Today I have started a grand experiment with time, nature, energy, nutrition, sustainable technology,and the human will to survive. This will be the first log entry into this journal being kept in chronological order as events, discoveries, and adventures into the renewable energy world of a future tomorrow. Okay the backdrop and story board is as follows..
On a remote organic farm in a rural part of the heart of dixie is a land full of life and energy just waiting to be tapped with the human spirit. One soul has unplugged from the so called modern life style and is launched back in time onto the land of the Ancestors, except with a fist full of renewable, sustainable technology to be used for survival for one year.. This experiment will involve every facet of human experience within a world with limited use of the convience of a supermarket, a gasoline station, a utility plant, and fossil fuels, but instead will use, solar power, wind power, micro hydro- electric, electric vehicles, organic gardening, solar photovoltaic module arrays as roof tops, horse, cow, goats, chickens mulch, and compost for fertilizers. Basically using the natural environment in and around the habitat for energy while maintaining the life sustaining substances intact.
Each day active within the experiment, will log a daily status report complete with pictures, videos and text of all events, over time either failure or accomplishments. So swing by often as, We continue on this grand journey as time travellers into the future. Pictured above is our latest solar array ontop the roof of the Solarium.
It produces solar electricity for power in a 24 volt system, that also uses inverters for power for 120 Volt AC applications such as this computer we are typing this blog on. Today the winds are up so am planning on getting some good readings on the new wind charger. It has been spinning a lot this morning yet expecting the winds to pick up more this afternoon..
We have a new upgrade for this wind machine that will add three more blades making it a 6 blade system. This upgrade will add twice as much cross sectional area for catching the winds energy.
This is the upgrade pictured above already in stock here on the farm. We will wait until a less windy day to install these new blades. Once the upgrade is installed the new wind machine will come online
just in time for the Spring Time windy season, well hopefully if the project goes well.
A few weeks ago, We finished a new solar hot water collector system, and is now fully installed and online making hot water on sunny days. The project was a lot of fun , using one criteria, local building materials only. The first test was very successful creating a sustancial amount of hot water at the kitchen outlets. The temperature inside the collector reached over 180 degrees fahrenheit.
The unit has worked really well as planned and did not freeze even after 4 nights of below freezing temperatures. The unit uses actual tap water in a open loop thermosyphon system.
Well thats just some of the technology involved so meanwhile, lets introduce some of the farm animals.
Pictured below is Bumble Bee, B B for short. She is a young Filly, of 2-1/2 years, never been rode or broke. She is wild yet very gentle. I am very excited about her being here on the farm. She loves to play and run in the field. To supplement her diet we add feed hay, alfalfa pellets, apples and carrots.
Haven't really wanted to start her training yet, for she is so beautiful in her natural state.
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I have thought about using her to pull, carts, wagons, and some light plowing, as well some local transportation, but mostly We will use the horse manure for gardening operations. Speaking of garden operations. Wow!~ Okay that reminds me about the greenhouses, and hot beds that need to be planted soon. I have already stored up a lot of seeds for such projects. Food is the first obligation when planning a stay on the land. I have stocked up some stores of food stuff but they will diminish fast if not replenished on a daily basis. My plan is to start sprouts, and seedlings early, as well go ahead and plant many crops that are not effected by the cold, such as alaska peas, turnips, broccoli, lettuce, radish, green onions...etc, so much thus reducing the need for heat outside of the daily solar gain within the greenhouses, and the newly added Solarium.
I went ahead and installed a wood stove in the Solarium for a heat source while finishing the inside of the structure. When ready to install the tile floor will simply move the stove out of the way and reinstall on the new floor. I have chosen ceramic tile for additional solar thermal gain. This stove will soon be retrofitted with a thermal loop that will produce additional hot water when in use. A express truck just arrived bringing some new high amperage DC switches needed to install before adding a better charge controller, and battery bank.( Upgrading to a 24 volt DC system) The switches will be installed between the PV array and the charge controller then another as a main shut off going to the batteries. Once installed one can safely work on the array or batteries with electrical current off, otherwise one would have to work at night when the Sun wasn't shinning or cover the array with blankets. I am very excited about these new structures for they will add a much fuller experience to the overall project. Below is the older Enviro-Shelter that has been in service since 1994.
This structure creates solar electricity for lights, electronics, and small appliances as well creates solar hot water for the kitchen, bathroom and shower. The hot water is stored in a super insulated water tank upstairs. The structure also uses a wood stove with a thermal loop for additional hot water on colder cloudy days. The run off rain water is stored in a cistern for irrigation and water closet use. The south facing sun room helps heat the structure as well. The structure is now used for several shops. A computer repair shop and an online store. The structure recently got an upgrade and has a new AC inverter, new batteries with a new charge controller. The solar system is designed for 12 volt DC systems. The windcharger worked really well for years but stopped working a few years back. The new wind machine will service both the solar cabin and the Solarium when fully operational for we are installing underground cables to both buildings. We are presently adding a new deck off the side and reworked the solar array out front, then added new antenna, converter , and rotor for VHF, UHF, FM, AM signals.
