Okay, I was there where were you?
I am talking about the Solar Fest in Maverick Park. I met some interesting people there doing some interesting things with solar energy. I do have to confess a slight error on my part by not mentioning there was a Live Green Fest at the Live Oak Convention Center also. I did manage to make both events.
At the Solar Fest I spoke with an architect that open my eyes to new possibilities of using solar. I was asking him about the feasibility of going completely off grid (disconnecting from the local electrical utility) with an existing home. He said yes it is possible but might be expensive. He also said it might be better to do a limited solar application and generate enough power to run the heating and cooling system one of the bigger energy users here in south Texas. You would need less of an array of solar panels and the payback would be quicker.
Over at the Green Living Fest there was great example of green building material and alternative energy applications. A gentleman from Saint Phillips had a display of a fuel cell there. He also told me that fuel cells had been used in commercial applications at Brooks City Base—some of the housing there is supplied electricity by fuel cells.
They also had a screening of Al Gore’s film “An Inconvenient Truth” and the film “Who Killed the Electric Car.” I found both of these films to be enlightening. I also was not aware of the extent that the electric had been developed. I mean all of the major car companies had working electric vehicles.