Hopefully, not too late. Last time I promised a series on emergency backup power, with and without solar. I also promised it would take a while because I’d need to take some pictures and make some drawings. Writing a column isn’t just writing. Writing is easy, like running off at the mouth, but people like […]
Solar isn’t just for hippies anymore. You won’t see many 12v systems, powering just a few bulbs and a radio salvaged from a car. Nope, solar is powering the American Dream home. 3BR, 2 Bath and every electrical device you can imagine. Trying to run everything at once is where you can run into trouble.
Go Big or Learn to Make Do Read More »
A week or so ago, the big news was that California has banned gas car sales after a certain date. Many of the car makers have announced they will be all electric by a certain date. Did anybody stop to think they might be getting ahead of themselves? You know, where’s all the electricity going
Slow Down! Think Ahead! Read More »
How would John do this? FREEEEEEE STUFF. No, he’d probably expand that a bit. Make it a bit more grand. A company in the solar training business sent me a cool solar tee shirt. It has a house with solar panels on it and the slogan “Savings Through The Roof.” Cool. It had been so
What is a microinverter and how can you use it? You have solar panels and you want to do something with the DC power, you’ll often need some kind of inverter. The microinverter was designed as a grid tie inverter to pump your solar DC into the power grid. There’s more. In the beginning there
Fun With Microinverters Read More »
Electric Vehicles (EVs) have been around over a century and have been very popular and practical in some areas. In other areas, not so much. They are perfect for forklifts, golf cars and neighborhood vehicles. Even delivery vehicles with a fixed, predictable route. Electric automobiles were tried early on and their usefulness was limited. The
EVs and Solar Charging Read More »
Junk yards like to say that all cars run on used parts. It is true. The same is true of solar installations. There’s a solar farm being built just up the road and there are 180,000 panels sitting in piles in the field. They are soaking up dust, dirt, rain and humidity while waiting to
I called John to fuss about the website and email. Yeah, there’ve been problems. In his John’s Blog, you never know what kind of crazy stuff you’ll find, but there’s really useful info, too. He mentioned a recent email blast and I didn’t get one. I live 700 miles from Miami, so it isn’t like
One Moment, Please Read More »
Hurricane season had an ominous start this year, though nothing much has come of it, so far. Still…. So what about preps? Generators are a good start. You don’t want to wait until the last minute to find your generator won’t run. My main backup generator is a diesel. Not much problem with diesel and
It’s That Time Again Read More »
As a rule, the Direct Current (DC) side of an off-grid or backup home power system will be 12, 24 or 48 volts. Some equipment is available for the archaic 32 volt system and there are maverick higher voltage systems. I think most of you will best be served by one of the big 3
What Voltage Should My Battery Be? Read More »
I watched an old movie the other night. Re-watched it, actually. Gee, you’re getting old when you can remember a movie from 1967. The story revolves around a psychiatrist who is chosen to be the president’s personal shrink. Now, why on earth would Americans elect a president who needs a shrink? Come to think of
The President’s Analyst Read More »
What’s that black box on the back of most solar panels? Is it just a place for the wires to come out? There are all kinds of panels, but the usual 60 or 72 cell module in an aluminum frame is going to have the black box. This is usually called the junction box. Yes,
Where I live, you use the word combining, the emphasis will be on the first syllable and folks’ll think you are harvesting the crops. In solar, the emphasis is on the second syllable and we are talking about connecting solar panels in parallel. If you read my Tuneup post, you know that I have been
I have been off grid for a while. Mostly. Things are great when the sun shines, but it doesn’t shine every day. The next 9 days are forecasting rain, in fact. Last night I came out to the cave and discovered the batteries were down to nearly 50%. Uh oh. If you want lead acid
Time for a Tune Up Read More »
John’s ranting about the shortage and price of solar modules over on his blog. He can get pretty entertaining at times, but he is also very serious. This guy wants everybody to have a roof or backyard full of solar panels. I find it amazing that the government creates a full tilt initiative to promote
In early summer of 2015, I was on my solar expedition launch Sun King. Cruising up the Tennesee-Tombigbee Waterway. It was raining and getting dark as I approached the lock and dam at Aberdeen, Mississippi. I don’t like to run in the rain and there are limitations to running in the dark in a solar-powered
There’s An App for That Read More »
Back when I worked for a living, I was the hardware guy and my partner was the software guy. Tom and I would get together and spec out a new product. I would design and build the circuit board, then hand it off to him to program in the features. Knowing each other well, it
Firmware Update and New Capabilities Read More »
I told you when I was working on a couple of small solar projects for The Alger-Sullivan Historical Society’s park. We had our Sawmill Day Festival and fundraiser this past week and all went well. The blacksmith shop/mill/tool museum building had its solar-powered lights on for 2 days straight with no issues. The lion’s head