Okay lets introduce another farm animal. Below is
Jalapeno the Billy Goat. He has been here for about 3 years. Been having problems keeping him in the pen lately. He can jump like a deer. So now he is inside an electric fence. The fence seems to be holding him for now, but must fix a better pen for him soon before the gardens start out doors. He was raised here from a kid but is now becoming a full grown Billy.
We have recently obtained a female goat, a Doe, for her and Jalapeno have hit it off quite well.
I believe that has settled Billy down more than anything by having a friend. She is already with Kid, so we might just have baby goats by spring. Recently also have thought about breeding BB the horse with a Jack and create some mules, but she is way to young for that right now.
Another new addition to the farm is Little Mac, who is a young Holstein Bull that we raised from a bottle. He is growing up so fast and is already getting really big. His color is almost the same as BB. Little Mac and Jalapeno the Billy gets into head butting contest sometimes. They are so funny playing together.
Little Mac is very tamed and will play with humans and horse around with ya, but I'm afraid that might not last as he gets older. The guys are off today because of all the bad weather in the area but noticed, yesterday how nice the siding is looking outside on the Solarium. All the siding lumber was saw milled right off the farm here, with a bandsaw type mill. I am very surprised as to how much lumber came from about 12 pine trees that were encroaching on the pasture and garden areas. Once all the siding is up we will clean and seal it for preservation.
It has been raining all day, so have been noticing how full the Lake has become. A lot of the water is rushing over the spillway. Okay as soon as the outside of the Solarium is finished, we will begin installing the hydro electric turbines below the dam. We have two power units that will be installed there. The energy will be used to help power, a cabin, some shops, and greenhouses. A generator shed will need to be built. We were down there the other day taking measurements thus refining the calculations and materials further needed for the project. Below is a view from the dam back across the Lake.
Not much has been going on inside the Solarium over the past week, for we are concentrating on getting the outside completely in the dry before the rainy season fully sets in. Mainly just been adding the hurricane clips, and running the wires before insulation in the walls and ceiling. Because this space will be used with a lot of plants ,we will install a utility sink in one corner so some plumbing will need roughing in as well. The electrical plugs will be either up high or in corner walls where a chase is located. The walls are a full 2X6 thick for added strength in and around the glass units. The glass itself is sliding door units featuring double pane glass, which is good at heat or cooling retention. The metal frames are left intact around the glass for added protection.
I know you may be thinking about ventilation, well yes we will add soffit vents, and also there will be solar powered vents in the attic space that will exhaust heat in the Summer time. The space will be shaded as well with some carefully placed trees and scrubs outside in the court yards. Also some keenly placed reflector blinds. As you already know the south facing roofs are light colored and will be covered with solar cells, that will convert a lot of the Suns energy into electricity. Well now it is Winter time so we got lots of time to think about cooling, but we will plan for it now in the designs.
Well today went well, I guess even though didn't get much done on the projects, got a lot done here on the blog. The weather outside today is very wet, and is still raining. The weather radar is still showing more rain a coming. The forecast is showing four days of Sunshine after this front moves off. I am glad and inspired by you taking the time to read this blog and as well hope you are inspired by reading it. As for today logging off .. Happy Trails :)
Sol-Era Log Entry 2013-1-31 Earth Continuum 7 364
I woke up early today, my mind racing off into several directions at once. So after reeling it back in started to focus on the food projects again. The realization of the experiment hasn't completely set in yet so will have to train my mind that it is not business as usual. I keep telling myself that the last super tanker has sailed and that the world outside will never be the same again. After checking with the local weather radar, noticing that there is not a cloud in sight. The Carpenters shouldn't have any problems completing the siding today. I know that my first challange is getting the green house back active so will spend some time down there today getting organized. The temperature stats today are Sunny high 55 low 32, okay that is freezing tonight. Tomorrow night, low is 31. Okay, I need to go check things at the solar cabin. Unless we are working over there, there isn't much heat in the building at night without the fires, so a danger of freezing pipes could occur. I have it set up to where a drain down is easy over there, and it is much easier to just drain down the pipes instead of risking broken pipes. The solar collectors over there are of a closed loop type operating through a heat exchanger using anti-freeze as the heat transfer liquid, so a freeze up there isn't a problem. Okay, back to the green house. There is a pile of compost already in the greenhouse with potting soil mix to, along with stacks of trays and planting containers. Getting going with the seedlings wont be a problem. The floor layer of soil within the green house has grown up with weeds, so will need to till the ground in there. The type tiller we will use runs off electricity and operated with a propane generator. I use this type system because of much less flumes inside the greenhouse for the propane generator can be kept outside during the project. Well actually the generator is installed on the back of the utility truck for portability anywhere around the farm. When the hydro- electric projects are completed I am hoping we can displace the generator with hydro power. The power head can accept several attachments and the machine has proved quite valuable during several projects around the farm already.
