Author Archives: Nicholas Brown


About Nicholas Brown

I have a keen interest in physics-intensive topics such as electricity generation, refrigeration and air conditioning technology, energy storage, geography, and much more. My website is: Kompulsa.

Elon Musk Quits Zuckerberg’s Immigration Advocacy Group

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Photo Credit: jdlasica / Foter.com / CC BY-NC

Elon Musk has decided to leave the immigration reform advocacy group FWD.us after it funded advertisements for senators supporting oil drilling in Alaska and the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline from Canada. The FWD.us group was founded by Mark Zuckerberg and it is supposed to advocate for educational and immigration reform to increase the influx of highly skilled and educated workers into the US, citing the fact that the United States is a nation of … Read More

How Adding An Electric Car Cut Solar Payback Time In Half

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GM Volt.

Do you think that buying an electric vehicle could reduce the payback time of a solar power system by 50%? Let us explore that. This is the story of a family in Pennsylvania who installed a 9.43 kW solar panel array to offset their electricity usage. They found themselves saving considerably more money than they originally would have. The solar power system was installed in October 2011. It consists of 41 panels. Each of the … Read More

Odd Twist: US Solar Company Sells Solar Panels To China

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Solaria, an American solar panel manufacturer, is going to sell a good chunk of its solar panels to China, counter to the much more common scenario of China manufacturing solar panels (and other goods) for the US. Solaria is based in Fremont, California. Its panels, which are of the STS-AZ type, are being used in several large-scale (in the megawatts) solar power plants that are currently under construction in the Qinghai province of China and in … Read More

The Tesla Model S Has A Secret Menu!

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secret-menu

This article was originally published on Gas2. The Tesla Model S apparently has a hidden menu that may reflect upcoming features and apps. So, is there anything good hidden behind the screen? There is a new video that displays the secret menu mentioned above. It shows apps and features that may be included in the future, some of which include a lane-departure warning, blind-spot detection, and adaptive cruise control. When these options might arrive is anyone’s … Read More

Solar Power Installation On Sailboat “Groovy”

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Shade straddles two panels (only 1 panel working): 9.5 amps. Credit: Road Less Traveled

A sailboat named Groovy has been equipped with a solar power system that powers the boat’s refrigerator, freezer, laptops, a 22″ TV, a stereo, and more. And this isn’t the couple’s first solar-powered mobile home. “My husband and I have been traveling full-time by sailboat and RV for the past 6 years, and we have lived entirely off of solar power in our trailer and sailboat,” Emily Fagan wrote in a message in CleanTechnica‘s Solar Energy … Read More

Tesla Earns Profit In Q1 2013

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The latest good news from Tesla, via sister site Gas2: Tesla Motors has been operating for about 10 years without turning a profit, out of the sheer determination from its founder Elon Musk. But finally, Tesla has earned its first quarterly profit ever, and going forward the outlook for Tesla looks bright. Tesla managed to make a profit of $15 million on sales of $562 million in the first quarter of 2013, delivering an estimated … Read More

Bosch Introduces Sub $450 Level 2 Car Charger

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Power Max 16A / 12’ cord entry level model. Image Credit: Bosch

Bosch Automotive Service Solutions has introduced a level 2 electric vehicle charging station that costs less than $450. This is decent, compared to the prices of level 2 chargers from General Electric and Siemens. A GE Wattstation level 2 charger can cost $850, while a Siemens Versicharge can cost $995. This Bosch Power Max charger is Underwriters Laboratory (UL) certified in both the United States and Canada, and has a NEMA 3R enclosure suitable for both … Read More

Nissan Leaf Gets $15,000 Price Reduction In Australia

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Nissan Leaf white

The Nissan Leaf used to cost an eye-popping $51,500 in Australia, which may be why only 116 people bought it at that price. Fortunately, the price has dropped by an impressive $15,000, down to $39,990 after on-road costs, but 36,500 without on-road costs factored in. “We want to sell more,” said Nissan Australia spokesman Peter Fadeyev. “We want to stimulate the market.” Customers that already paid that extremely high price will not be reimbursed the price … Read More

Bike That Provides Wi-Fi & Electricity

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Image Credit: Dezein

The power outages caused by Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Sandy were shocks to many people. The outage caused by Ivan lasted more than three weeks in some places, and I unfortunately was unprepared for that, so I know how power outages feel. I wasn’t able to even charge my portable devices to last the couple of days that hurricane-caused power outages in the US tend to last. My only option would have been to generate … Read More