Do-Yourself-Solar Technologies

Dads, Inc.! Downeast Alternative Design Solar, is now an official non-profit, Ed. Corp. registered with the Maine Sec. of State, 2011.

To contact do-yourself-solar technologies, DADS, SEADS of Truth or Maine Solar Energy Association, please follow the easy instructions below and on previous pages. You may send email or phone. We will have directions available for the different locations of seminars, meetings and community centers as they become relevant. You may use the optional form below for ease of contact. This is a preliminary page and will be up-dated as necessary.

This section is available for directions and updates for seminars  and to allow a presentation of archival flyers and current photos of workshops and projects of do-yourself-solar, DADS, SEADS, MESEA and Skyheat Associates.

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     Solar PV assembly workshop -              Humble Farm May 2008-

    Participants apply liquid silicon onto soldered PV strings, in place and ready for encapsulation process.

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Glass is placed on fresh liquid silicon. Weight is applied to glass and gentle pressure allows excess air to escape during encapsulation of 65 w module at humble farm PV assembly workshop.

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May '08 PV workshop participants remove encapsulated 65w module after curing. This module is now ready for finish wiring and framing at humble farm.

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Back of PV module showing placement of strings in series connection. The module is ready for final wiring, at humble farm PV assembly workshop, May '08.

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PV workshop participants solder finished wiring on 65w module before framing, humble farm, May '08.

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Solar Thermal Workshop 2008 -

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John and Soni solder copper pipes for humble farm do-yourself-solar hot water thermal panel - Sept. 2008.

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Soni Biehl, solders copper pipe during hot water panel workshop, Hiram, Maine, 2009.

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Participants apply glass top on hot water thermal panel, Hiram, Maine, 2009.

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Humble farm - Four of eight solar thermal panels are installed on rack, adjacent to the south wall of farm house -

November 2008.

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Jonesport, Maine, April 4, 2009,

MESEA PV assembly workshop :

Workshop participants solder first PV strings for 65W module to be assembled at April 4, 2009 PV workshop at Home of MESEA - Jonesport, Maine.

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Bridgton, Maine- May, 2009 PV assembly workshop -

Rich Komp shows interested participants how strings of PV cells will be laid down for encapsulation. The Bridgton, Maine - May 2009 PV Workshop.

Bridgton, Maine PV workshop, May 2009. Participants test 65W PV module, before final wiring and framing.

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Manhattan Comprehensive HS, PV workshop Series, June, 2009, New York City.

Diverse student group assembles PV module framing with MESEA - dadsolar facilitator John Burke - June 2009 - NYC.

Final wiring of 65W PV module at NYC HS program, held in conjunction with community group - Solar1.

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MESEA PV Workshop with Engineering Students- U. of Dayton, Ohio, 2009 -

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Dr. Komp pours silicone encapsulant mix onto PV cell strings, with engineering students -U. Dayton,  2009.

acilitator, MESEA / dadsolar workshop facilitator, John Burke, applying tempered glass to encapsulated PV module cells -     U. Dayton,  2009. 

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Students at Manhattan Comprehensive HS, NYC, help John Burke of dadsolar and MESEA, March 2011, during encapsulation process at PV assembly workshop.

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Full group of students and teachers show off the completed 65W PV module, assembled with dadsolar, MESEA and Solar1, at Manhattan Comprehensive HS, NYC, during March, 2011 PV assembly series.

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Members of Downeast Alternative Design Solar  (DADS), pose for photo with Environmental Certificate, presented in October, 2010.

(Rich Komp, Jerry Blackburn, Walther Wefel and John Burke,  L - R, at Downeast Museum of Natural History, Harrington, ME).

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We will continue to perfect the methods of inserting archival flyers, photos and drawings of SEADS / MESEA projects, demonstrations and memorabilia. Please bear with us while we reach for perfection. 

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Contact Info for Do-Yourself-Solar:

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E-mail - dadsolar@yahoo.com

seadsmaine@yahoo.com

sunwatt@juno.com

Phone - (516)669-2442

            (207)546-1639

            (207)497-2204

            (207)356-0225

            (207)483-2764

Web links -

www.seadsoftruth.webs.com

www.mainesolar.org

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Video link, PV assembly...  2010

http://livestre.am/gQY2

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65w PV module frame caulking, at humble farm, May '08.