Many times I can imagine how the ole Pioneers, felt as they uprooted and traveled west of the Mississippi river into the then basically unknown territories, yet they carried with them some simple tools, a few animals, but mostly a strong sense of family, and adventure, with a tight bond with the land all around them, for after all it is the land that still to this day sustains us. During the last great depression in America , most people still lived on family farms and that is what sustained them through the times. My greatest concern in these times is the fact that many people have left their family farms and moved to the cities. Will I know that someday the people will return to the land again because that is what sustains them. We are just now beginning to see this movement back to the country side all over America and many other countries around the world. I for one thinks this is a great idea, but if we dont establish a new and better way of living off the land, we will fall into the same traps as before. High utility bills, gasoline engines that need a parts store every few miles, seed and fertilizers that require chemical fertilizers just to grow. Well basically, what good is it to move to the country if you are bringing the city right behind you?
Doe Goat came up this morning with Little Mac and Jalapeno. I guess may need to find a better name for her soon. Was thinking that maybe Nanue would be a good name for her, so Nanue it is. Lady Nanue likes fresh feed hay for this time of the year the grass, bushes and weeds are not growing much. These type goats are great when clearing new ground, for after the trees are removed or groomed they will come in and graze on all the brush thus saving a lot of work otherwise. We just added a different feeding trough for B B instead of a bucket that she keeps knocking over while feeding.
Okay, who is this new guy? Well that is Buddy a Black Labrador Retriever Dog. He stays in the field with the animals as their protector. He also is a good alarm if something is amiss. Buddy was left here as a puppy and has grown up around the other animals and has become a good friend to them all. He still has a lot of puppy in him, for is lanky yet very playful. He is very fun to watch interacting with the other species. Okay, back to work, and work is the word that is best to describe the Green House project. I just got back from there, and even though its nice and warm inside, there is a lot of stuff to do to get it where I want it to be.
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Also in the picture is Patches a rescued Pup from the pound, well Humane Shelter
about 3 years ago. He has truly become my best friend and is like a frontal lobe, ( Knowing what we are doing before I do. ) He is a mixed breed part Shephard and Collie Dog. O yeah, the green house.
Well as you can see the inside needs a lot of work. I wanted to get these pictures to show you the before and after shots, when we are finished fixing it up like it should be. Presently there are heat lamps that are used to protect plants on cooler nights. I hope to displace them with a more passive solar heating system using thermal mass. We added insulation to the front and back gables and as for now the overall structure is pretty tight. We plan to add some shelves, tables and hooks for hanging baskets...etc.
On the way back from the green house, walked by the spillway where the water spills over the top of the dam at the Lake. The whole area is very muddy today. From here to where the micro-hydro plant will be established is about 30 feet below. There is a lot of pressure coming from the pipe down there when opened up. I will talk more about the actual amounts later when we are installing the equipment.
The pipe was originally installed when the Lake was built. We have since added a liner inside the old cast iron pipe and replaced the main valve, for the older water works were rusting pretty bad and we feared it would break off thus draining the Lake unwillingly with a huge release. The new unit ( below) is a lot more streamline, actually smaller but will deliver more electricity if all goes well.
The old hydro-electric plant we will be replacing. This plant basically operated a automobile generator that come off an old tractor. The new plant is made in a factory and is a much better designed for the application.
Just getting in from feeding the animals. The guys totally finished the Solarium siding today, and also we wrapped up the wiring of the solar electric system, including the charge controller, the control main switches, the battery bank and housing, the copper ground rod, and main connector junction box. We are now waiting for the AC inverter pictured below. The inverter will supply 2000 watts of 120 volt electricity Alternating Current. The plan is to power all the electronics, plugs, lights, and small appliances in the home that require AC through this device. All other electrical componets will either be 12 or 24 volt DC. The type inverter used is the Samlex DC/AC Pure Sine Wave Power Inverter SA-2000K-124 listed below.
The type controller we used is the Morningstar TriStar TS-60, 12/24/48V Charge Controller pictured next. Both of these main componets are necessary in most all solar electric installations. If you plan to use electricity from the Sun someday you will also need to learn about this basic equipment. Both are very easy to install especially if you are familiar with basic electrical knowledge.
You can learn a whole lot more about these and other items being used by clicking on the specifications page top margins.
I am very happy with the way the siding turned out, so now we can get on with some other projects. The Sun is now set on another great day down here on the farm. Time to kick and ponder over even a better day tomorrow.