Pump it Up, With Solar Read More »
Every now and then I cruise through John’s inventory to see what he has in stock. Solar panel availability is getting tight around the country, but John always seems to come up with something. Sometimes it is something strange! Like solar laminates. He has them! What’s a solar laminate? Well, take a look at a
Florida’s governor just vetoed a bill that would have made solar a really stupid choice, at least with grid tie. The bill had been watered down a good bit, but it was still very much anti solar. A similar, but much worse, proposal is still up in the air for California and there are bad
EJ’s Solar Dilemma Read More »
It has been a long time coming, but I finally pulled the plug on the power co-op. I have long had enough solar power and more than enough inverter power, but battery was lacking and so was buried copper. Then there was the matter of the Round Tuit. I finally got around to it. Batteries
27 kw of solar panels, 3Tesla Powerwalls and a power bill still over $300. What went wrong? We are at a weird time of year when we are using very little heating or a/c, if any. Bills are usually low. Brad’s have never been low. First of all, the power company changed the rules. They
Lowering Brad’s Power Bill Read More »
Two of my neighbors got solar power systems. They were completely different setups and the results were very different. Neither neighbor is very happy about his situation. Brad’s system is BIG. 27kw, with 3 Tesla Powerwalls and a propane generator for backup. The modules are all facing west, because of trees on the neighboring property.
Beware of Solar Sales Pitches and the Whims of Your Power Company Read More »
One of our museum buildings needed power. Solar was the right choice. I am a trustee of The Alger-Sullivan Historical Society. We formed to preserve the memories of the sawmill heritage of the town of Century, Florida. We started with stories. And more stories. We discovered Indian and Spanish colonial history in addition to the
Solar Blacksmith Shop? Read More »
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without. That was the family motto of a friend’s crew. They were of Scots descent, so you know they were tight. How tight were they? Well, they had a Willy’s Jeep, a ’55 Ford station wagon and a John Deere tractor. Among them, there
Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose Read More »
Armed with new info from downloading a couple of newer versions of the inverter manual, I returned to Cory’s farm to try some new settings. I was confidant I had the answers. Somewhere between the time of the last blog and this trip I had made some setting changes and the reaction was not as
Meanwhile Back at Cory’s Farm Read More »
John’s on my case, again. “Neal, you’ve gotta write the book on DIY solar power!” He gets this way, sometimes. It starts with flattery. Continues with pleading. Sometimes he promises, “I’LL PAY YOU, I’LL PAY YOU!” If you know John, the phrase, “I’LL PAY YOU, I’LL PAY YOU!” is usually only uttered when he is
You Gotta Write The Book! Read More »
Solar panels on a roof can blend in and be hardly noticeable or they can stand out just enough to be bragging. On the other hand, some folks manage to make it really ugly. Don’t have an ugly roof. I am on the mailing list of a lot of solar newsletters. They include a lot
Don’t Have An Ugly Roof Read More »
I finally started gathering forms and am evaluating who has and has not sent me all the stuff so that I can do my taxes. Seems like something is always late and now I hear that if you have a farm you need to file by March 1st. Yikes! Since this is a solar blog,
A reader wants to know if I have any knowledge of Nickel-Iron or NiFe batteries. See? I read the comments. Eventually. I just don’t let them post because not everybody is nice or on topic. Anyway, let’s just say I’d love to have a trailer load of NiFe batteries, aka Edison batteries. Thomas Edison wanted
If you are looking for a scandal, sorry. I’m talking about actual dirt. Just about any serious piece of electronic gear comes with a manual, which I am certain you read cover to cover 3 times before attempting to install…right? Somewhere in there you will usually find the admonition to “mount in a cool, dry
The Dirt on Solar Electronics Read More »
We were having problems with the lights in the “boxcar”, so I decided to rethink it’s solar-powered lighting. It isn’t really a boxcar. It is a 40′ shipping container that looks like a boxcar without the wheels. Very handy. Initially I did a full blown install and it worked well. 4 panels, charge controller, battery,
Boxcar Solar Revisited Read More »
He’s blogging again. Watch out! John Kimball, founder and bossman at Sun Electronics, stepped away from blogging for quite a while, but he’s back. I generally try to stick to something along the idea of how to make solar power work for you. John often talks about things going on in the industry, but sometimes
John’s Back on the Air Read More »
If solar power is green, can we make it greener? Yeah, and a lot of folks are going that way. More directly to the point, is what do you do after you get a ground mount panel rack installed? Put down gravel? Mulch? Grass? NextEra or FPL is grinding up all the pallets on which
Anyone who has batteries in their backup or solar power systems will eventually have a battery go bad. Can it be brought back to life? Maybe. Of course you want to take good care of your batteries in the first place to put the dreaded day farther down the road. Let’s start with lithium, briefly.
