Off Grid Winchester
A Resource for Independent and Off Grid Living, Education, & Training

Solar & Wind Power Training, Emergency Preparedness, Survival Tips,
Eco-Friendly & Sustainable Living, Resource Management...

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Sustainable Business Networking
in the Shenandoah Valley Region


Facebook Likes in the Shenandoah Valley Region:
(please e-mail vlombardi2003@msn.com to be included in this listing)


Vince Lombardi
Off Grid Winchester


Primary Focus:     Solar Power consultant (Site Survey, Design, Build), Educator, Engineer, System Designer and Installer. Also providing resources for independent and off grid living, education, and training in the Shenandoah Valley (VA / WV).
Contact:     e-mail: vlombardi2003@msn.com / cell: 703-328-1840
Facebook presence:     (search term) Off Grid Winchester
Affiliations:    
Founder of Off Grid Winchester www.OffGridWinchester.com
Founder of Abrams Creek Lodge & Family Campground www.AbramsCreek.com
Founder of Affordable Massage www.AffordableMassage.com

Rick Hueston
Primitive Cafe, Lone Nomadic, & Mid-Atlantic Primitive Skills Group (MAPS)


Primary Focus:     Tom Brown School of Survival type workshops - edible and medicinal plants, flint knapping, fire by bow drill, primitive survival skills…
Contact:     e-mail: hue570n@hotmail.com
Facebook presence:     (search term) Primitive Café
Affiliations:    
Founder of Primitive Cafe -- www.primitivecafe.com
Founder of Lone Nomadic -- www.lonenomadic.com
Former President: Mid Atlantic Primitive Skills Group (MAPS) - www.mapsgroup.org

Mike Lee
Winchester Solar


Primary Focus:     Providing custom tailored renewable energy based equipment (solar, wind, solar thermal, fuel cell...) for emergency preparedness clients including civilians, military, government, FEMA, fire and rescue...
Contact:     e-mail: mike.lee@gpmsllc.com
Facebook presence:     (search term) None
Affiliations:    
Founder of Winchester Solar

Christian Chew - Staunton, VA area e-mail: cchew79@gmail.com Solar panel / solar power system installer, NABCEP Interested in collaboration for the Winchester metro area (to extend 50 miles in all directions) for solar power systems design / installation. Doug Bittner - Berkeley Springs, WV area Email: douglasmbittner@gmail.com / 304-258-9515 www.readydepot.com - Doug's website Installed a 5.7KW solar power system (outback inverter / charge controller, battery backed) on his home survival / shelter supplies including packaged foods for shelter and much more. Timothy Reese - Capon Bridge, WV Installed a 6KW solar power system on his home Co-owner of taproot farm -- http://taprootfarm.info/ Facebook page - Taproot Farm - Capon Bridge, WV Charles Bigelow e-mail; lightspeedpower@gmail.com Veteran Resources Corporation: http://www.vetresources.com/vcrstructure.html 20+ years in the renewable energy field... Cheryl Ash - Berryville, VA e-mail: ecycleconsulting@gmail.com / web: http://ecyclegreencollective.weebly.com/about-us.html Current interim president/ director of the Barns of Rose Hill, Berryville, VA Former President of the Shenandoah Area Branch (SAB) of the National Capital Region (NCR ) of the USGBC - U.S. Green Building Council. Steve/Ruth Martin - Three Churches, WV - outside of Romney Web: http://www.churchviewfarm.info/ Organic and sustainable farmers and meat/livestock Created facebook presence - Sustainable Potomac Highlands USGBC - national chapter and SAB / Shenandoah Area Branch Taproot Farm Backbone Farm Church View Farm Marilyn Finnemore - Bright Center Cheryl Ash - Barns of Rose Hill Abram's Creek Conference Center The Land Celebration - a Retreat property of the Lord's chapel Source: dsireusa.org - database of state renewables and efficiency rebates

state by state tax incentives and rebates for green energy installations, efficiency upgrades, energy audits, and more...

Source: Building Performance Institute, Inc.

an excellent resource for certified contractors, training, green retro-fit contracting advice...

Source: U.S. Green Building Council

certify your green building...

Source: LEED traiing courses from USGBC

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)


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Solar Resources & Parts / Supplies:

Go Green Solar Energy

7 Solar Water Heating System Designs - complitments Back Woods Home Magazine

Back Woods Solar Eletric Systems - parts and supplies

$1.50 per watt solar panels from Back Woods Solar

Wholesale Solar - parts and supplies

Global Sources -- Solar Panel Manufacturers and Suppliers Database

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Solar Lease Programs:

Citizenre Solar Lease Program

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Solar Power Installers in DC metro area:

Continuum Energy Solutions

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Micro-Hyrdro Power Resources:

Energy Systems & Design - Micro-Hydro Power Systems

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Great Off-Grid and Renewable Energy Resources:

Renewable Energy from Mother Earth News -- The best advice on solar, wind, energy efficiency and more.

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Green Home Design / Modular:

Sustainable Design Group - About Earth Homes

Green Steel Homes
Made entirely of recycled, re-claimed steel, these kit homes are long lasting, termite and bug proof, water/mold resistant, and enduring... and the variety and architectural beauty for a kit home is un-matched.

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Residential Energy Auditor Websites

Source: Wellhome, based in Manassas, VA

Source: The Home Energy Detective, based in Manassas, VA


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Cool Alt Energy Video's
what's coming to replace Coal, Oil, Natural Gas and Nuclear:

Solar Updraft Tower video -- click here
Video animation explaining the principle of the Solar Updraft Tower, a simple solar power plant that can provide bulk electrcity at low cost. This particular tower is 1000 meters high and produces 100 Megawatts.
For more information visit www.solar-updraft-tower.com

Cool Energy News

Source: Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Plant powers 6,000 homes in Seville, Spain
The researchers found that by rearranging the mirrors, or heliostats, in a pattern similar to the spirals on the face of a sunflower, they could reduce the pattern’s “footprint” by 20 percent and increase its potential energy generation. The sunflower-inspired pattern allows for a more compact layout, and minimizes heliostat shading and blocking by neighboring mirrors. The researchers published their results in the journal Solar Energy, and have recently filed for patent protection.

Source: New Type of Inverter Could Drive Down the Cost of Solar Power
The new inverter setup mentioned above involves equipping each solar panel with a small inverter, instead of connecting all solar panels to one large inverter.
Typical solar setups suffer from lower efficiency because of the way the panels are connected, which is in series. A series connection means that electricity flows from one panel, through the other, and then the next, until it reaches the end of the circuit. When one panel is shaded, the power output of the rest of the panels is reduced because the electrical resistance of the shaded panel restricts the flow of electric current to the rest of the panels.

Source: Another zero-emissions powerplant emerges - the Dearman Engine runs on liquid air
The new inverter setup mentioned above involves equipping each solar panel with a small inverter, instead of connecting all solar panels to one large inverter.
Typical solar setups suffer from lower efficiency because of the way the panels are connected, which is in series. A series connection means that electricity flows from one panel, through the other, and then the next, until it reaches the end of the circuit. When one panel is shaded, the power output of the rest of the panels is reduced because the electrical resistance of the shaded panel restricts the flow of electric current to the rest of the panels.

Source: Discovery Could Cheaply Provide Significant Solar Cell Efficiency Boost
According to a recent University of Texas (in Austin) press release, solar cells could soon extract twice as many electrons from each photon of sunlight received. This would be achieved using an organic plastic semiconductor material -- doubling the current solar power efficiency from 15% to 31% for solar energy capture and conversion.



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