Sol-Era Log Entry 2013-2-1 Earth Continuum 7 363
Today I am up before the Chickens or the Sun. It is Friday and the first day of February. Well, We have survived our first month of 2013. Now a whole new cycle is beginning. Ancient people used the phases of the Moon for Months, but since the Romans conquered the world most people in North America use a more sinister calendar that is basically out of phase with anything agriculture or celestial. But for most farmers they do consult with the farmers almanac before making a lot of decisions on the farm. I am reading it now actually here on the internet. There is a lot of very good information in here and will give you the following link for reference.
If you dont want to leave this page right now then you can explore the link later. The link will take you to a Moon Phase Calender, there you can see how the days of the week on an Gregorian Calendar, which is basically the Roman Calander correspond with Our Moon. Anyway under the Gardening section you can find many tips in line with the season such as ;
Now thats a good tip and a good idea. I am mostly planting new seed but also have a lot of older seed so will use this method to see what seed are still good before wasting my time planting them.
The Guys are coming back over today, hopefully * and we will start finishing the inside of the Solarium. Some dead wood needs installed, ( Dead Wood is basically lumber that is used to catch the edge of ceiling or wall material in corners or transitions ) Some can recessed lights in the ceiling need roughing in, and we will place and install some electrical receptacles. We will start adding ceiling and wall insulation where needed. Along with this activity we will start working in the green house, doing some conditioning and cultivation. I will update you again on the progress as the day matures.
Okay, I just ordered another piece of equipment. I was going to add some new PV modules and create a seperate solar system for 12 volt applications, but instead I have opted to install a Samlex SDC-15 DC to DC converter, 24 volts DC to 12 volts DC.This is used where you have a 24 volt DC battery system but need to run equipment, such as DC lights, that require 12 volts DC. This avoids "tapping" a 24 volt battery system which can lead to uneven battery charging and early battery failure due to unbalanced charging. Input 20-30 Volts DC, output 13.8 volts DC @ 15 Amps peak (12 Amps Continuous). This little piece of electronics will save a lot of money and trouble.
Pictured above from the top is the main connection box from all the Photovoltaic Modules right above on the roof top. All the wires are fed through a conduit into a connection box. In this box the wires are connection onto a block that has a main lug for both positive and negative circuits. The positive lead is fed into a master high amperage switch then into the positive post on the charge controller for modules. The negative is fed to its post there as well. From the charge controller the positive main from the controller for batteries is fed to another master switch then into the battery bank located in the crawlspace below. The negative is also fed down to the battery bank as well along with a ground wire to a grounding rod that is drove 8 feet into the Earth. The purpose of this type arrangement is so the batteries that store the Solar energy for later use doesn't overcharge or for that matter under charge, but instead as the name implies the charge is maintained and controlled at the correct amounts as needed. Okay another ground wire will run from the solar module frames to the ground rod as well. The negative of the battery bank is also connected to ground. Well that is what we got done yesterday and is the basis of the 24 volt DC system. Next we will start on the AC system circuits that will come through a standard AC breaker box to many household applications.
I have been on the market for a different Solar Electric Car, for my old one, even though it still operated when it was parked years ago, needs a lot of work. One of the most fun applications of a good solar electric system is using it for transportation.
Well that is a bit further down the road. In the meantime we walked over to the cabin to get some materials for the projects so I snapped a few pics showing the solar system over there.
Okay, pictured above is the Charge Controller on the wall in back. then the Inverter on the shelf hooked up to a standard AC breaker box. I left the wiring exposed to show folks how to wire up a solar system, and also to aid in the data collection meters and testers.
The Charge Controller has the wires coming in from the PV Modules out front, and then back to the battery bank housed outside on the deck in a special closet. Heavy Duty wire leads come from the battery bank back into the back of the inverter. As you can see the controller is showing 13.6 volts with an indicator diode showing a full charge on the batteries today. The AC inverter produces 1500 watts. Right now we are running three different circuits of AC to power shop tools, such as sanders, drills, rechargers, some AC lights, shop vac, rotors, fans, television, coffee maker, microwave oven...etc. The fact that we rarely run more than several items at a time will not overload the inverter. In fact I have never overloaded the inverter . On the 12 volt DC side we are powering DC lights, CD player and AM, FM radio, with two DC stations for cell phones chargers, laptop chargers, and or any other DC type electronics.
This is the underside of the PV array leading to a connection box. From the connection box a 10 gauge underground cable is running to the charge controller unit inside. We moved the solar panels from off the roof top to this area to better gain the incoming Sunshine, thus actually increasing the overall efficiency of the system. Listed below is the solar cabin's battery bank system. Each 12 volt battery is wired in parallel thus doubling the ampere hour capacity while maintaining a 12 volt system.
I cannot really over emphasize how simple and easy it is to install a solar electric system. These power stations can be installed basically anywhere on the planet, and will operate continually once installed with limited maintenance over time. The electricity produced after installation comes without a monthy installment bill from a utility company, and will also give you power when theirs is knocked out, or if utility electric company loses operational capabilities for what ever reason. Solar electric systems can be upgraded easy over time as your electrical needs increase, just by adding more modules. The systems are modular in nature and very effective at producing energy from directly from nature without fuels, uranium, coal, or fossil fuels... etc.
