Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

24

Comments

  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    captturbo,
    i addressed in his other post the reason for the deletion. if there weren't books he's trying to sell right next to the articles it would've been fine and i told him to replace the links when the business aspect is eliminated. you can certainly pm him for it, but i suspect his main intent was to sell and not inform. hope i'm wrong on that and he corrects this.
  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    Probably my favorite thread on this forum, good seeing so many pictures and real-life stories of solar. I'm mostly in the office working solar, so good to see things on the outside! Keep them coming (especially the personal blogs!)
  • solar_dave
    solar_dave Solar Expert Posts: 2,397 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    just some quick pics of my install
  • dwh
    dwh Solar Expert Posts: 1,341 ✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)
    solar_dave wrote: »
    just some quick pics of my install

    One of those SealTites is missing a strap. :D

    Looks pretty good though.
  • solar_dave
    solar_dave Solar Expert Posts: 2,397 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)
    dwh wrote: »
    One of those SealTites is missing a strap. :D

    Looks pretty good though.

    So it is, good eye!

    Oh I forgot the panels
  • nsaspook
    nsaspook Solar Expert Posts: 396 ✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    Pics and links to my (work in progress) DIY solar 4 battery monitor hobby project.

    1&2 inverter power cells 100Ah
    3&4 controller power cells 12Ah

    Data files, (early) drawings and notes:
    http://mysite.ncnetwork.net/res02dad/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/solarpic_files.zip

    Controller P18F8722 code:
    http://mysite.ncnetwork.net/res02dad/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/swm8722.zip

    Build Slideshow:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/nsaspook/sets/72157622934371746/show/

    4562831363_c79e61585e.jpg

    (after controller reboot, not synced with real battery state yet)
    Battery 1&2:
    Voltage, run-time (hr:min), state of charge (%), Ah used

    Charge monitor:
    Battery under charge. Max time on charger if C40 didn't go to float mode (monitor LED).

    Pv voltage, Battery voltage, charge amps
  • t00ls
    t00ls Solar Expert Posts: 245 ✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    niel... I'm gonna put a link to my website that I have to see if its ok.....if not delete the link and I'll just add pictures

    the website is hosted here at my home and the server is run by the system that is on the link

    http://southcentralkentuckysolar.com/photogallery.html

    I have lots of updating to do to the website.....but don't have the time to do it
  • Macaw
    Macaw Solar Expert Posts: 36
    There is more to Solar than the Sun

    Concrete. Rebar. Digging through fractured sandstone and North Alabama clay. Temporary guy lines. Bailing out the excavation, only five, 5-gallon pales per day. Finally the concrete is poured and time to move on. EIGHT yards for this 18.5 foot tall 10 inch schedule 40 pipe with a final height of 14.5 feet above ground. I'll post a few more pictures now that I am getting the hang of it.
  • Macaw
    Macaw Solar Expert Posts: 36
    More to solar than the sun (continued)

    A couple more photos of the rebar and mast installation
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    macaw,
    yes, doing things right is quite a bit of work isn't it. don't forget to place an 8ft ground rod in the ground outside of the concreted area and run a #6 or better bare copper ground wire from your pvs and mast to the rod.
  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Re: There is more to Solar than the Sun
    Macaw wrote: »
    Concrete. Rebar. Digging through fractured sandstone and North Alabama clay. Temporary guy lines. Bailing out the excavation, only five, 5-gallon pales per day. Finally the concrete is poured and time to move on. EIGHT yards for this 18.5 foot tall 10 inch schedule 40 pipe with a final height of 14.5 feet above ground. I'll post a few more pictures now that I am getting the hang of it.

