posted on Feb, 16 2005 @ 07:08 AM
thanks guys you both have good points but what i was hinting at was more along the lines that there is no doubt anything you use will need maintanence
at some point and it has to be simple to repair!
solar energy is good but you cant easily educate people whove never even owned a watch to grasp the basics of it in a short amount of time,so when it
goes wrong where do you go....youre in the hands of an engineer.
The example of the water wheel is easier to breakdown,
1.wheel buckets fill with water,wheel turns,
2.wheel drives gear box,flywheel on gear box turns alternators with belt,
3.connect 2 wires to battery,
4.battery charged,makes light work,
5.lights go dim,battery taken for recharge.
its easy to watch this simple process and very easy to understand in lay mans terms,the faults that could arise are easy to rectify.
ie,
1.wheel buckets replaced when damaged.
2.keep gearbox topped up with oil.
3.alternator 'charge light' refuses to go out...indicates alternator faulty--replace alternator...(very cheap servicble item)
4.battery no longer makes light work replace battery.
i think this explains better what i meant.