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Solar Power Entries

Setting Solar Panels to Their Winter Angle

Sunday, October 18th, 2015

In April of 2014, Tara and I installed six solar panels on the roof of our solar shed. The process of affixing them was a comedy of errors. After measuring wrong several times, drilling more than a few unnecessary holes, and swearing a lot, we mana...

Running Power and Network Lines to the Workshop from the Solar Shed

Sunday, July 19th, 2015

Dad Visits

Friday, August 8th, 2014

When I was a teenager, my Dad restored/rebuilt a dilapidated farmhouse in rural Minnesota. Like Tara and I, he'd never done anything of the sort when he started. I remember coming along to lend a hand a few times, but mostly, I was too busy being a...

Off Grid Power Update: Solar Battery Bank Arrives

Monday, July 21st, 2014

Today, our new battery bank arrived! We now have eight 6v 370aH Deka L16 batteries with a total storage capacity of 17.6 kWh. Taking losses into account, and not wanting to drain the batteries below 50% (it shortens their lifespan), this gives us a...

Electrical Wiring in Strawbale Cottage

Saturday, July 19th, 2014

For the past few mornings, I have been wiring outlets, light switches and speaker cables in the house. Each box gets a plywood plate with tar paper and blood lathe. I run the lines through the wall, chainsawed into grooves a few ...

Trenching Power from Solar Shed to Cottage

Friday, July 18th, 2014

For at least a year I've been telling myself that getting electricity from our solar shed to the cottage would be a piece of cake. "All we need is a beefy extension cord—we'll just plug that in somehow and voilà, we'll have power!" Each time I ment...

Off-Grid Power Update: Solar Panels Arrive

Tuesday, July 15th, 2014

Last April, we received the initial charging equipment for our off-grid power system! We're starting with six 245 watt REC photovoltaic panels, whose output to our battery bank will be regulated by an Outback FM80 charge controller. The week they ...

Finish Work on the Solar Shed

Saturday, April 19th, 2014

It's amazing what we can get done when there isn't a foot of snow on the ground! This weekend was full-on spring, with glorious warm weather and sunny skies. To celebrate and make the most of it, we spent every single hour of daylight tying up the ...

Solar Panels & Charge Controller Arrive

Friday, March 28th, 2014

The first round of components for our off-grid power system arrived today! We now have six REC PE245 solar panels waiting to be mounted on the roof of our solar shed, an Outback FM80 charge controller to regulate their output, and a bunch of assor...

Building the Solar Shed, Part Five: Wiring & Insulation

Sunday, March 23rd, 2014

We made more progress on the solar shed today. First, we nailed the sill plate to our foundation using a ".22 nailer". It's basically a tiny rifle with bullet-like charges that you set off with a hammer. The resulting blast shoots a nail straigh...

Building the Solar Shed, Part Four: Shingles & Trim

Sunday, March 16th, 2014

This week, we've been working on adding trim and fascia boards to the solar shed. We also started shingling the roof! As per usual, each time we start a new building task that neither of us has done before, Charlie drops by to give us a brief lesso...

Building the Solar Shed, Part Three: Siding

Sunday, March 9th, 2014

We haven't done much of anything outside since our shed building blitz this January. For the last two months, we've been hunkered down in our camper, keeping warm as feet of snow accumulate on our land. This morning, a crack appeared in winter's ...

Clearing Trees for Solar Power

Tuesday, February 11th, 2014

With the roof of our solar shed nearly complete, it's very easy to see which trees are going to block sunlight for the solar panels we want to install on it. Unfortunately, the biggest offenders are right next to our wellhead and camper, two thing...

Building the Solar Shed, Part Two: More Framing

Thursday, January 16th, 2014

We awoke this morning to find a half an inch of snow on the ground, and more soft, white flakes tumbling from grey skies overhead. Crap. The forecast had called for sun and unseasonable warmth! Despite the fact that our springlike weather disappea...

Building the Solar Shed, Part One: Framing

Wednesday, January 15th, 2014

When Tyler came back from Becky and Charlie's place a few days ago, casually informing me that we'd be building our solar shed this week (during a brief window when the forecast called for warmth and sun), I could not have been more surprised or mo...