    How deep does the concrete go down ? My engineer had me bore 10' down , 24" di, to plant my pole in.
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

  • James
    James Solar Expert Posts: 250 ✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    substantial rebar...very well done, did i miss in the thread what the post is for?
    looks like the pv panels are on the roof of the home...
  • Macaw
    Macaw Solar Expert Posts: 36
    Re: There is more to Solar than the Sun

    In this location the "bedrock" was only 4 feet under the surface so boring down 10 feet was not considered from the beginning. In reality the bedrock is relatively soft sandstone so we might have been able to drill it or something. This pour was a 8X10X2 foot pad sitting on the bedrock with the 2 foot diameter collar extending up 3-1/2 feet from the top of the pad. There is 2 feet of topsoil on top of the 2 foot pad so the only thing that sticks out of the ground is the 2 foot column.

    The pad is designed to hold 12 evergreen ES205 panels in a 90 mph breeze.

    niel- For grounding here is the plan I'll run by the electrician this week:
    I'll bring #4 solid from the PV panel frame grounding circuit to the top of pole junction box where it changes over to #6 stranded with green insulation which then leads down to DC disconnect where it passes through and leads to grid tie inverter with #8 power conductors via 1-1/4 inch PVC conduit. In the DC disconnect I am hoping to find a big enough buss bar to bond the #6 stranded with either #4 solid or #4 stranded (7 strands). The #4 then passes down to a ground rod which in turn is bonded to a #4 stranded with 5 more ground rods on the way back to the service entrance ground. The #4 will eventually encircle the entire residence. (I have enough cable just not the desire to dig a slot for it at this time.)

    I wonder if my ground system is better than the utility ground system then will I become the ground for the entire neighborhood? hmmm
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    i am having a tad bit of trouble following you on that, but i am supposing you are bringing the ground lead into the house like wiles dictates. it makes me hesitate in advising on grounds anymore as wiles has it screwed up and i guess i should've kept my mouth shut as everybody has to follow the nec. anyway, i am curious why you would go from #4 to #6 as you should just keep it #6 then? as to multiple rods, you can do this if all rods are bonded underground with bare copper wire of a size equal to or greater than you are using in the system, but no smaller than #6 as too small of wire corrodes or breaks easier.
    as to a neighborhood ground goes, if there's a problem with the rest of the utility grounding that finds your system grounding them then it's all the better for you as the problem would have been detrimental to you and your neighbors anyway.
  • Macaw
    Macaw Solar Expert Posts: 36
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    I am using #4 solid for panel chassis ground for its durability. Once the wire enters conduit it must be stranded if over size AWG 10. #6 stranded (chassis ground) goes back home for GFI breaker built into the grid-tie inverter. The current carrying conductors are #8. The panel chassis ground also goes to a ground rod at the mast. It just so happens that the ground rod at the mast is part of a larger ground system with multiple ground rods (with #4 stranded) that also is bonded to the utility service ground.

    Yes grounding can be a sensitive subject around these parts. I have been studying grounding for this applications for weeks, reviewing the same sources multiple times, reading about it from several industrial perspectives, the surge protector and alpha delta stuff... I am finally comfortable with the grounding approach and will let you know what the electrician has to say.
    73's
    Macaw
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    i hope i'm not reading that it goes straight to ground at the pole and a ground back through the house to go to the ac ground and thus the same ground system. in other words 2 paths to the same ground as that could create problems with ground loops. this is one reason why i despise wiles' ruling that the ground must enter the home and then to the ac ground and ground rod as it does not allow provision to go straight to ground outside without creating ground loops. i'm guessing you may have heard of ground loops via radio installations, but wiles doesn't think so much of our safety as he lets on to or the ground would not be allowed to enter the home at all from outside imo and that's due to lightning and emp being directed to the inside of the home, which is reason 2 and my biggest reason against it.
    73s
  • Macaw
    Macaw Solar Expert Posts: 36
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    neil--
    Regarding grounding of this remote (100 ft away from inverter) grid-tied top of pole mount you said

    "i hope i'm not reading that it goes straight to ground at the pole and a ground back through the house to go to the ac ground and thus the same ground system."

    Let me describe the ground system and see if you still feel uncomfortable with the arrangement.

