuclear reactor in you back yard using spare parts from the junkyard. Like most people, I'm a little curious, but more than a little skeptical. But what the heck, if it comes with a guarantee, why not try it. So I did... I decided to try Les Oke's Convert-2-EV website that claims you

J.D. Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760328241179398728jdkennedy@cleanenergysolutionz.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525371387815515084.post-31198698574480734262009-06-23T13:58:00.000-07:002009-10-21T20:52:22.752-07:00

Ok, starting off let's talk about electric vehicles (or EVs). I started getting on that bandwagon when I found myself with an extra vehicle that had a bad engine. Perfectly fine car otherwise that I could put thousands into to try to get it running as before, or.... why not convert it to electric? Being the home schooled self-study type, I decided to get some books on the subject. There are

J.D. Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760328241179398728jdkennedy@cleanenergysolutionz.com0