Solar Deals-Make Solar Affordable Now

If you have ever thought a clean energy solar system was out of your league and price range. Check out the Solar Products from one of my solar suppliers that proves this isn't true any longer- message 8/28/14  - 

Solar and Wind  Deals- Solar is Affordable NOW

 Scotty Adds: 

• Bulk pricing discounts for container loads of solar panels.  (get your StLouis neighbors to join and reduce your solar costs for labor, permitting, and materials-can equal up to 30% savings of the total costs) 

• Pay attention to the location as shipping will factor in on the final costs for your clean energy project.

• Here in St Louis I've noticed quite a few of the solar panels installed around the city are the little 250w panels.  

• Before you take the advice of someone peddling older model solar panels-compare the "output to cost" of a higher wattage panel or even a Large Format 72 cell panel with over 300w of power.  

• Since roof space is limited on many buildings it only makes sense to install the highest wattage of panel that you can afford giving you more bang for your buck-with less hardware, labor, and materials to buy. 

My First Solar Car! :)

ALL the following equipment is NEW, never used UNLESS otherwise noted.

• 125 kw of Trina 280w poly panels sitting in Honolulu Hawaii, MAKE OFFER! 
• AEI 333 kw 480 volt 3 phase inverter, MAKE OFFER! 
• 1 Megawatt of Beida-Solar 230w panels, sitting in California....MAKE OFFER! 
• Qty. 5000, LED 'Par 38' lights, 12 watts each 650 lumens ("60 watt equivalent") soft white, UL listed, ...MAKE OFFER! 
• 150 Sunpower 327w, T5 panels, pre-owned (but only installed for 9 months)...MAKE OFFER on entire lot! 
• ET Solar 285w poly panels, 74 cents a watt for entire lot of 200 kw. 
• Lightway Solar 285w poly panels, NON-UL for EXPORT ONLY, 56 cents a watt! East coast. 
• Used Kyocera 120 watt panels, 37 cents a watt, minimum 4 pallets order (100 panels). Sitting in California. 
• 750 kw of Grape Solar 235w panels, available on TERMS of NET 2 YEARS!! Call for details! 
• 1.7 Megawatts of TRINA Solar 245w poly panels, 67 cents a watt for all, or minimum 40' container loads. Sitting in California. 
• Qty. 299, TRINA SMART (Tigo on board) 250w poly panels with built-in panel-level monitoring system, 97 cents/w OR BEST OFFER for ALL!! Works with almost any inverter! Ask for details. 
• Solartec 250w mono panels, truckload sitting in Texas, 69 cents a watt. ALSO have 300w poly & 310w mono for similar pricing, depending on qty. 
• GCL 245w panels, 67 cents a watt pallet qty. Sitting in PA. 
• Trina Solar 285w & 290w poly panels, 76 cents a watt pallets, 74 cents/w for 100 kw+ qty. 
• Topoint 225w poly panels, 57 cents a watt pallets! 
• Top Solar 180w mono panels, 76 panels left, 57 cents a watt. 
• Qty. 50, Prostar AGM 12Volt 200AH maintenance-free deep-cycle batteries for off-grid power, $280 each or best offer takes all! 
• Qty. 5000, LED 'Par 38' light bulbs, 12 watts each 650 lumens ("60 watt equivalent") soft white, UL listed, ...MAKE OFFER! 
• 50 kw WIND TURBINES, grid-tie 60 hz 3-phase, factory list = $50k each....sell both for $69k or $35k each! NEW, Full warranty. Towers not included. Sitting in California. 

Here in St Louis I've noticed quite a few of the solar panels installed around the city are the little 250w panels.  

Before you take the advice of someone peddling older model solar panels-compare the "output to cost" of a higher wattage panel or even a Large Format 72 cell panel with over 300w of power.  

Since roof space is limited on many buildings it only makes sense to install the highest wattage of panel that you can afford giving you more bang for your buck with less hardware to buy. 

Watch Out for those slick talking salesman that put profits before value.

Thank You for stopping by-Share and Comment below. If additional information in needed or you have a question let me know. Together we can make a difference. Build a Green StLouis Green Building Tips and Resources from Scotty-St Louis Renewable Energy Green Blog

StL Most Requested Safe Room Features

What Features are in your Safe Room?  

Has been brought up in my dealing with clients while talking about a safe room for personal safety from extreme events.

Here's some of the things that I found most commonly mentioned:

Toilet, Water, Fridge, Kitchen, Built-ins, First Aid Station, Phone, CB, Internet, Tools, Weapons, Books, Computer, Radio, Power Supply, Food Pantry, Lights...

Luckily with today's advancements in the Building Industry you can have all these in your Safe Room.  I'll share a few of my thoughts and build notes on how to incorporate any and all of the above features mentioned above starting with my favorites the Solar Energy Power Supply and Water.

