Abstract: A battery and photovoltaic based power system comprises a power bus, a battery, a battery circuit, a photovoltaic circuit, a photovoltaic diode, and a switch control. The power bus comprises a supply side and a return side. The battery is coupled to the return side. The battery circuit couples the battery to the supply side and comprises a switch and a diode in parallel with the switch. The photovoltaic circuit is coupled to the return side and comprises a photovoltaic array and a second switch in parallel with the photovoltaic array. The second switch opens if the supply side is substantially depleted of power. The photovoltaic diode is connected in series with the photovoltaic circuit, with a cathode of the photovoltaic diode coupled to the supply side. The switch control monitors one or more battery parameters and controls the switch based on the one or more battery parameters.

Abstract: An electronic communication service is provided to which a user can subscribe and receive direct online mailings from member businesses while aggregating personal mail from across several electronic mail identifiers. A user can log into the service, provide information in the form of a name, address, and other demographic information, and the system then generates a personalized account. The user can solicit online mailings from member businesses by selecting the types and sources of offers the user wishes to receive. Member businesses can generate online mailings and can target same based on user demographic information. Businesses can provide conventional postal mailing address lists, and the electronic communication service of the present invention can convert same into an electronic mail list by matching conventional postal addresses to user electronic mail addresses based upon user provided information.