Subject: Re: PROPOSAL: alt.homepower

From: [email-masked] (Mike Morris)
Date: Sun, 2 Jun 1996 13:51:33 pdt

>From: Simon Miller <[email-masked]>
>Subject: Re: PROPOSAL: alt.homepower 
>Date: Sat, 1 Jun 1996 10:04:58 GMT

In article <[email-masked]> Simon Miller <[email-masked]> writes:
>On 31 May 1996 [email-masked] wrote:

>> In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] wrote:
>> >
>> >Doesn't alt.energy.renewable cover this?
>> 
>> It does not cover well information that would be exclusively for 
>> small home power needs of less than 4000 watts peak and usually
>> much less than that.
>> 
>> Very small power needs covering micro-hydro, solar, wind, etc and also
>> small scale heating&cooling also would be a needed newsgroup in my 
>> opinion as I have been studying homepower for the past 6 months.
>> 
>> I suggest the proposal be expanded to include these items.
>> If that was done I would support the new newsgroup alt.homepower
>> 

>In that case the name should be alt.energy.homepower.  If there's really 
>a lot of interest, why not go for a sci group?

Given the two, I'd prefer sci.energy.homepower over alt.energy.homepower.
But let's consider what would be the most useful - we'd cover not only
electrical generation (which covers micro-hydro, solar, wind, etc), but also 
solar thermal management, water pumping, insulation information, maybe even 
straw bale housing! Hopefully the information in the newsgroup 
will include understanding the science behind the topics.

I currently scan misc.consumers.house, alt.energy.renewable, 
alt.solar.{photovoltaic thermal}, comp.home.{automation misc}
misc.consumers.{house frugal-living},sci.energy, sci.engineering.heat-vent-ac,
sci.electronics, sci.electronics.{repair equipment}, and I see 
ocasional postings that pertains to the concerns expressed above. But it's too
musch to expect everyone to scan all of those groups all the time.

Since the topics mentioned above concern energy management, and self-reliance,
maybe we should consider newsgroup names like:

alt.energy.self-reliant
alt.home.self-reliant
alt.home-energy-management

(or maybe something like the above under sci.)

misc.consumers.self-reliant, 
sci.engineering.self-reliant

Inteligent commentary and opinions welcome, lets make this a discussion,
flames to dev/null.

---

From: [email-masked] (Michael Schwarz)
Date: 6 Jun 1996 19:20:22 GMT

: >> >Doesn't alt.energy.renewable cover this?
: >> 
: >> It does not cover well information that would be exclusively for 
: >> small home power needs of less than 4000 watts peak and usually
: >> much less than that.
: >> 
: >> I suggest the proposal be expanded to include these items.
: >> If that was done I would support the new newsgroup alt.homepower

: >In that case the name should be alt.energy.homepower.  If there's really 
: >a lot of interest, why not go for a sci group?

IMHO, the "sci" hierarchy is for scientists engaged in active research.
Unfortunately, that is becoming less and less the case as us layfolk
drive the researchers away with a lot of questions that basically waste
their time.  I think an "alt.energy.homepower" group is a good idea.
It would help turn the scattershot resources out here now into a sort
of "one-stop=shopping."

SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT:  Please check out the FAQ I'm drafting for the
alt.solar.photovoltaic newsgroup.  You will find an HTML version at:

http://www.winternet.com/~mschwarz/solar-faq.html

: Since the topics mentioned above concern energy management, and self-reliance,
: maybe we should consider newsgroup names like:

: alt.energy.self-reliant
: alt.home.self-reliant
: alt.home-energy-management

Again, IMHO: Self-reliance is a dangerous myth.  I have always felt that
people who embrace renewables to be "idependent" are walking down a path
that lets them believe they owe nothing to society and that they no longer
have a stake in the health of the community.

Unless you do without all modern conveniences an "off-gridder" is still
just as much dependent on modern industrial civilization as anyone else.
He or she is just polluting a little less.  I don't mean to minimize the
value of that, but merely to highlight that it is not possible to live
truly apart from the community.  Any such distance is merely comfortable
illusion.  For that reason, I would much prefer "homepower."

: Inteligent commentary and opinions welcome, lets make this a discussion,
: flames to dev/null.

I eagerly await to find out if my commentary is intelligent.

--
Michael A. Schwarz                           Minneapolis, MN
[email-masked]                  [email-masked]

---

From: "M. J. Clark" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 09 Jun 1996 13:39:57 -0700

Mike Morris wrote:

  snip

> musch to expect everyone to scan all of those groups all the time.

  snip

For what its worth, rec.boats and rec.boats.cruising carry occasional
threads concerning wind generators and photo-voltaics.  Both are quite common
on cruising sailboats.  There are frequent threads on deep cycle batteries,
battery charging, and inverters.

Regards

Malcolm Clark
aboard SV Saga
on Tampa Bay

---

From: [email-masked] (Michael Schwarz)
Date: 6 Jun 1996 19:20:22 GMT

---

From: "M. J. Clark" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 09 Jun 1996 13:39:57 -0700

Mike Morris wrote:

  snip

  snip

Regards

Malcolm Clark
aboard SV Saga
on Tampa Bay