Water is the Must Have in Every Safe Room

               
                 Most any plumber can route a line into your safe room but what if the local water utilities supply can't meet the needs and you have NO Water better have a backup plan of:  Water Collection, Water Storage, Water Re-Use-all common elements for supplying clean water to a safe room.

Solar Energy Power Supply with Battery Bank for Emergency Scenarios

NewPower Emergency Battery Bank System

                 

                   Since we are in the Safe Room from some extreme event and there may or maynot be a roof on your home.  The Stand Alone Solar Panels mounted in your backyard will prove a wise investment for supplying the power needed for functional living.

Stand Alone Solar Array not attached to Home

                    If there is still a roof on your home and the Solar Panels mounted there will just be adding to the needed power of the Safe Room.  Keeping the batteries at Full operating power! 

                    Another option is a generator that is tied into your battery that also works in conjunction with your solar panels such as this NewPower System that incorporates a Generac generators-

• 8000 Watt stand-by generator
• Runs on LP or NG
• Designed for quiet operation
• Recharges batteries in Power Center when required
• Automatic self-test weekly

All of the above functions are handled seemlessly at the Power Center

Safe Room NewPower System Power Center Control Point

Here is additional information in the form of a google document on the NewPower System for Emergency Power Failures


We will be covering Waste Management in the next addition to Safe Room Features.  Part of the Safe Room Blog Posts 1 and 2.

Here's some suggestions via Twitter

@StLHandyMan Mine,water/food canned, can opener, toilet +paper, power supply refrig.Pantry Lights+flashlights,air exchanger, wife,etc.Hunter
— Hunter (@grayfoxx007) September 3, 2014

Thank You for stopping by-Share and Comment below. If additional information in needed or you have a question let me know. Together we can make a difference. Build a Green StLouis Get Your Green Building Tips and Resources at St Louis Renewable Energy Green Blog

     style="display:inline-block;width:300px;height:250px"
     data-ad-client="ca-pub-7737777276609990"
     data-ad-slot="3857406203">

Safe Room Design-Weather-SafeHome-Crowd

CAD Designs Adding a Safe Room Design to an existing Basement.

If you have any questions feel free to either email or use the Contact Form on Right.

Complete plans, Design-Build Assistance for adding a Safe Room to your Building contact Scotts Contracting at the Contact Form on the Right or the Web Page- click here to email and set up a time to discuss your project.

CAD Safe Room Design for an existing Basement-8in CMU, Steel Door, 6in Reinforced Concrete Ceiling

When Building a CMU structure it is highly advisable to add Steel Reinforcement- In the case of building for Tornado or Hurricane Save Rooms substitute No.4 Vertical Rebar for No.5 size rebar.

How a CMU Block Wall is Reinforced.  Simple CAD Drawing showing the suggested Metal Reinforcement.

Building the Concrete Ceiling-Structural Reinforcement Suggestions.

Build Notes-Hurricane and Tornado-Safe Room Build Suggestions #5 Rebar at 12in MATT-Dowel Into Existing Concrete Wall, Attach MATT to Existing #5 Verticals in CMU Wall-, {For Added Reinforcement for this area ADD 2ft "L" Bar and Wire Tie to MATT and Verts, 4in Min Concrete Ceiling Suggested 6in Thick Ceiling, All CMU Voids filled with Mortar {Be Sure to ADD the "L" Bar before the Voids are filled with Mortar.

Concrete Ceiling-Structural Reinforcement Suggestions.

Build Notes-Hurricane and Tornado-Safe Room Build Suggestions

Added April 7, 2014

• I'll be honest there has always been something that bothered me about the Tornado Safe Room design that FEMA suggested. I was never worried about the Structural Ability of the Safe Room Design to not withstand a Severe Storm-it is the fact of being trapped in a Safe Room- like Jodi Foster in Panic Room.  Maybe I've watched too much tv?  I'd rather be safe than sorry.

• The fact that 2 exits are not available-as is required of almost any home/room design was the Red Flag going off in my mind and when I finally figured it out I made some notes and a quick sketch.  When I got home this evening I sat down and made a couple of quick CAD drawings of the idea to help you get a better idea of what I'm talking about.   

• Maybe its just me, but; I'd hate to survive a storm only to die of starvation because I couldn't get out of a safe room in a basement of a home.  

• I've seen too many horror stories (Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans) of phones not working, emergency personnel too busy to respond to all the requests...scotty

• There is also the added benefit in the building of the safe room with an exterior point to bring the building materials into the safe room.  This will help keep the labor costs lower as it will speed up the job site production by reducing the man hours.  

I now feel that I have a Safe Room Design Build Plan that I would build in my own home and am comfortable sharing and discussing the project in detail.  

