You probably want to know a little bit about me. My name is Michael Whitney. I have had a keen interest in renewable energy technologies since I was in high school in the 1970’s. Perhaps this interest stemmed from the oil crisis of the 70’s but I cannot say for sure. However, what I can remember is being an avid reader of Mother Earth News and Harrowsmith. Back then, these magazines were the “bible” for renewable energy enthusiasts. I recall ordering some plans to build a wind generator from scratch and setting up a workshop in the backyard in order to make the windmill blades and assemble the windmill. I spent countless hours shaving pieces of wood with a spoke shave in order to get the proper aerodynamic profile for the blades.

Fast forward the the 1990’s. My wife and I ( yes I am married now) have purchased a 50 acre woodlot, on a lake in Ontario, Canada. Our dream is to build a cottage. Unfortunately, the lot is rather hilly and the area by the lake rather swampy so the only suitable building site is atop a hill. Now this isn’t your average hill but a 150 foot vertical rise monster (thinking of installing a ski hill - just kidding). Think of climbing up the stairs of a 15 story office building and you will get an idea of what I am talking about.

Our first priority was to get water to our campsite atop the hill. Although electricity was available nearby, the cost of running hydro lines to our site would run into the 1000’s of dollars, not to mention the sixty foot wide swath of trees we would have to cut through the forest. So we decided to look for alternatives to a conventional electrical pump. There were several options available:

1. Capture rainwater.
2. Pump water using a gasoline powered pump.
3. Use a 12 volt pump, solar panel and battery combination.

Our second priority was to provide electricity for lighting and to power various electronic gadgets such as laptops, stereos, and dvd players. We decided on a simple solar setup which included a series of panels mounted on the roof of the cottage. A battery bank to store the energy and an inverter to convert the stored DC power into more usable AC power. This system has worked wonderfully over the last decade and given us the basic "creature comforts" that we have come to expect in our modern society.

Our final priority was to provide hot water for showers and washing. This was accomplished by building a simple batch water heater consisting of several hundred feet of coiled tubing mounted on a sheet of plywood and covered with clear plastic. Once again, this simple system worked wonderfully and provides plenty of hot water for showers and washing dishes.

I decided to create this website because I truly believe that utilizing solar power provides a great opportunity for homeowners to get involved in reducing their impact on the environment and with the reduction in cost of solar panels coupled with the various incentives that are being offered by governments and utility companies, can even be a sound investment.

Determining if solar power is right for you is a complicated process and that is why residentSolar.com is here to help you. We offer an unbiased review of the advantages and disadvantages of implementing various solar technologies and resources that may help you in the decision making process.

If you have any questions or comments, please use the Contact Us form and I will try and answer your questions as soon as possible.