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GO SOLAR ! ...  2013 !

Solar Workshops in Maine ...and Nicaragua -

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  2013 MESEA PV assembly workshops - see below for info:

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Spring ! April 12 - 21, 2013 -  Do Yourself Solar, PV and Solar Oven Assembly Intensive in Maine, and celebrate Earth Day! 

Solar  assembly intensive for Gen. public and ASES / NESEA members!

Presented by MESEA, DADS, and SEADS of Truth, Inc.

Jonesport, Maine -  Do Yourself Solar! and Earth Day 2013!

April 12 – April 21. 2013 - Enjoy the Jonesport, ME, Solar Home!

A week at the Solar Home of Dr. Richard Komp, in Jonesport, Maine!

-Fri., April 12 thru Sun., April 21, including two weekend PV assembly workshops!

We will assemble a Solar Oven for PV lamination with EVA sheeting, the second weekend.

Site -17 Rockwell Rd, SE, Jonesport, ME  04649

Program is presented by experienced MESEA trainers.

You're invited to attend one day session (Sat or Sun) - $75.

Two day extended sessions (Sat & Sun)- $125. Or…

Full TEN day intensive program - $475.  (All noon meals included each day).

Limited space is available for overnight stay, or longer, (additional fee ).

Local motel info available. (Jonesport & Machias, Maine…)

We will keep the maximum # of  participants to 12 per day.

Call to reserve space and arrange for $50. Dep. -207-546-1639, 516-669-2442, 207-497-2204

Full workshop fee balance is due upon arrival in April, thanks.

Solar PV assembly - training for trainers and workshop intensive with MESEA.  (full 10 days)

Program: (2-day weekend sessions, 9:30am – 4:30pm; Sat & Sun, – April 13 - 14, and April 20 - 21), will allow participants to experience the full assembly procedure, used by Dr. Komp in the developing world PV “Cottage Industry” programs.  

We will assemble a large Solar Oven, to laminate the PV modules, using EVA sheets, the next generation of handmade PV.   (This will be during the week.)

PV modules are available for sale to participants, to raise funds for work in the developing world!

How to start a PV  "Cottage Industry", Free Fri, lecture, Power-point, Apr 12 & 19, 7 – 9 pm.

How to assemble 65W PV modules in the jungle!  

2 weekend sessions, 9:30am – 4:30pm; Sat & Sun, April 13-14, & 20-21  - Developing world methods – with hands-on experience for all participants, includes step by step PV assembly process and solar oven lamination, second weekend, depending on the sun.

Full TEN day program (Apr 12-21), includes the two PV assembly sessions, as well as Fri. lectures / power-point sessions and solar oven assembly… Plus Earth Day focus!

How to assemble a Solar Oven! This session, during the week, (9:30am – 4:30pm, Mon – Thurs, Apr 15-18), will allow participants, hands-on experience, with the assembly of  a large solar oven, to be used during the lamination process of the PV module, using EVA sheeting.

How to combat Climate Change and Global Warming! An Earth Day celebration!  

Sat, April 20, learn how to work with local groups, in your community, to raise awareness of this climate crisis, we can all help to avoid! (Solar PV assembly workshop at this time, as well.)

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Please check MESEA seminar calendar at www.mainesolar.org for up to date info on PV and solar thermal workshops you and your family can participate in.

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Maine Solar Energy Association Calendar of Upcoming Events

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Winter 2012 - Spring 2013

PV assembly & Solar Thermal Workshops in Maine.

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Assemble a 65w PV Module - and a Solar Oven for PV lamination, using local and re-cycled materials!

 From the Maine Solar Primer pages...

This Winter -  2012... and Spring - 2013

MESEA,  SEADS and DADS, will offer more PV assembly and Solar Thermal workshops.

Check here for details soon. Or check MESEA workshop calendar-

MESEA website - www.mainesolar.org

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MESEA - Solar PV workshop description:

Learn how to assemble your own Photovoltaic module for producing electricity. Richard Komp has pioneered PV module production as a cottage industry in Nicaragua, Mali, Haiti and India. In this workshop you'll get to participate in assembling a 65 Watt PV module, utilizing the encapsulation process, developed in Nicaragua with Grupo Fenix, or using the new Solar Oven lamination process with EVA sheeting!

