Installing the Solar Panels

The solar panels are finally installed waiting only to be wired up and tied to the electrical panel.  Forty panels arrived about three weeks ago coiled up in two large boxes.  The panels are 15 ½” wide by 18’ long, each providing 144 watts of power for a total power generating capacity of 5,760 watts, or 5.67 kW of output.  Each panel has two wires leading from the top end which fasten to the adjacent panel.  We can wire up to four panels together for a total of ten 576 watt series to be wired back to the main panel.

The main panel (cleverly called the converter) converts the solar energy which produces Direct Current (DC power) into Alternating Current (AC power) which is what almost every home and business uses.  Once the power has been converted, it will feed the house electrical panel for use in the home.  If the solar panels produce more power than the home requires, the excess power effectively runs the meter backwards, selling the power back to the power company.  When the generated solar power is insufficient (nighttime), we purchase power back from the power company.

We had the good fortune to be the recipients of an EARP grant from our regional power company Consumers Energy.  State law mandates that the utilities will produce 15% of their grid power with alternative energy sources by 2015.  One of the methods of attaining the goal is to allow people like me to contribute to the grid.  The grant process will pay me a higher than market rate for the power I contribute to the electrical grid, and in return I only have to pay the normal retail rate for the power I consume.  This helps pay for the installation of the alternative energy infrastructure I install.  

The installation of the panels requires a good deal of preparation.  We installed a standing seam metal roof in anticipation of using the UniSolar thin film solar panel.  UniSolar is unfortunately one of the casualties of the economy, but we did obtain the panels prior to their dissolution.  The metal roof had to be power washed, then rubbed down twice with isopropyl alcohol to remove all of the dirt, bugs, and bird doo.  It was amazing how much dirt accumulated in only nine months.  My shoulders complained for several days after each cleaning. The solar panel has a self adhesive backing with a plastic film release sheet which is peeled away before it is adhered to the metal roofing. 

The adhesive is extremely sticky, and would have required a supreme effort to remove had it been installed incorrectly.  The installation temperature required that the ambient temperature of the roof material be between 50 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.  Below 50 degrees, the adhesive would not stick evenly, and above 80 degrees, it was impossible to remove the release sheet.  We typically had either frost or dew on the roof until about 9:00 am when the sun got high enough.  After 10:00 am, the sun would warm up the black solar panels beyond the 80 degree mark stopping the installation until after 4:00 pm.  This allowed us to install four to six panels per day depending on the weather. 

Remaining to be completed is the final wiring, installing the converter panel, and replacing the electrical meter.  I expect the wiring to be done this week, and hopefully we will be operational in the next two weeks.  I do not have any monitoring equipment installed, and have not figured out what I will do yet.  If there is anyone out there with experience in monitoring equipment let me know. 

After nearly 40 years working in construction, I finally broke down and purchased a fall protection harness.  The roof is extremely steep and slippery.  Though I never felt the need for it once I got the scaffold set up, it was reassuring to have it on just in case.  I know my wife felt better about it. 

Water treatment has been an ongoing issue.  We finally took the least cost alternative and put in a water softener.  This goes went everything I had wanted to do for water treatment, but is within our budget.  Perhaps some time in the future we can upgrade.  We do have a slightly salty taste to our water now which we are working on, but we have noticed less mineral accretion on the faucets, and the sulfurous smell is gone. 

So far we have not had the heat on though temperatures have been down to the 30's at night for several weeks.  Now that the sun is low in the southern sky, the solar gains have warmed the home up enough to last all night with only a couple of degrees lost.  One sunny day it got up to 80 degrees inside dropping down to 78 by the next morning.  The outside temperature was in the mid 30’s during the night.  I had to open the windows the next day to keep the house from overheating.

 

Our turtles never did hatch, so we can only surmise that the critters found the eggs and dug them up.  Bow hunting deer season has started, and the hunters have been stirring up the deer.  One nice size 8 point buck which had been visiting our yard all summer has been declared off limits by our neighbors who hunt.  They want to let him grow up another year.  Judy had taken to calling him Bucky, but I started calling him Dumby, a bit more reflective of his intellectual capabilities.  He was either very arrogant, or had no clue about self preservation.  He was often seen grazing in the ditch at the side of the road, oblivious to passing cars. 

 

 

We did have a nice flock of turkeys amble through the back yard.  They were slowly pecking their way through the grass as I maneuvered from window to window taking pictures as they wandered around the yard.  All was fine until the cat jumped up on the window ledge and spooked them all.  They certainly are pre-historic looking creatures.

 

The woodchucks have started hibernating, and the hummingbirds are gone for the season.  We got a lot of enjoyment from them as they chased each other around the house.  The garden was spectacular.  We just put everything to bed, building a large compost pile, and picking any remaining fruit.  We made a large batch of green tomato salsa which turned out pretty good, and had some that night on baked chicken.  A few runty ears of corn remained, which appeared to have been enjoyed by the local racoons after Judy threw the ears over the garden fence.  We think we have a better garden plan for next year which includes greater diversity of plant material, canning, freezing, and donations to the local food bank.

The yard furniture has been packed away, and the video camera has been taken down, restoring the view out the front window.  The only major project remaining is painting the basement stairwell.  The basement is done, but there are still a lot of little miscellaneous items to clean up that we should be able to get done over the winter.  Paint touch up, a few drawers need adjustment, some hardware on the large pocket doors, and a little more sanding on the kitchen countertop are among the remaining projects.

Over the next year, I will periodically update you on how the home is performing, a project that would be facilitated if I had come to grips with the design of any monitoring equipment. 

All in all it is beginning to feel like home.