The beginning

Last summer I moved from a tiny studio in Manhattan to a spacious one-bedroom in Brooklyn. I expected to gain space. What I didn't expect to gain was the sunshine. My front windows get full exposure for at least 4 hours a day. That's what got me thinking.

I'm never at home during the week when all this is happening. It seems possible that I could collect the solar energy, store it as electricity and use it on the weekend when I'm home most of the day. Maybe I could even use a little at night during the week.

I also think it's a good idea have some backup power in case of a blackout. I don't see the summers getting any cooler. And I don't see oil, gas or electricity getting any cheaper. Come July when we're all cranking our AC from the Bronx to Coney Island, I'll have something to depend on when the lights go out.

So this blog will document my attempt to setup a solar electric system in my apartment. The goal of the system is to collect and store electricity during the week for use on the weekend. At minimum it should power my home computer setup. It should also be easily scalable.

I plan to include all the steps from research, to equipment, costs, setup challenges, etc.. My hope is that I can create a relatively cheap system that other apartment dwellers can copy.

Please stay tuned.