Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS)

...r with just a PET plastic bottle. The diagram, developed by Unicef, pretty much speaks for itself. Too much gunk in the water? Let it settle and filter through some cloth. At least six hours of sunlight will be enough UV to kill bad buggies. Using solar water disinfection, or “SODIS”, replaces the need to boil water, thus reducing deforestation to supply fire wood. Obviously, this is not a long term solution. Drinking water out of heated plastic b...

Read…

Saturday Linkages: The Calm After the Storm

...rblog.com/2012/10/a-unique-diy-solar-pool-heating.html?spref=tw … Build-It-Solar Blog: Large DIY Solar Space and Water Heating System in … http://www.builditsolarblog.com/2012/10/large-diy-solar-space-and-water-heating.html?spref=tw … Primitive Skills Roland Trevino of Altadena Makes and Uses the Ancient Atlatl: http://dirttime.com/?p=2741 Gardening What to do with storm damaged trees: http://www.treesaregood.org/pressrelease/press/firstaid.aspx …...

Read…

Saturday Tweets: A Solar Powered Blog, Caravansaries, Moths and Michaelmas

Our new self-hosted, solar-powered blog is designed to radically reduce the energy use associated with accessing our content. https://t.co/err1n0Jb8d pic.twitter.com/WofAjYoC4q — lowtechmagazine (@lowtechmagazine) September 26, 2018 The mother of all Iranian caravansaries: @atlasobscura https://t.co/LrKw76GhZF — Root Simple (@rootsimple) September 29, 2018 Survival on the sea: https://t.co/eggkX3RSZ2 — Root Simple (@rootsimple) September 29, 2018...

Read…

The Root Simple 2016 Holiday Gift Guide

...f food at once. Civilized people need some rice with their stew. SolSource Solar Grill We did a video on this cool solar grill recently showing how you can use it to . . . deep fry! Looking somewhat like a James Bond villain prop from “Moonraker,” the SolSource’s mirrors focus the sun into a supremely hot point. Consider this a grill to compliment your Solavore oven. Together they form a supremely self-righteous outdoor kitchen that will function...

Read…

Made in the shade- Passive cooling

...es will protect your house from the direct rays of the sun. Shade prevents solar heat gain. Pure and simple. Deciduous trees that lose their leaves in the Winter can allow sunlight to enter your house in the cool season, making them ideally suited to passive heating and cooling. You can also shade your windows. Solar shades project out over a window, thus blocking the highest angle of the sun. When the angle of the sun is lower and the heat and su...

Read…