Enviro-Shelter Experiment Winter 2013 ( Wk 3)

Enviro-Shelter Experiment Winter 2013 ( Wk 3)



ESE-3



Sol-Era Log Entry 2013-2-14  Earth Continuum 7                                                350



Today the rain has stopped, so determined to get that new hydro-electric plant up and operational, we will focus on it first.  A window of opportunity is being presented by nature, and I plan to take full advantage of this beautiful weather. The forecast is showing a full Sun, and ole Grandfather Sun could not of come out at a better time. The greenhouse needs dried out also, then we can get the necessary landscaping done down there for a better water shed. The guys will be back out today, and we will begin building the hydro shed, that will house all the hydro-electric equipment as well act as a wildlife observatory , for the area below the dam is basically untamed and full of wild birds and animals.

Okay, most people in America have a very small area of land, even the Urbanites have sometimes a front yard and a back yard. In the past this area is usually used to grow only a few species of plants (Mostly grass) a few scrubs, and very few animals except maybe a dog or a cat. For this reason we are trying to keep this experiment on as small an area of land as possible. Most Urbanites do have some roof space, and it is usually not being used for much, except maybe some type of roofing material display. Sad fact also is a lot of roofs were designed during the years of cheap energy and are oriented way wrong as for collection of Solar energy. For that reason and I am sure many more people are just beginning to give up on an expensive overhaul of existing energy hog buildings, and are just moving back out into the country side and simply starting over. I really cant imagine why low insight developers are still using this old model for communities, when it has been proven time and time again,  simply doesn't work. You can ride through the Urbanite villages all over the American cities and find street after street of abandoned or foresale homes. Most have been foreclosed on, and are now owned by God knows who,  if nothing more than just the ghost in the machines. The energy being wasted is incalculable, but if humans actually tried to occuply such montrocities, the energy wasted would even be greater. I can foresee a time when these urban sprawls will be recycled or just simply bulldozed in an effort to reclaim the land that is still underneath just awaiting to be revitalized.

Sol-Era Log Entry 2013-2-15  Earth Continuum 7                                                      349


Alright we have a fully functional hydro-electric plant now below the dam.  The project went really well.  There is still some electronic equipment to install before the power station is complete but the test went successfully. Once the unit was installed we turned on the main valve from the penstock, this pressurized the system. Then we began opening the voltage adjusting valve on the unit while watching the volt meter. The green light on the unit soon began to shine while the volt meter began to rise. You could hear a sweet humming as the unit began to come up to speed. The sound of the gushing water exiting the unit is like the sound of a water fall. The unit peaked out a around 108 volts AC. We ran the unit for a few more minutes then shut it down for it was getting late in the evening.

Sol-Era Log Entry 2013-2-16  Earth Continuum 7                                                    348


Today the Sun is up very bright. The Solar array atop the Solarium is already in the green, before 9 O'clock. I had ran the outside lights for hours last night, as well a computer inside playing music. Today I added two more 12 volt batteries, first wiring them in series to make another 24 volt unit, then both units in parallel to maintain the 24 volt outcome yet doubling the ampere hour capacity.
After feeding the Animals and watering the greenhouse, spent the rest of the day relaxing, reading and planning the upcoming week of projects.

Sol-Era Log Entry 2013-2-17  Earth Continuum 7                                                     347


Another very bright Sunny Sunday has presented itself, and I am excited about getting back down there below the dam, and doing some more test of the new hydro-electric plant. Okay, today  we hooked up a battery charger to the hydro plant and it powered up very well, so then we attached a 12 volt deep cycle marine battery. The lights on the battery charger when into charge mode, which is a good sign. I switched the charger into the fast charge which puts out a 6 amp charge circuit. The hydro plant handled the load fine. We can now charge a bank of batteries off the hydro-electric plant.
This is good because now with just our true sine wave inverter, we can create a steady supply of 120 volt AC electricity to run our shop, or whatever.  While we were cleaning up around the area, and finishing the decking and roofing of the hydro shed. We powered some tools, a recharger, and a CD player off the system during the day.



 At the end of the day the battery was still topped off. The next step is to enclose the shed enough to protect the unit componets from the weather, and then run an AC transmission line to the shop which is some 80 feet away. We will use a 10 gauge underground copper conductor for this transfer. Once there we plan to run all the lights, shop electronics, rechargers, power tools, and appliances off the hydro- electric plant.  The fact that we are not using the shop down there, except at certain times during the week, once the system is calibrated it will suffice for applications as needed. All other times the hydro system can be diverted towards other water, or irrigation projects further down stream, where there is located several smaller ponds, as well other aquacultural enterprises.

Sol-Era Log Entry 2013-2-18  Earth Continuum 7                                                      346

Today was another very Sun filled experience, as well the winds were blowing at times very steady. The wind machine took off several times for episodes of thirty minutes or more, at times before slowing down. Also we spent most of the day getting organized for upcoming projects and getting the existing projects prepared for the next phases.  Some of the seedlings are already sprouting in the greenhouse.

Okay, what are we advocating?  The, "  Big 5 "  is what we call them. We are advocating the use of the Big 5. What are the Big 5? The Big 5  are, Solar, Wind, Wood, Hydro, Organics. The Big 5 main renewable energy sources. Using a combination of the Big 5, you will always have power, electricity, warmth, shelter, food, health, and wealth. Once tapped the Big 5 will never let you down, and if you are a good steward of the Big 5, they will be there by your side for the rest of your life here on this planet.  Why invest in the Big 5 ? Well the simple answer is, for instance you are going to invest in energy anyway. Most people pay monthy installments on their energy program for the rest of their lives as monthy utility bills for electricity, or water, or gas. Over time these installments add up to an enormous figure as in labor, time and money invested. If young people are encouraged to invest in the Big 5 early on, then a lifetime of savings can be added to their portfolios almost immediately. Not to mention all the other added benefits.

