Questions and Answers
Its for a science fair project and might be on a budget of 100 to 200 dollars also ideas for how to measure the energy that household appliances then turn it to the ratio that matches my house.
Hey Trent, Smarty's got some good suggestions here. If it does not have to work, anything will do, but if you are intent on building a working model, then here is what I would do. Start with a "battery maintainer, " or, "solar battery keeper," they are sometimes called. They are about the size of a shoebox lid, lay on your dashboard, and generally plug into the cigarette lighter in your car. If you leave a car for an extended period, like at the airport in the winter, it keeps your battery from slowly running down anytime the sun is up. They are internally regulated for 12 volt battery charging, and therefore you can use any size 12 volt rechargeable battery with it. I think the best one for your project is a 8 or 9 amp hour sealed gel cell. They are about the size of a small alarm clock, have no vents so you can orient them any direction you want, meaning they can be turned upside down and not leak out, and charge just like a car battery.
The website Smarty put down is for American Science and Surplus, a discount reseller of various projecting stuff at great prices. Their store is in north Chicago, but the website has great listings. You can probably find that battery there. They might have the solar charger, if not, any automotive supply place usually has them for around $30 USD or so. The battery might cost $10 or 20. I would just hook a cigarette lighter outlet to the battery, and plug the solar charger into it, then tap off another line from the battery to your model house. Then build the panel into the roof line somehow, and if you are using it inside, you can either place it in a sunny window, or use a heat lamp, or tanning lamp to simulate the sun. You might want a small ammeter connected between the battery and the cigarette lighter so people can see that charge rate, 0-1 amp would do it, then another going to the house load circuit, maybe 0-5 amps in size. I'll list some other websites below to find this stuff.
For lights, get a few small led's at the super bright site below, the small self stick ones are $1.99 each I think, and would be similar in a model home to a ceiling light in both light output and energy use. Maybe bury a couple inside a model washing machine you can turn on and people can see the energy use increase on the house ammeter while it is running. Then I would consider a very small radio perhaps too. Anything can work if you can get it to run on 12 volts DC. If you can find a small transister radio, and cover it up in a cardboard case that looks like furniture, then get a 12 volt to 9 volt adapter at radio shack, you would have real music coming out of the living room using the solar power you generate too. Lots of possibilitys. Anyplace that sells hobby train sets might have some interesting low voltage things you can hook up. Check out some sources below and get building, it will be a great project. Take care, Rudydoo.
With US and EU economies in the grip of recession, more and more shoppers seem to be switching from full service retailers to discount stores. Discuss the concept of discount retailing, giving details of the world's largest discount retailers and their operational, supply chain, and marketing strategies. Also, explain how full service retailers are responding to the threat from discount retailers.
Hey There …..
Discount stores sell standard merchandise at lower prices by accepting lower margins and selling higher volume. Occasional discounts or specials does not make a store a discount store. A true discount store regularly sells its merchandise at lower prices, offering mostly national brands, not inferior goods.
In recent years, facing intense competition from other discounters and department stores, many discount retailers have "traded up" by improving their decor, adding new lines and services, and opening suburban branches. This, of course, has led to higher costs and prices. With the discounters trading up, off-price retailers have moved in to fill the low-price, high-volume gap. They obtain a changing and unstable collection of higher-quality merchandise, often leftover goods, overruns, and irregulars at reduced prices from manufacturers or other retailers. The three main types of off-price retailers are factory outlets, independents, and warehouse clubs.
Additionals
A discount store is a type of department store, which sell products at prices lower than those asked by traditional retail outlets. Most discount department stores offer wide assortments of goods; others specialize in such merchandise as jewelry, electronic equipment, or electrical appliances. Discount stores are not dollar stores, which sell goods at a dollar or less. Discount stores differ because they sell branded goods and prices vary widely between different products. Discount department stores are more popular in the United States than other countries. Following World War II, a number of retail establishments in the United States began to pursue a high-volume, low-profit strategy designed to attract price-conscious consumers.
During the period from the 1950s to the late-1980s, discount stores were more popular than the average supermarket or department store. There were hundreds of discount stores in operation, with their most successful period occurring during the mid-1960s in the United States with discount store chains such as Kmart, Fisher's Big Wheel, Zayre, Kuhn's-Big K (sold to Wal-Mart in 1981), GEM, TG&Y and Woolco (closed in 1983, part sold to Wal-Mart) amongst others. Currently, Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world, operates 1,353 discount stores in the United States; Target and Kmart are Wal-Mart's top competitors.
Examples of discount retail chain stores include Wal-Mart, Kmart and Target, all of which opened their first locations in 1962. Other retail companies branched out into the discount store business around this time as adjuncts to their older store concepts. As examples, Woolworth opened a Woolco chain; Montgomery Ward opened Jefferson Ward; Chicago-based Jewel launched Turn Style; and Central Indiana-based L. S. Ayres created Ayr-Way. These chains typically were either shut down or sold to a larger competitor during the late '70s and early '80s. Kmart and Target themselves are examples of adjuncts, although their growth prompted their respective parent companies to abandon their older concepts (the S.S. Kresge five and dime store disappeared, while the Dayton-Hudson Corporation eventually divested itself of its department store holdings and renamed itself Target Corporation).
Many of the major discounters are now opening "supercenters", which add a full-service grocery store to the traditional format. The Meijer chain in the Midwest consists entirely of supercenters, while Wal-Mart and Target have focused on the format as of the '90s as a key to their continued growth. Although discount stores and department stores have different retailing goals and different markets, a recent development in retailing is the "discount department store", such as Sears Essentials, which is a combination of the Kmart and Sears formats, following the companies' merger as Sears Holdings Corporation.
I guess the Above Info Has Helped you…
Regards
vkey@ymail.com.
i am from egypt and i may stay for two weeks and i mean in shopping and goods as well as the brands as nike,addidas & converce "does these brands are expensive there ?thanx!
Assuming you are going to Chicago, since this is the Chicago thread, prices will be cheaper than Egypt for "name brand" goods. I have found that those products you mentioned are fairly expensive in Egypt. Levis are a really good buy in the States (around $35 a pair, compared to $100 in Abu Dhabi and $125 in Manila… My wife always makes me get her a few pairs), particularly if you buy them at Target, Sears, or similar discount or department store.(The Nike, Levis, or Addidas stores are typically more expensive than the department stores) Stay away from electronics or appliances, and be especially careful to check the voltages if you decide to buy (most US small appliances are NOT dual voltage). Avoid TV sets or DVD players unless you are certain they will work on 240v/50hz. Heavy clothing is also good to buy in Chicago, but men's suits will be expensive compared to Egypt. Jewelery and luxury goods are also typically more expensive.
For a SAFE "budget hotel, in the Loop, plan on $150 per night. Nicer hotel, $350. Suburbs, subtract $50 per night from the prices, but you probably will need to rent a car in those areas.
If you stay in the Loop or downtown, public transport is very convenient and much cheaper than renting a car… Taxi is under $10 anywhere in the Loop. If you go to the suburbs, it will get expensive very quickly. Figure around $1.20 per litre for petrol.
For food, Chicago is one of the best "restaurant" cities in America. You can go from very cheap (Chicago hot dog or Chicago style pizza… Mmmmmmmm!) to very, very expensive. Beef is extremely high quality and much cheaper than Egypt… You can get a very good steak in Chicago (much better than Cairo or Alexandria) at a reasonable price…. Try Mortons or Shulas and figure at least $85 per person, but well worth it.
Hope this helps!
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