Our 1st Solar System
I did not document our first solar system as much as I would have liked.
Since I did not have practical experience with designing and building a whole-house solar system, I relied too heavily upon the advice of someone else who had actually installed a similar system on his house. It turns out, that I prolly knew more than he did. That being said, I certainly learned much from this experience that would be helpful for our 2nd solar system.
Components
- MagnaSine 48V Inverter/Charger
- MagnaSine Wiring/Breaker Box
- MagnaSine Remote Controller
- 2 Outback Power FlexMax80 MPPT Charge Controllers (80A, 150V max)
- 99 Sunpower 72.5W solar panels
- 2 24V 750ah forklift batteries in series
Images
Posts
Off-Grid Living – A Beginning
Even as a teen-ager (I’m now 47), I had the desire to be “off the grid”. I can’t say now what inspired such an idea in that immature young mind. Guess I’ve always been something of the independent sort. However, today, there are a number of reasons that come to…
Installing Our First Solar Panels
Mare caught me installing the first of our solar panels. She’s sneaky that way.
Our First Solar Panels
Today was an exciting day – for me, anyway. Maybe others were excited about the election of “their” candidate on Super Tuesday. At this point, I don’t have a clue about any of that, and don’t much care. I’ve been too focused on completing the first 10-panel “string” of my…
Review and Redeux
Chris called last night to offer his congratulations and discuss some technical aspects of the solar panels, the most important being the issue of torque on the panel clamps. Apparently, 25 pounds is way too much. Now, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Chris and his advice, but nothing drives…
All 99 Solar Panels Are Installed
My wife, Mary, is prone to hike around our Black Lake, Idaho neighborhood. Today was no exception. And, as is her habit, she chronicled her hike in A Pretty Day In May. Meanwhile, I was installing the last of the 99 solar panels on our pole barn roof. Mary is great…