You may say that the parts had to be made in a factory somewhere using the processes before mentioned. Well yes some are, but I believe that in the near future factories that produce these products can be run off the very same solar energy, thus a self contained system basically solar energy producing solar energy exponentially. The weakest link is the batteries, but they are getting much cheaper and usually come with a nice warranty if they fail to operate over time. They also can be recycled at most all recycling station. I like to use natural gas or propane generators in a remote area until a more viable renenewable energy can be established, such as this propane operated AC generator system mounted on the utility truck.
Finally broke loose, and made it down to the green house. Planted two small rows of green onions in planter boxes. It sure felt good to get my hands back into the dirt again. Green onions do not take a lot of heat to make it here in winter time, so I feel safe planting a few of them early. The thermometers down there are broken so they will need replacing soon, but the temperature inside felt a lot warmer than outside.
Since I have made this commitment to stay out here, not really knowing how much some of these projects have dilapidated over time. Well I'm not discouraged, cause that is a big part of the challange and rescueing this farm is some of the best work I have done in years. It is so
gratifying being out here daily solving problems as they arise , and truly enjoying the fruits of my labor. You know as they say, " When you are doing something you love it feels like play "
Well tomorrow is another day. When you are out here there is no weekends, no off days, for every day is an on day for nothing in nature puts off today what it can do tomorrow.
My mind flashes back to the summer days of fishing. The old boat has seen a lot of hours on the lake, over the years. We recently had to pull it ashore to repair the bottom for it had acquired a few leaks. Nothing bad but some water was seeping in where some of the rivets had become loose. My freezer still has a lot of fish from the catches during the Summer time. The Lake contains several species of fish but mainly, Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Shellcracker, Blue Catfish, Brim, Mudcat, and Vegetarian Carp. It has been a bit to cold to get out on the Lake lately, but soon. I miss it so.
This is how the field looked last Summer, when the garden was producing a lot of food stuff. The plan is grazing the Animals over this spot all Winter, then fence them away from the area during planting. I am hoping that the Animals will greatly improve the soils fertility. Also I am hoping that the Goats will kill a lot of the weeds that wont have a chance to sprout and grow with them eating up their roots. The Goat, Horse, and Cow manure cant be bad for adding natural organic fertilizers to the soil without having to haul and spread it. I plan to grow a lot more stuff this year, maybe even enough to sell to local food markets and the greater community at large.
We got a lot done today getting the inside of Solarium almost roughed in. ( " Roughed In" is a state in the construction process when all the things needed or desired is in place inside the walls, with all test complete so then the finished wall system can start.) I am very pleased with the progress.
Sol-Era Log Entry 2013-2-2 Earth Continuum 7 362
Up early again and that is rare for me on a Saturday. As the coffee is brewing, I began thinking about something that I saw last night on television. It was a show basically talking about how people would be a lot healthier if using a diet mainly of locally grown fresh foods from organic gardens.
The site said,
" A family edible garden is a wonderful way for children (and you) to learn how to plant and grow fresh fruits and vegetables, know where real food comes from and engage in the pleasure of outdoor activity that connects us to the plants, animals, the earth and each other. It’s also great for your health! Remember… you are what you eat. "
I saw a show the other night as well talking about the obesity problems in America. Then a few days before that the News was talking about the energy problems in America. I am beginning to notice a trend, and that is people are mainly talking about the problems but few are talking about the solutions. I know that the magnitude of these problems go very deep into the American culture and mind set, and to tell you the truth, I dont think to many folks are willing to do what it is going to take to solve these problems on the grander scale. Americans have become way to complacent in the so called American lifestyle and what is deemed as the American Dream. I am afraid that before most will change a major economic disaster will have to occur on a massive scale, and then it maybe to late. Most Americans are way to dependent on fossil fuels from foreign sources, banks for their money supply, and utility companies for their energy, water, and rental companies for their land., and super markets for their food supplies. The people that are in government are way to dependent on taxes, and that tax base is going away as more and more people escape the cities for a much freer lifestyle. Most cities have become a trap for its citizens, and are now alienating people by the millions. There just isn't enough energy in the form of fossil fuels to sustain the so called " Modern City " much longer. Heck If I had my way I'd never step foot in another city for the rest of my natural born life.
You know out here on the country side there isn't much to fear anymore, most of the wild animals are either extinct or in zoos, and with the good ole Mother Earth under your feet, and the Good ole Sun in the sky there isn't much to want for. The peace of mind of country living is what I think people are missing in their busy lives, and you know it is all just right there, waiting.