    Today I finished the second and final trenching operation when I trenched for a #4 stranded grade B Cu cable from the base of the pole back to the service ground. This #4 cable makes an arc around 180 degrees of the house and encompasses the pole (my SOLAR MAST) and is CadWeld bonded to 11 ground rods. The Evergreen PV panel frame-ground-system is bonded to this ground "arc" at the same place as the NEMA 3R boxes that are mounted to the solar mast, and the solar mast is grounded there also. The ground arc is separated from the main power conductor conduit run by about two to three feet.

    The second path back to the service ground, per NEC rules, provides the ground path for the ground fault interrupter. It is bonded to the PV frame-ground-system at the solar mast and runs in the same conduit as the power conductors (per code) directly to the Fronius inverter. (as you know) the inverter makes the (only) connection between the negative DC power conductor and ground, and contains terminals for PV frame-ground-system and equipment ground, which is bonded to the service ground (at the same location as the ground "arc").

    Yes I have two paths to the service ground. But the service ground is part of a ground "arc". Not a single ground goes through the house as you hoped they wouldn't. All of the PV related equipment is mounted to the exterior of the house, only two conductors pass through to the interior back-fed (240V) circuit breaker, the electrical equipment grounds are all common and the electrical service ground rod will have three conductors attached. One from the AC distribution panel, one from the inverter and the third to the ground arc which happens to be bonded to the solar mast about 6 ground rods down the line.

    I will install one Alpha Delta DC surge suppressor where the DC enters the inverter and one AC surge suppressor on the conductors leading to the back-fed circuit breaker inside the residence. The inverter and all suppressors are mounted outside the residence, directly on the exterior wall, directly above the service ground.

    From the above description, do you still feel uneasy about ground loops and unnecessary exposure of the residential interior circuits to lightning induced electrical surges, or fire hazard due to more direct lightning exposure?

    I do appreciate the interest you take in new solar installation details and hope our dialog help refine other future installations.
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    2 paths to ground, even if a widened arc (which i have), will possibly create ground loops. you do alright by the nec, but imho the ground leading into the house is a no no. that also invites lightning into a home needlessly, but i can't advise you to break that ground lead-in without going against code. the nec is now more in the business of regulating than safety.
  • Jburgess
    Jburgess Solar Expert Posts: 130 ✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    Pictures of my system:

    6.3 Kw array
    PICT0582-1.jpg

    3.4 Kw array purchased from NAWS
    PICT1072.jpg

    Inverters
    PICT1160.jpg

    Been waiting for 2 months for utility approval to flip the switch on the small array.
  • solar_dave
    solar_dave Solar Expert Posts: 2,397 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    How is this for some cable? Copper 4 conductor #1, 130ft. Ouch the bill was not cheap.

    Sorry to hear about the "other" utility not approving yet. When I upped my panel count we didn't have to change any of the AC side.
  • Jburgess
    Jburgess Solar Expert Posts: 130 ✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)
    solar_dave wrote: »
    How is this for some cable? Copper 4 conductor #1, 130ft. Ouch the bill was not cheap.

    Sorry to hear about the "other" utility not approving yet. When I upped my panel count we didn't have to change any of the AC side.

    Will you have to add another CT/MTU to TED when you hook up your pool house?

    When I added the extra panels, pretty much the only thing salvageable on the AC side was the meter socket. The inverter on the left is for the new panels, double the size needed at 6KW, but gives room for expansion if needed.
  • solar_dave
    solar_dave Solar Expert Posts: 2,397 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)
    Jburgess wrote: »
    Will you have to add another CT/MTU to TED when you hook up your pool house?

    When I added the extra panels, pretty much the only thing salvageable on the AC side was the meter socket. The inverter on the left is for the new panels, double the size needed at 6KW, but gives room for expansion if needed.

    Ordered the MTU/CT for the TED today as a matter of fact.

