By: Paul S. Cilwa | Viewed: 7/26/2024 Occurred: 8/22/2020 |
Page Views: 809 | |
Topics: #Coronavirus #Maui | |||
We create an additional solar panel array. |
We've been slaves to an electric generator for far too long. Time to cut that cord! —Oops, that's not what I meant.
Welcome to Serenity Slope! From this vantage point near the road, one can see Zach's Shack and banana gtree garden, with the Upper Solar Array to the left.
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I now call it the Upper Solar Array, because, as of today, we also have a Lower Solar Array to provide power to Keith's and my cabin. Zach came down with the new panels around noon.
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Together, Zach and I figured where the new array would go, and, most importantly, what direction it would face.
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We have a few stacks of leftover lumber from which the new array frame is to be constructed.
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We also have two supervisors.
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Zach is rapidly acquiring the skills of an accomplished carpenter. All of this was built with measurements in the head, no written plans.
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It was, admittedly, a late start (most workers around here start early morning, then quit by 4 so they can go surfing), but we managed to get the panels mounted and wired before bedtime.
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I am happy to report that, when I rose at dawn to feed the dogs, the rising sun did, in fact, fall upon the South-facing panels.
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As the sun sank, please note that the panels still pick up its rays until they vanish beyond the western hill.
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The batteries are supposed to be kept dry. But Zachcame up with the idea of keeping them beneath the panels, which act as an existing shelter.
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These six, 6-volt batteries, are wired in parallel pairs. Each pair of batteries is wired in series to make 12 volts; each pair is then wired to the others in parallel. Although these panels are probably adequate for our electrical needs, the batteries aren't.
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When the suns rays, or any light, strikes a solar panel, the panel generates electricity: a lot if the sun is bright, less if it's cloudy. none at night. Since the voltage generates varies and the battery bank requires 12 volts steady, the solar-produced electricity runs through a controller, which makes sure the output voltage is correct. That charges the batteries., but we also need an inverter, which changes the 12-volt direct current from the batteries to house current. That's what we plug our stuff into.
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Which is why we have a generator, to provide the additional electricity as needed (mostly at night). In fact, we have three generators. However, the yellow one we used originally stopped working. I think the battery just needs to be charged, and we could start it with the pull cord—except the pullcord doesn't exist.
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So we brought down the orange generator Zach was using, since he doesn't need it anymore, now that the Upper Solar Array is operational.
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However, this morning, the cord on Zach's generator broke, with the other end disappearing into the reel.
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