Feel free to email or call me for any design build assistance in building a Tornado shelter in your Home. 

View in FEMA Multimedia Library

Safe Room Emergency Exterior Exit

Safe Room CMU Basement Steel Door Location

Safe Room Exterior Exit Point

Taking Shelter From the Storm | FEMA.gov

Taking Shelter From the Storm

Main Content

The safe room construction plans and specifications from FEMA P-320, Taking Shelter From the Storm, are available in DWG format. 

To view and download those files 

and other CAD Storm Shelter Drawings 

click here.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY:  THE DESIGNS IN THIS BOOKLET ARE BASED ON EXTENSIVE RESEARCH OF THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF WINDSTORM DAMAGE TO BUILDINGS. SAFE ROOMS DESIGNED AND BUILT TO THESE DESIGNS SHOULD PROVIDE A HIGH DEGREE OF OCCUPANT PROTECTION DURING EXTREME WINDSTORMS (TORNADOES AND HURRICANES). ANY SUBSTITUTION OF EITHER MATERIALS OR DESIGN CONCEPTS MAY DECREASE THE LEVEL OF OCCUPANT PROTECTION AND/OR INCREASE THE POSSIBILITY OF PERSONAL INJURY DURING AN EXTREME WIND EVENT.

IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE

Because it is not possible to predict or test all conditions that may occur during extreme windstorms, or control the quality of construction, among other things, the designer does not warrant the design.

The designer neither manufactures nor sells safe rooms built from this design. The designers have not made and do not make any representation, warranty, or covenant, express or implied, with respect to the design, condition, quality, durability, operation, fitness for use, or suitability of the safe room in any respect whatsoever. Designers shall not be obligated or liable for actual, incidental, consequential, or other damages of or to users of safe rooms or any other person or entity arising out of or in connection with the use, condition, and/or performance of safe rooms from this design or from the maintenance thereof.

- See more at: http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com/2013/05/tornado-safe-room-design.html#sthash.FTgJEhTc.dpuf

View in FEMA Multimedia Library

Thank You for stopping by-Share and Comment below. If additional information in needed or you have a question let me know. Together we can make a difference. Build a Green StLouis Get Your Green Building Tips and Resources at St Louis Renewable Energy Green Blog

Furgeson Community Garden Healing Event

Learn More about the #FarmedUpRising to benefit the community of Ferguson MO Aug16,2014-contact Mark Garlic or Tarry There Gardens

#FarmedUpRising to benefit the #Ferguson Community Aug 16, 2014

Join us for Natures Healing at #FarmUpRising Aug 16,2014

@RiverfrontTimes @stl7thward @STLPostDispatch @stltoday @STLMetro @StLHandyMan Farmed uprising in Ferguson,Mo pic.twitter.com/ZcmSKbBWwS
— Gateway Garlic (@STLGarlicfest) August 13, 2014

@StLHandyMan there is no danger and many children will be there including my 3 year old son.Tell them not to believe the media hype
— Gateway Garlic (@STLGarlicfest) August 13, 2014

     style="display:inline-block;width:468px;height:60px"
     data-ad-client="ca-pub-7737777276609990"
     data-ad-slot="5964875003">



Learn More about the #FarmedUpRising via the Facebook Page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/512970052180785/513028865508237/?comment_id=513036338840823&notif_t=like

Post by Mark Garlic.

Post by Scotts Contracting.

Additional News about Mark Garlic founder of Carondelet Garlic

Gateway Garlic Urban Farm

Founder and Owner of the Gateway Garlic Urban Farm, Mark “Carondelet Garlic” Brown, who truly understands the importance of garlic!

St. Louis, Mo., is home to a recovered lost heirloom garlic that has been hiding out at an abandoned farm for over 70 years. The discovery was made by the founder and owner of the Gateway Garlic Urban Farm, Mark “Carondelet Garlic” Brown, who truly understands the importance of garlic.

Mark became intrigued after finding out that between 25 percent to 30 percent of heirlooms are recovered by individuals who have found them still growing at abandoned farmsteads. He immediately began his quest to find lost heirlooms in the river city region. In 2011, Mark found a series of farmsteads and went door to door asking if he could search for crop remnants on their land. He first located the original foundation and searched the perimeter. He searched many farmsteads and discovered nine separate garlic varieties. From those 9 varieties, he collected 50-100 samples of each and transplanted them into berms he built at the Gateway Garlic Urban Farm with the intention of saving the seed stock. He sent those nine separate varieties off to an organization in New Zealand to have them tested.

