ELECTROPORTAL NEWSLETTER - SPRING '01

Please link to our new Main Page below for a glimpse of our new sustainable building energy products. We're very excited about the small scale wind generators, the solar tracking skylights, and the efficient metal hallide light fixtures. Like the e-cycles, these and other products will be extremely valuable in reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. As the world seems to grow smaller day by day, more of us look for ways to do more with less!

In early March, Electroportal participated in the Northeast Sustainable Energy Assoc. (NESEA) "Building Energy 2001" conference, showing off the new AEROMAX wind turbines, the new SO-LUMINAIRE skylights, BUHL light fixtures, UNI-SOLAR PV generators, and the trail blazer CHARGER bikes!

The CHARGER bike we donated to the NESEA fund raising auction went over big, fetching more than we ask for the bikes on our site! Little wonder why!

We think we're on the right track, expecting soon to add some great solar electric generators...the thin film amorphous photo voltaic type. These come in framed panels, innovative "simulated composition" roofing shingles, pre-applied on metal roofing panels, or "sticky-back" rolls for existing metal roofs and other substrates.

Shortly before attending the "NESEA" Conference in Boston, we sent several of you a news brief on some trikes we expect to have available soon (link below for this letter).

An engineering group in S. California has come up with trike designs we are considering selling for a number of reasons...in place of the "heavy duty", "high power", "dual motor" models advertized on our site.

Our "standard" 48V trikes using the lighter duty front wheel drive hub motors are significantly less expensive than the new trikes pictured above, and we will continue to recommend them highly for most people's needs. The "standard" ELECTRO-TRIKE is quite adequate unless you have steep hills and want to carry higher payloads. Remember, higher power requires more battery weight and long term battery expense...in addition to the initial expense! It's not worth the trade-off unless you absolutely need it.

Fuel cell versions of the new trikes will lighten the load and extend the assist range exponentially, but the price will be reflected accordingly. Plus, we cannot even begin to guess when they will be legal or available to sell here in the States.