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Direct Use of Renewable Energy

How to Build a Solar Powered Electric Oven

This guide explains how to construct an energy-efficient cooking appliance powered by a small solar panel. Thanks to its heat storage, the cooker remains ready to use even after sunset.

How to Assemble an Electric Heating Element from Scratch

This manual guides you through the process of building a 12V DC electric resistance heating element for a self-made heating or cooking device.

The Compressed Book Edition

How to make books more sustainable? Inspired by the image compression on our solar-powered website, we squeezed the article catalog of our three-volume book series into just one book.

Communal Luxury: The Public Bathhouse

Throughout history, people have bathed in public rather than in private. Should we bring back the public bathhouse for the sake of sustainability?

How to Build a Small Solar Power System

This guide explains everything you need to know to build stand-alone photovoltaic systems that can power almost anything you want.

Direct Solar Power: Off-Grid Without Batteries

Using solar panels without backup infrastructure makes renewable energy production much more affordable, efficient and sustainable.

Heat your House with a Mechanical Windmill

Given the right conditions, a mechanical windmill with an oversized brake system is a cheap, effective, and sustainable heating system.

Back to Basics: Direct Hydropower

The hydro power installations in use today are less energy efficient than those of earlier centuries.

Boat Mills: Water Powered, Floating Factories

Boat mills, bridge mills and hanging mills were almost as widespread as windmills.

Wind Powered Factories: History (and Future) of Industrial Windmills

Would it make sense to revive the industrial windmill and again convert kinetic energy directly into mechanical energy?