Stories that stay with you after the final line.
Sunlight can do more than produce electricity. A solar thermal collector captures the sun’s heat directly and transfers it into water or another heat-transfer fluid. When conditions are favorable, …
How to Build a Solar Water Heater: A Safer DIY Collector Guide Read MoreAn old ceiling fan looks surprisingly similar to a small wind turbine. It has blades, bearings, a rotating shaft, copper windings, and wires. That makes it tempting to remove …
Can You Turn an Old Ceiling Fan Into a Wind Generator? Read More
A portable solar power station can keep essential equipment operating when utility power is unavailable. Unlike a gasoline generator, it can provide electricity without exhaust, fuel storage, or engine …
How to Build a Portable Off-Grid Solar Power Backup System Read More
A concrete garage floor can remain painfully cold long after the surrounding air begins to warm. Hydronic radiant-floor heating addresses that problem by circulating heated fluid through tubing embedded …
How to Build a Hydronic Radiant Floor Heating System for a Garage Read More
Water does not need to reach the windows to cause expensive damage. During heavy rain, shallow runoff may collect against an exterior door, seep beneath the threshold, soak flooring, …
How to Build a Removable Flood Barrier for an Exterior Door Read More
When a winter storm knocks out electricity, many households suddenly lose the furnace blower, thermostat, electric ignition, and circulation pumps that normally keep the house warm. For many Old …
How Amish Families Keep a House Warm When the Power Goes Out Read More When a winter storm knocks out electricity, many households suddenly lose the furnace blower, thermostat, electric ignition, and circulation pumps that normally keep the house warm. For many Old …
How Amish Families Keep a House Warm When the Power Goes Out Read More
Picture this: it’s the dead of winter, the pond has frozen solid, and instead of complaining about the cold, a man in wool overalls is sawing giant blocks of ice …
The Food-Cooling Method Amish Families Use Without Electricity Read More