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Experience Solar Culture in Nicaragua:

Grupo Fenix Solar Culture Course in Nicaragua

July, 2013

see www.grupofenix.org/courses

Come to Nicaragua and engage your head, heart, and hands in the real work of developing countries. Our hands-on courses allow you to be immersed in the daily life of rural Nicaraguans by living with host families and working alongside local community members to create their vision of a model community, through renewable energy and sustainable practices.

Discuss the theory behind solar energy and the challenges of development with your instructors and other course participants over lunch. Spend your days learning how to construct solar cookers or install photovoltaic systems. Laugh along with your host family as you try to recall your high school Spanish, balance water on your head or make tortillas. Most activities and classes are held in the new adobe Solar Center. Housing will be simple, like that of a typical rural Nicaraguan family.

Explore a beautiful country and its culture, while learning about renewable energy and sustainable development in the field. Our courses provide a unique travel experience that is educational, rewarding, and fun!

This 11 day course, offered twice a year, has been offered by Grupo Fenix since 1999. It is a great introduction to the science and use of appropriate renewable energy technologies such as solar cookers, dryers and photovoltaic systems. Dr. Richard Komp, an expert from the United States with over 40 years experience working with solar technologies, teaches the technical classes for the January version of the course and may be a guest instructor for the July course.

Participants will: (partial list, subject to change)

• Visit SuniSolar, a renewable energy business in Managua started by Grupo Fenix
• Build a solar oven with the local womens group, the Solar Women of Totogalpa
• Listen to talks on Solar Dryers and Medicinal Plants
• Learn about solar cooking and eat the final product of your class!
• Install a PV system with local solar experts
• Make a solar powered battery charger

Also, the course includes various tourist activities such as a visit to nearby beautiful spots in the mountains of northern Nicaragua. If weather permits, we will spend a day exploring the Somoto Canyon and swimming in its natural pools. Also, at the end of the course we will spend a night at a rustic eco-lodge in the Tisey Nature Reserve, which has hiking trails, fields of organic vegetables, a farming community that produces its own specialty cheeses and one of the best panoramic views in the country.
The course fee of $995. includes all food and lodging, with a $50 deposit to be sent to the nonprofit Skyheat Associates at 17 Rockwell Rd. SE, Jonesport ME 04649... to insure a place in the course, which has a limit of 15 participants and is often completely full. For more information, please contact: thegrupofenix@gmail.com or sunwatt@juno.com, or look online at www.grupofenix.org, for details of all our programs.

For info on the next opportunity for a workshop, see Grupo Fenix at www.grupofenix.org/courses.html

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Nicaragua,         

Natural Building Workshop

Grupo Fenix

Wolfe's Neck Farm - Freeport, Maine - PV Training for trainers- June, 2009.

Rich Komp explains the basic do-yourself-solar techniques for trainers at WNF.

Participants prepare 3 x 12 strings for encapsulation, under the watchful eye of Rich Komp. WNF, Freeport, ME, June 2009.
Six 65W PV modules installed at Wolfe's Neck Farm, Freeport, Maine. These modules power facilities in the work shed. The high school students in the "Green Energy" Program assembled the PV modules, Summer, 2009.

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Solar participants at Brooklyn Commons PV workshop, setting up strings of solar cells for encapsulation. The CitySolar group hosted the workshop, and 15 folks with diverse backgrounds had the hands-on experience and opportunity to learn how a PV module works. April, 2011.

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Solar PV workshop participants, April, 2011, pose for group portrait. The group, CitySolar, hosted the one day, PV assembly seminar presented by MeSEA & John Burke, at the Brooklyn Commons space. We thank Tracy Fitz of CitySolar for hosting and healthful smoothies. We thank Otto, who came to workshop from North Carolina, for the photo. (That's him on the right).


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Solar PV assembly workshop participant, soldering a string of 9 cells for 65W PV module. April, 2011, at the Brooklyn Commons, NYC. Photo by Otto, workshop hosted by CitySolar.

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DADS, Inc. / do-yourself-solar -

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