According to the tests, one of those varieties was said had its own genetic drift, which means that it meets the criteria to qualify as its own variety. This variety, merely scallion size, was found on an abandoned farmstead that had trees growing through the original farmhouse foundation. The garlic was growing around the foundation and even under the forest canopy. This land had not been farmed for over 70 years. This garlic variety recovered is a member of the Rocambole family with the origin being traced back to Eastern Central Europe. Mark says, “This makes since because it was found on a farm that was settled by German immigrants”. The recovered heirloom is a hardneck type of garlic that is closely related to the German Red Garlic variety.

After Mark discovered the importance of this lost variety, he went back to the site where it was found and asked permission to collect the remaining plants. He dug up over 40,000 garlic plants and transplanted them into the Gateway Garlic Urban Farm. He grew this variety in raised berms of pulverized clay with a top dressing of compost.

The first year, he saved most of the seed stock and planted it in the fall. He sorted through thousands of cloves, only selecting the largest ones to be planted so that the final outcome would be a larger bulb of garlic. He donated 40 lbs of the smaller cloves of garlic to Mutual Aid, a local food pantry.

Mark spent over 2 years reconditioning these plants. Mark stated that,

“Garlic becomes highly adapted to its environment, reseeding itself as the bulbils drop to the ground, meaning this garlic has been replicating itself for over 70 years”. 

After 3 years of nurturing this resilient variety of garlic in historic Carondelet at the Gateway Garlic Urban Farm, he decided to name the garlic Carondelet. According to Mark,

the Carondelet variety of garlic is unique in that it is highly adaptable; it withstands the bitter cold winter temperatures in the Midwest and is also drought tolerant. 

 “the Carondelet variety of garlic endured this past winter like a champion compared to the Creole and Mediterranean varieties” The flavor is moderately tangy and spicy. It is fairly easy to peel, especially with the technique that requires shaking garlic between two metal bowls.

Mark comes from a long line of farmers in the Northern Illinois and Wisconsin regions. Some of his earliest childhood memories are of harvesting and eating raw sunflower seeds with his siblings and helping his parents harvest peas at the 2 lot urban farm he grew up on in Chicago.

His parents were victory gardeners. His paternal grandfather was a ploughman at the turn of the century. Growing food is a part of his heritage.

Mark Brown, a Saint Louis transplant has been farming in Missouri for 13 years and has been active in Urban Farming in St. Louis since 2005. In 2007, he founded the Gateway Garlic Urban Farm in the Carondelet Neighborhood, which now has 10 members and 15 allied growers.

Mark also spearheads The St. Louis Garlic Fest, which began as a private event with friends enjoying garlic dishes together over a decade ago. The St. Louis Garlic Fest is now in its 6^th season and has drawn a crowd of over 3,500 individuals in recent years.

A Netwrok of Organic Growers

Mark Brown is a member of The Missouri Organic Association. Mark is passionate about building a network of allied farmers, sharing resources between organic growers, educating others including the youth about organic farming and sharing the harvest with local food banks.

He has helped start many urban farms in the St. Louis area including Tarry There Gardens, a small urban permaculture farm. Mark recently built a 12 x 40 ft poly tunnel using 100% recycled and reclaimed materials where he demonstrates bioponic, aquaponic and hydroponic growing methods. The poly-tunnel and the farm are used as an outdoor education center for the Oak Scouts.

Gateway Garlic Farm has open free plots for beginning urban farmers who wish to learn how to grow their own food or sell food at markets. The Gateway Garlic Urban Farm centers on community involvement, outreach and education. They work closely with local food banks such as Mutual Aid and Haven Street. They donate produce on a regular basis to these and other area food banks.

Mark owns and grows food on several lots throughout South St. Louis from Dutchtown to Carondelet. He sells produce to several restaurants in St. Louis and shares it with neighbors and friends.

In light of the recent tragedies in Ferguson, Mark and a group of friends, farmers, organic food activists, social activists and volunteers mobilized in Ferguson, Mo. bringing with them the harvest from their fields and donated non perishable food items.

According to Mark, “they created a mobile free food oasis to counter the food desert that was already existing there. They gave away free organic produce and taught healthy eating habits to Ferguson residents”

“It's small farmers who will help end hunger in our world while simultaneously teaching it to be more sustainable.” – Mark Brown

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/steadfast-garlic-zbcz1409.aspx#ixzz3COHStf3C

and visit the #StLouis #RobinHood of the Urban Garden Scene at his Facebook Profile


Thank You for stopping by-Share and Comment below. If additional information in needed or you have a question let me know. Together we can make a difference. Build a Green StLouis Get Your Green Building Tips and Resources at St Louis Renewable Energy Green Blog 

Rain delay, see Facebook Link for current

https://www.google.com/adsense/direct-campaign-agreement?w=ca-pub-7737777276609990&id=ACqy6HvDHqModOSSkp1ta0F6z4XHekpPdvXBnK5_sGI9dnUXVAb_4nKeqfMNELYvMzUkQfGIEp3B