Battery Rejuvenation Read More »
A while back, I wondered if all the PV gear installed after Hurricane Katrina was grid tie, or if some of it came through after the more recent storms. The answer is there was some with battery backup. I remember reading in my morning solar newsletters a while back about an apartment complex that was
The 10 panel rack mount is done. 2500 watts of panels are secure and producing power. There are plenty of ways to do this, but this was my way. A few posts back, I did a blog called Rack ’em Up. That was the beginning of the solar rack project. To recap, I used string
I still have not heard any word on whether or not the post-Katrina solar power systems are helping out while the lines are down. The solar trade journals report that solar is on the job, though. A New Orleans solar company caught their breath after Hurricane Ida, checked on their employees and then came out
Solar to the Rescue! Read More »
Ahhh, autumn! The first week or two of September brings us cool weather, with lows in the 60s and highs in the 80s. Some of you might not call that temperature range cool, but we do. It’s a fakeout, though. We’ll get back to weeks of blazing hot weather if we don’t have any hurricanes
6 years ago, I cruised through New Orleans aboard my solar launch, Sun King. This was the only place I saw solar panels on my 1920 mile outing. Most of the new construction in the Lower 9th Ward, post Katrina, seemed to have solar. New Orleans came up with some pretty good solar incentives, for
A reader wants to know if I have any knowledge of Nickel-Iron or NiFe batteries. See? I read the comments. I just don’t let them post because not everybody is nice or on topic. Anyway, let’s just say I’d love to have a trailer load of NiFe batteries, aka Edison batteries. Thomas Edison was a
If you are a newcomer to the Florida Panhandle, Coastal Alabama or Mississippi, you are learning what we mean by “the wet side” of a hurricane. If you you are in Louisiana, you have my sympathies. For us natives, it’s the price of living in paradise. The wet side is the right or eastern side.
You can build a fully integrated solar power system using matched components or you can mix and match from a variety of manufacturers. Which is the best way to go? What are the advantages and disadvantages? My solar power system was not designed as presently it is. It just sort of happened and kept happening
Hodgepodge or Matched Set? Read More »
Maybe you should use caution. A little reminder can help you determine if you are going flat out or being extra careful. I hate to dig, I really do. Grad students at UWF archaeology digs have offered to put dirt on a shovel and hand it to me so they could get a picture of
I guess that bit of advice applies in a lot of areas, doesn’t it? Here’s a quick example of what can go wrong if you don’t. Mike came up with some nifty (that’s a 1960’s term, meaning awesome) adjustable solar panel racks. 2 rows of 5 each. He had several and talked me out of
There’s the power you think your solar power system should put out and then there is the actual amount and they are not the same. You can usually do something about that. What’d you think I meant? My new 10 panel, 2500 watt, solar array is just about finished. I need a few clamps and
Why Won’t She Put Out? Read More »
In June, I headed up to North Carolina for a few weeks of solar projects. And motorcycles. Have you ever driven a Russian Ural with a sidecar? What could be a better combination? No sooner than I leave town, though, a tropical storm heads for my house. Just the usual damage: the driveway is gone
They’ve gotta go somewhere! A while back I mentioned that I had a glut of solar modules. That does not mean I have too many, they just are not all up and running. I am in the process of getting another 10 panels up, this time on a ground mount facing a bearing of 260
Do you get the email blasts from Sun Electronics? If not, you might need to go to the HOME page and sign up to find the latest bargains. I am not in the sales department at John Kimball’s solar wonderland. I live 700 miles away and I find out about the latest deals via the
Are You On The List? Read More »
I used to get a magazine for electricians, EC&M, I think. Every month they’d have a photo layout of scary stuff that electricians and inspectors had come across. Our recent “not a generator plug” photo would have gone well in that feature. While I was concentrating on the dangers of having the shiny bits electrified
STILL Not A Generator Plug Read More »