Well today is pretty low key, and haven't got much planned in the way of projects. I spend Saturdays doing a lot of research, and yes, well dreaming about a better future. There isn't but one place where we can solve all our problems and that is the future. There isn't a single thing we can do to change the past, but we can change the future.
Already been collecting some house plants that will find a new home in the Solarium. Soon will be adding a lot more. We are totally ready for the next step in the Solarium Project for have been cleaning up the area all morning, and getting organized. The view outwards toward the Animals is wonderful. I find myself stopping and watching them play and feed randomly as they catch my eye from time to time.
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All day today the heat produced in the Solarium heated the whole house, between the solar gain, and the wood heater. The temperature outside has been in the upper 50s. Even though the Solarium isn't all the way finished this is a good pre-test of its intended abilities when fully functional. I switched off the back up hot water heater, and went all Solar today to further test the new Solar water collector. It produced plenty of hot water to do the dishes, and other cleaning chores. That is very good on a wintry day. I walked around the whole area and the barn checking for fence breaks, groundings, or busted pipes, beings it got down to 28 degrees last night here. I noticed one of the Y connectors feeding one of the water troughs was leaking so it will need replacing. For now just turned the water off at the valve but soon we will run undergound lines below the frost line.
There is one aspect to this type Mobile Home Solar Port Technology that you might not of realized, and that is the the Mobile structure can simply drop down off its blocks, release its tie downs, and then drive it away. In this event the Solar Port ( Solarium) can become a front entry into a even larger Solar home being built over time. Meanwhile the Solar Port is providing all, or most of the energy needs of the temporary structure and itself. The area over the Mobile Home can then shelter a front or back porch. with adjacent decks or structures.
There are literally millions of Americans living in mobile homes and millions more will buy mobile homes as their first house. Most of these structures dont come solar powered. The fact that most mobile homes users will add onto the structure at some point, an addition that can also power the building is quite a plus. Plus adding a lot of living pleasure, and roominess at the same time. Another aspect to this innovation is the added stability to the mobile structure. The prevailing winds and storms usually come in from the south west direction so this addition will help anchor this mobile home during a storm of this type.
Well a beautiful yet cold winter day is winding down, so reflecting back on it now remembering a chat that I had earlier with a friend who asked about the manufacturing and cost of some of the equipment involved in going Solar. Well I said,
" As with anything, any construction project is going to cost something unless you just rough it out with Mother Nature, but at least doing it this way after the initial cost of materials and equipment, and installation, your monthy energy bills and living expences are a lot less, and your living space is very much enhanced. Your health should be a lot better with the organic process being utilized, and you peace of mind should be greatly increased with a freer lifestyle. So at the end of the day. Yes! Its worth the effort, and trust me It does pay off. "
With that note I am blogging off for today. Looking forward to another great Sunny day tomorrow for after all its, SUN day :)
Sol-Era Log Entry 2013-2-3 Earth Continuum 7 361
Up before the Sun again, and it is Sunday. Traditionally will set aside Sundays to test the systems, gather data, and basic information about the performance of verious projects. Well yes a day to reflect, but since I have started this Blog documenting the experiment, maybe it is time to reconsider just what role Sundays are going to play in all this. Sunday after all is the first day of the week, so Sunday is a beginning. With that in mind I have decided that during this experiment,
Sunday should take on a special meaning. No I'm not talking going off into some Sun Worship crazy stuff, even though I do recognize the Sun as the most powerful object in our Solar system, and it does bring us light, warmth, energy, and photosynthesis with in turn brings us the very oxygen we breath.
There is still a lot of mystery that surrounds our Sun, so maybe it would be appropriate on Sundays to rediscover some things about our Sun and unvail some of those mysteries.
We of course as you know are using a lot of Solar energy on this farm. The Solar energy that is being used does a whole lot more than just produce the electricity. The Sun is very stable and dependable, well we hope so. We have only been collecting real time data from the Sun with satellites, over the past few decades, and helioseismology is still basically a young science. The biggest fears about our Sun in these modern times is Solar flares, and that being a concern because of the fact that a Solar flare can do damage to electrical systems basically utility grids on Earth. As for a stand alone PV ( Photovoltaic) system it has been said that,
" Short answer, for Solar Flares, off grid power systems are just too small to "receive" the energy from the Sun and be damaged. Harden your system against lightning damage the best you can and have some spares available--Much more likely than an CME or EMP for the average user."
A Solar flare has never hit any of my Solar systems so I really dont have any first hand knowledge as to what actual effect such a flare would produce, so I guess its up to speculation, but I feel that most stand alone Solar systems are okay from damage from Solar flares.
" The sun, the stratosphere and the oceans are connected in ways that can
influence such events as winter rainfall in North America," says study author
Gerald Meehl. "Understanding the role of the solar cycle can provide added
insight as scientists work toward predicting regional weather patterns for the
next couple of decades."
