Power inverters can be used in many different applications to convert DC power to AC Current.
Smaller models up to 200 watts are often used in car cigarette lighters to give quick access for charging Cell Phones or running other small electronics.
Medium Sized inverters from 200 to 1000 watts maybe used for camping, on boats or in remote locations where a DC power source is available but AC is not.
Larger …
There are a variety of reasons to use electrical timers around your home. Many timers are very easy to use and can control indoor appliances such as lighting or a water heater to save money. Outside you can use timers to control your sprinklers and other devices for convenience.
Indoor timers come in two basic types they are either hard wired to your homes electrical wires for use on larger items like a water heater …
There has been a lot of talk about how wind power can replace other forms of electricity generation but most of the development is for large scale wind farms. We thought we would take a look at what a home owner can do to harvest their own wind power to reduce their electric bills and help take some of the load away from Nuclear and Coal Electric power …
There are a number of different choices when you want to replace or install a new bathroom fan. How easy the job will be depends on the availability of electric to the area and how you will vent the fan to the outside.
For single story homes or for bathrooms on the top level of the house installing a fan means you will need to get into the attic …
Compact Fluorescent lights can save you money and allow you to improve your lighting conditions at the same time.
Each bulb that you replace will save you $5 or more a year on your electric bills and will basically pay for themselves in under a year. They also last much longer then regular lights … up to 10 years in some cases. The rating of $5 per bulb is based on …
There are many times when you will need to add or upgrade electrical, cable tv, telephone or other services in your home. To do so you need to understand both how circuits are designed and how your home is constructed to fish the wire through walls and make proper connections.
In other HowTos we will cover wall construction in more detail but lets take a look at the components of an average wall so we know how to …
Whether you are wiring your whole home or just making a custom cable that runs from your wall outlet to your television the steps and tools you need are the same.
In this HowTo you will learn how to strip cable ends and use crimp connectors.
Tools you will need
RG-6 Crimping tool
Utility knife or stripping tool
Wire Cutters
RG-6 Crimp Connectors
See the bottom of the HowTo for Tool Links
First …
Active Solar depends on movement from a collector to the area that the heat will be used. Sometimes the heat is used for water heating and other times it is used for space heating.
There are two basic types of active heat collection: Air and Liquid.
Hot water heating is a good example of an Active Liquid Heating System.
A collector is placed on the roof of the building and a insulated hot water storage tank …
Installing your Electric Service is not the most complex part of building a home or even wiring your homes electrical circuits but it must be done with extreme care because the risk for electrocution is pretty good.
I say this because unlike the wiring inside your home there is no circuit breaker to limit the amount of electricity that can be passed through the service line. Any part prior to the …
At first glance this is a really great book for your coffee table or as an introduction to electrical services.
With over 300 pages Black & Decker tries to cover most areas in the home that a do-it-yourself or just someone that might want to educate themselves in the basics of wiring.
The images and cross-sections are great for …