"R D S" wrote in message
...
I have been thinking about getting a solar panel to keep a fridge runnning
and keep a battery charged while camping.
Has anyone any experience/opinions?

Also with energy prices being the way they are has anyone gone further
than this and installed solar in the home? Likewise with wind, a local
electrical supplier reckoned he could get me a 2kw turbine for approx
£1500. At one point I would have thought alternative power was
prohibitively expensive but now it looks as though it may sense.


I would suggest a trip to a place called the Alternative Technology Centre
in Wales.
I first went in 1982 and have been every few years to watch the latest
developments.
from what I saw I would go for solar power as the size of wind turbines is
silly if
you want to power a house or charge batteries. Why not get a diesel
generator and
run it on old chip fat and vegetable oil - there is no law about it.
See some working demonstrations and years worth of research and data for
yourself.
The staff will also give more info and you get the latest info on
insulation.

Also watch out for the latest LED lightbulbs! They look the same as a
frosted one
but have a coating inside that is similar to what is inside a fluorescent
tube. A small
1watt UV LED causes it to light up a brilliant white. So you can imagine
what damage
this and other low energy devices are causing to power companies - that's
why they
are putting the price up. It's to reach the amount of profit they promised
customers now
that demand has fallen with people becoming more energy aware.

Philips make the bulb and I have tried some of them out. The 3watt one was
best!