Okay, as you know there is nothing between the Earth and the Sun except space. The further away from the Sun you get the cooler the heat, and energy gets and of course here on Earth the atmosphere and electro-magnetics help shield us from a lot of the Sun's power. If we were a bit closer to the Sun all our oceans would boil into the atmosphere and the Earth would be covered in a very thick cloud. If we were further away all our oceans would freeze and the Earth would look like a giant snow ball in space. As for now Earth is in a pretty good position as in its relationship with the Sun. Darn, sometimes it is like pulling teeth published this thing, but after all it is a labor of love. One of the main objectives for creating this documentary is for those of you, who would choose to follow down this pathway to more energy self- sufficiency. Those of you who have dreamed of such a lifestyle, well this blog should allow you some insights into what to expect and hopefully encourage you to start your journey as well.
Okay, its late afternoon and mostly just been on a walk-a-bout the farm, of course snapping pics along the way. While making this transition into a future time I sometimes feel that I am leaving a lot of people behind. The thought doesn't rest to well on my mind so for now will dismiss it. Its way more likely that as the petrol-chemical age of mankind ends a lot of folks will be on the Solar path and a lot are already. Heck I can envision a time when every human being on Earth will be using the power of the Sun to animate their worlds. I know you hear a lot of talk that the Sun cant power all the houses, cars, trains, airplanes, skyscrapers, cities, interstate systems, ships, gasoline stations and or what have ya? Well stop and think for just a minute. The Sun wont have to, cause as people become self sufficient back on their family farms, and cluster solar grid communities, they will need less and less of these things, for instance what good would a gasoline station be to a race of humans all driving solar electric transporters? Just imagine all the energy it takes to build, supply and maintain all the gas stations in the world, much less keep the lights on all night for most of them.
Sol-Era Log Entry 2013-2-4 Earth Continuum 7 360
All went well through the night, with some misty rain on and off. It is still a bit over cast so its a gloomy Monday. Still very cold and the frost is all over windows everywhere. Watched the Super Bowl last night being played in the grand city of New Orleans. Right after half time the lights went out in the Super Dome and it took about 45 minutes to get them back on. During that time I began to think about all the energy being used in America just surrounding football. I have never calculated it but am sure it would be a very high number, once you add up all the gasoline it takes for sometimes several 100 thousand people to drive to the stadiums, not to mention the cost to build and maintain the stadiums energy wise. I guess when the time comes when Americans cant affort their football they won't be able to afford their massive political campaigns either that cost billions of dollars every few years and untold amounts of energy. Well that is for another day to ponder such folly for I am not going to dwell on that today.
While feeding the chickens yesterday, I noticed how unbalanced the flock has become, well it is a bit silly to tell ya the truth. I started out with 12 chickens, but now am down to just 4. Three roosters and one hen. Gosh that is unexceptable.
I am on the market for some more chickens. The story is kinda sad, but has been the plight of chickens down through the ages of chicken keeping. Some how an animal got into the pen and killed some chickens. I found the area where an animal had dug under the fence. I have since reinforced the bottom of the fence with wood and concrete. You can order chickens over the internet and have them delivered to your farm, so will explore this today.
Okay, back to some more technical details about the project. Everything is proceeding along as
scheduled with the Solarium project. The first of the battery banks are installed, in a weather tight battery box outside. We drilled two ports in the side of the box to recieve the negative and postive leads coming in from the charge controller. The batteries themselves are configured in a series wiring system in order to produce the desired 24 volt system. The battery box can be pad locked if you prefer.
Additional holes are drilled in the back of the battery box to vent the area. Below is some technical data about the batteries. When a lead-acid battery is discharged, the electrolyte (sulfuric acid) and the active material on the plates of the battery (lead) are consumed to produce water and lead sulfate and current flow. The chemical equation for a lead-acid battery during discharge is: PbO2 Pb 2H2SO4 -->PbSO4 2H2O +Electrical energy. The chemical equation for a lead-acid battery during charge is the reverse with lead, sulfuric acid, and heat being yielded as well as some Hydrogen gas. Ideally, all of the lead sulfate is recombined with the hydrogen from the water to replenish the sulfuric acid. When a lead-acid battery is charged, electrical energy is added to the battery, causing the water and lead sulfate to be recombined to produce electrolyte and the active plate material. During normal charging, hydrogen gas is given off, however if internal damage to the plates or low electrolyte levels exist, internal gassing may create hydrogen sulfide gas. In sealed batteries this would normally not vent to the outside. Okay your energy storage batteries will need some maintenance just like if were in an automobile the same principles apply. We are using deep cycle trolling motor, RV marine batteries that are locally available, and easy to replace without a lot of major shipping cost. These batteries can store a lot of electrical energy, and if you do go with these type batteries make sure they are the Trolling, RV applications, not the marine motor cranking ones. As mentioned all this process is contained inside a sealed battery casing, maybe someday as storage capacity evolves we can eliminate the need for batteries altogether, and some solar technologies are moving in that direction all ready.
