Where are the big roofs for Solar? A mathematical look at pulling data from OpenStreetMap

In recent years there has been a lot of talk about solar and more renewable energy. In USA the recent IRA has provisions for extending solar and renewable energy, and the Florida governor last year supported Solar benefits which turn out to be helpful in many natural disasters, making an energy grid more easily self-sustainable after hurricanes that are common to that state. What if we could go over a map and see what buildings are the best candidates for solar generation? OpenStreetMap has not just street maps, but many other features, including building coordinates, which can give us polygons that can calculate areas for potential solar!

Continue reading “Where are the big roofs for Solar? A mathematical look at pulling data from OpenStreetMap”

NodeRed for Onstar access for GM/Chevy vehicle access

In recent years there has been a surge in popularity of Chevrolet vehicles like the Chevrolet Bolt and, coming soon, the Equinox EV. There has also been increased popularity for Linux phones like the Librem phone, but unfortunately there has been no equivalent for the “myChevrolet” app for your own computer or Linux-phone… unless you know where to look.

Continue reading “NodeRed for Onstar access for GM/Chevy vehicle access”

Adding a Bleachbit cleaner for disk space and privacy

If you have ever seen the disk usage nearly full message, you have probably been grateful for the free Bleachbit application for your computer. Whether it’s on Linux, Windows or other systems, Bleachbit is a good way to clear old cache when you get a warning about low disk space or to clear out a lot of old data for privacy. However there are many applications that don’t have a cleaning definition… yet.

Continue reading “Adding a Bleachbit cleaner for disk space and privacy”