Energy Manangement
What a Smart Energy Management System Actually Saves a Two-Income Household There’s a specific kind of household that’s perfectly positioned to get the most out of a solar-plus-battery energy management system, and almost nobody is talking directly to them. Double income, no kids. Two people working. Both out of the house most of the day. […]
The value of an EMS Read More »
Who Cares? This post is really for geeky folks who want to know what this thing is going to be who appreciate technical detail. If that’s NOT you, then maybe just read the next four paragraphs. It’s also useful for those folks who wonder why this is taking so long. It’s a bigger project than
EMS Knowledge File Build Checklist Read More »
This is just a way to get people up-to-date on what I’m working on. Your House Is Wasting Energy Right Now How a smart energy management system pays for itself — and how you and AI can build one fitted exactly to your home Here’s a question worth sitting with: what percentage of the energy
March 2026 • 10 min read • Beginner-friendlyIf you’ve been watching your electricity bill climb every month and thinking “I wish I could do something about this” — this post is for you. You don’t need a rooftop. You don’t need an electrician. You don’t need to spend $20,000. What you need is a south,
Balcony Solar + Battery + EMS + Presence Detection: The DIY Power Stack for Everyone Read More »
So I’ve been building this wildfire defense system for my place on Maui. Cameras, sprinklers, automated response — the whole deal. And if you’ve watched any of the earlier videos you know I was pretty deep into the fire detection side of it. I’ve changed direction. Not scrapping the project — If anything, I stepped
The Big Pivot–Why I Changed Direction Read More »
After the 2023 Lahaina fires, I decided I wasn’t going to wait for someone else to protect my property. I was going to build a system myself. Over the past 18 months, that system has evolved into something I think could protect a lot more than just my house. It can protect yours, and I’m
AI-Powered Wildfire Defense: Building a Complete Home Protection System Read More »
Some viewers have commented that the fire resilience system I’m building will be expensive–that’s just not true. I’m designing the core system to be less than $3000. It might make your home insurable, or if not, greatly reduce the risk that your home could be a total loss. Virtually all mortgage lenders require you to
Cheap fire resilience Read More »
It lives! a not very brief (sorry) walkthrough of the fire mitigation system as it is currently. It’s quite far along, and after lots of struggles it’s working very well except some of the physical stuff still isn’t done. It’s challenging to find pro help on Maui with all the work available related to Lahina
AI powered wildfire mitigation system You can Build with AI help Read More »
Project: Save Your Home From Wildfires With Solar Power Episode 1: Introduction Can Solar Power Help Protect Your Home From Wildfire? Yes it can, and this project will show you how. There is a long list of preparations you can undertake to make your home more defensible. We’re going to cover most of them. But
Could Solar Power Help Protect Your Home Against Wildfire Read More »
I didn’t design or build the ground mount system at my home on the North Shore of Maui. It was done by a professional installer who left the solar business years ago. It looks improbably flimsy, but it’s held a double row of 32 Sanyo 250 watt panels for the last 13 years through several
A wimpy-looking Ground Mount System That withstands Hurricanes Read More »