The Amp Hour (Ah) is 122 @ 1 amp. The industry standard for measuring battery capacity in Ah is to find the discharge rate that will discharge the battery to 10.5 v in 20 hours and multiply that number by 20. A 122 Ah battery, if discharged at 6.25 amps, would last 20 hours. However, a 125 Ah battery, if discharged at 12.5 amps, would not last 10 hours. A higher discharge rate causes less capacity due to the internal resistance of the battery. A true 122 Ah battery discharged at 1 amp should last much longer than 125 hours. We are using two of these batteries right now, so the Amp Hour would be around 244. Ideally we will add two more sets with a total of 6 batteries making 3- 24 volt battery units. This will give the system a total of around 732 Amp Hours. A very substantial amount of electrical energy for cloudy less Sunny days, and at night. During the daylight hours a lot of the electrical loads are simply powered directly from the PV array as the battery bank becomes fully charged as reserves. In a typical Solar powered setting no one load or appliance is left on very long at one time, and electronics use very little electrical energy in the first place. Overall the efficiency of electrical devices over time has increased and so has the efficiency of Solar equipment, and batteries. At todays prices now is a very good time to invest in your own Solar system and become more energy independent, besides electricity is something you will pay for, for the rest of you life if you dont produce it yourself.
I love to mix up the day with some work, some play, and some adventure. Even though it is important to get the technical details down when planning projects, it is fun to just sometimes stretch out and enjoy some of the things that we have be working towards. Well for me that is free time, for free time is really what freedom means. The time to be free and do what we really love to do. What makes one happy. I easily can lose count as to how many Geese are around here for the wild ones are always blending in with them more domesticated ones. I counting over 80 Greese here on the Lake one day in late Autumn. Late in the evening it is always very majestic to watch some fly in while some are flying out. These are Chinese Geese in the picture above feeding along with the Turkeys.
Sol-Era Log
Entry 2013-2-5 Earth Continuum
7 359
Good Morning everyone, and hopefully a good morning it is. I have several things planned for today. Some good news the inverter is supposed to arrive today according to the tracking. The inverter is one of the last componets needed to complete the new Solar station. I have decided to wait until all the equipment is installed before doing any test. Today I will build the special closet in the Solarium that will house the inverter, the converter, and the AC breaker box. As previously stated you always want to leave your system arrayed in a fashion as to make it easy to upgrade over time as your resources will allow, or power needs increase. The Solar system is modular so it is actually very easy to add more power over time. To add more batteries just simply wire more into the system, to add more PV modules, just simply put more out into the Sun and connect them into the system. I am shooting for a Solar system here that will power lights and outlets in three bedrooms, two bath rooms, one kitchen, a living room, and the solarium. In the kitchen the solar system will power all the small appliances. Other than that we are using a wood stove for added heat in the buildings, and a solar hot water collector for added hot water in the system. The wood stove can be used to cook on, and already have cooked breakfest out there several times. We also will use a newly acquired Solar oven along with a gas grill. We are still connected to the utility grid and will remain so in the future. Even though we are using Solar energy there isn't any reason why you shouldn't have the utility company connected as well, and in a lot of states you can actually sell excess Solar power to them in what is called Grid-tied Solar Systems. In this case the utility will send you a check, or reduce your own electric bill which ever the case maybe, either way the utility serves as a back up. Think of it as another battery bank if needed. The 220 AC that the utilitiy supplies is also very handy for short term use projects such as shop welders, heavy shop tools, or construction heavy power tools. In the long run we are not trying to alienate utility companies but instead work with them, maybe to a point to where their loads are reduced so much that some power plants can then be decommissioned.
I just went out this morning and found the Geese heading out for their daily flights, well I guess maybe I did spook them a bit. Also in the background you can see some Ducks taking flight. Ironically they flew around to the other side of the Lake so walked slowly over there as two more where joining them for an early morning swim. I am hoping that late this evening when the Geese are flying in from the lower ponds or the river, I can catch a video to post here. The whole scene recurs daily as the birds habitat local water reservoirs.
Today is almost a perfect Solar day. The temperature is such outside that no additional synthetic
type heat is needed other than Sunlight generated. Okay we made it through the first week. Late this afternoon the UPS truck did arrive with the new Inverter so now we are ready to continue with the Solar system installation. There is no more freezing weather in the forecast for upwards to seven days, so our solar window is looking good for the first test. We should have a lot more to report tomorrow. This is the end of the first week of the experiment, so will begin on another posting
" POST " tomorrow. I figure that way it should cut down on at least some of the scrolling. If remembering right you have to back date these darn things to keep them in chronological order. If that becomes the case, you will still see the actual date within the text of the Blog. Okay, that seemed to have worked,
Gosh ! Turkeys are acting like early Spring. Starting to wonder what has happened to our Winter.