We are not using enough of the energy being produced by the Solar Electric Array on the roof of the Solarium so tomorrow we will add three more circuits onto the system from within the existing structure. The kitchen will require the most energy so we will wait and do that room last. Right now we are focused on the main master bedroom, the living room, and  the main master bathroom. We already have these circuits isolated so making the connections from the Solar system will be easy.



Sol-Era Log Entry 2013-2-19  Earth Continuum 7                                    345


Today went very well, we got two more circuits off the grid including this office. The garden in the greenhouse is growing like springtime in there. I have been rotating the Animals around into different grazing areas, as well seperating them some to lessen the load on the foliage. I am doing a lot of research into some electric vehicles, and cannot really decide on which ones to invest in. There are so many nice ones out there on the market these days. The plans for a Solar Garage is in the works where the roof would become a power house of  Solar modules designed to replinish the electric mode of transportation on a daily basis. Meantime during at home days, the garage itself would serve as a multipurposed facility for verious applications from food processing, to cottage industries.


Sol-Era Log Entry 2013-2-20  Earth Continuum 7                                       344

 Today should be another great energy day. The Solar system batteries preformed really well last night as I used electricity liberally all through the evening. There is a number of ghost loads on the system but shouldn't be a problem. In this office alone,  the main computer with network router, the wireless router, the phone system, a printer, the lights, Mr. Coffee, several recharge stations are now on the Solar. In the living room, the television, the dvd player, lights, roku box, another computer, and several plugs are now on the Solar. I have one more circuit to install in the kitchen, where I am going to isolate out the microwave oven, toaster, blender, expresso machine, the lights, crock pot, and a small ice machine to run off the Solar.  Both bathrooms are now on Solar, with lights and plugs for bathroom devices like shavers, hair dryers, and a general recharging station. Of course everything in all the new construction projects is totally Solar...etc.

Today will be a low key day other than refining some of the material list, and installing an enclosure for the hydro-plant electronics. In the greenhouse we are working on an irrigation system that can be set up on a timer, and also installing some more shelves, racks and tables.

After all was said and done the day went quite well.  The Animals now have a new area to graze with some new fencing installed, and we got electricity into one of the work rooms in the lower shop from the new hydro plant. Once the electricity transversed the distance from below the dam to the shop we still had 117.5 volts AC at the breaker box terminal.  Tomorrow we will aquire some parts for a better more efficient feed into the turbine for hopefully even more efficiency. I plan to try several configurations after the master union is installed for easy change outs at the turbine nozzle port.
The weather is calling for a lot of rain in the next four days.

Sol-Era Log Entry 2013-2-21  Earth Continuum 7                                 343


Today the Sun is out early and very bright. The batteries are already topped off. The inverter has the ability to monitor the constant state of the battery bank, so one of the first things that is checked off for the day is that reading. The Animals are not in sight from the Solarium so they must be out grazing in the new pasture area. Some of the crew is coming over today, so I need to start getting things lined up.  With the rains returning this afternoon we need to get things buttoned up.

We have allowed the Animals into another of the garden plots in order to reduce the weeds, thus further cultivate, and fertilize the area before planting or transplanting time.

The modification to the hydro-electric plant went really well today, and the instruments are showing an increase in power output. When we were finishing up it was getting dark so the complete test will have to be done tomorrow. I am doing some research tonight about another piece of electronics that could be more compatible with the system than what we have tried so far which is simply battery chargers. I am now beginning to investigate the possibility of using a diode instead. The hydro-electric alternator will operate the chargers but the system seems to be thresholding. I believe the use of a diode for energy transforming, might be better now that we know exactly what types of voltage we can produce at full throttle across the turbine. At some point in the near future we plan to tap the main with a bit larger turbine. Energy is becoming one of the most expensive commodities in the modern world, and the unpredictability of the utilities in these times is becoming unacceptable if not
unreliable. Having a family farm that can produce its own power is becoming very appealing to more and more homestead to Solar farmstead futuristic enthusiasts. To me it just seems to start making a lot of sense at some point, at every point we call so called, " Space ! " 
The trick is to establish the alternative power source early on in the construction phases, and then use that new energy supply to supplement the overall power needs of the project. As with most construction projects once the item is realized the energy consumption goes way down upon completion and the original renewable supply becomes ample for the finished solution.

You may ask if I believe the present energy system will crash ? The simple quick answer is, yes.  In fact it is already crashing. It is just taking time for it to hit bottom.  The trouble is that when it does completely crash, the whole political, economical, industrial, commercial, and residental system will crash with it. Why will it crash? Well it is obvious the industrialized world is ramping up its use of fossil fuels, uranium and any other non- renewable energy source out there, just at a time when these very sources are becoming scarce, and hard to get to like only with deep ocean off shore oil rigs that cost billions to build and operate.

We finally found a solution to the energy transfer problem, and now with the turbine in a more powerful position we are back in business. We now have power in both the shop and lower cabin from off the hydro plant. We have one more circuit to run and that will be for lights in the greenhouse and a few plugs in there aswell. Now that the hydro plant is producing electricity as a steady supply, a specs page will be created with all the components used with links to the source and factory specifications as did with the Solar system. Hopefully next week we can get the wind machine fully functional and online to.