    Making good progress, exterior Stucco completed, Tile loaded on roof, 200amp sub panel installed with 125 amp main breaker, sub panel box for low voltage stuff piped and installed (CATV,Gig Ethernet switch, phone line). Exterior paint starts Monday. Should get rough electrical approval on Mon. or Tues., then onto Insulation and Drywall, garage door/opener install. Once the interior is painted then the AC unit(s) can go in, about 7-10 days from now I suspect.
    http://www.friedrich.com/products/ModelOverview.php?model=M36TYF2

    Yes my wallet hurts alot.
  • Jburgess
    Jburgess Solar Expert Posts: 130 ✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    Solar_dave

    Looking good. Is it time for our weekly update pics?
  • solar_dave
    solar_dave Solar Expert Posts: 2,397 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)
    Jburgess wrote: »
    Solar_dave

    Looking good. Is it time for our weekly update pics?


    Rough inspection passed (painful for contractor it took a couple visits of the inspector). Insulation & Drywall in. Exterior painted to match house, HOA requirement. They claim by Friday they will be done and ready for the final inspection, I doubt it as the Electrician didn't show up as expected and MAMA is miffed that her closet is still in disarray with the conduit stub in to the attic incomplete via the back of the closet. Contractor needs a inspection of the drywall installation Monday then they tape, mud and paint.

    Garage door & opener (and 2 more for the main house garage), Roofing tile install to happen this week for sure. MAMA picking wall paint colors today, Me picking epoxy colors for the floor. AC ground unit, 3 interior units, all the hookup stuff for AC, floor tile for the office, light fixtures for the interior, ceiling fan for the office and Lanterns for the front all here in my main house garage and it's really full now of finish components. I expect a big leap forward this week assuming electrician shows to finish the run to the main panel.

    Building is definitely dry as the monsoon rain did not get in. ;) My boss is on vacation for a month so I am stuck on getting stuff moved, I get to play him for most things so no time off till he gets back. Hopefully it will be cooler here by then anyway. Been looking at some Gladiator stuff for the interior, my trigger finger hurts so much already. $$$$$

    MAMA is already talking about a main house garage fix up after the Man Cave is operational.

    What is that sucking sound around my wallet?!?!?!?!

    I really can't bitch, overall it is pretty damn cheap.:cool:
  • solar_dave
    solar_dave Solar Expert Posts: 2,397 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    quite a bit farther, electrical is done (fingers crossed on final) first coat of epoxy is down. 3 way mini-split is in.
  • RRRAAAYYY2
    RRRAAAYYY2 Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    Hope I got this in the right section. Here is my latest project. A solar heat wall for my house. Cost less than $500, added r14 to the walls, and I think added more than $500 to the value of my house. I am located in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, so a little extra heat is always helpful. And the sun doesnt hit this side of the house in the summer, just the winter.

    Here are some before pics:

    Before2.jpg

    After:

    After2.jpg

    After3.jpg

    Themostatically controlled, two small 4" fans, solar powered.
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    Nice looking job.

    Is the tree "going away"? (trees/shades and solar power do not work well together in the same space).

    Have you noticed a difference yet? Measured the output temperature (i.e., more fans, lower temperature rise will increase heat flow). Dust filters on air inlet to panel?

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • RRRAAAYYY2
    RRRAAAYYY2 Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    Trees wont have leaves very shortly. Since it is not directly south facing I am actually hoping they shade it well in the summer.

    I have noticed no difference yet, as we have not had more than a few hours sun since I built it two weeks ago. LOL. The one on my shop works really well though. Here is a picture of it, it is beside a park so we used plexiglass panels.

    PicA.jpg

    I didnt build it, and it was where I got my idea from. Giving credit to Rob Perry.

    It has 3 fans, vs the 2 I have on the house. It has been set up for about 7 years now, works well when it is sunny. We see about 7 hours of air, going in the bottom at 55 and coming out at 95+ . We use the extra fans because it is pulling the air across 4ft of duct.

    My new system has room for 4 fans if needed. Waitinig to see how it functions first.
  • Ralph Day
    Ralph Day Solar Expert Posts: 1,019 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    Do you have automatic or manual louvres to stop reverse convection cooling at night? I imagine there would be a flow of cold air out the bottom if not.

    Ralph
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Pics, Movies, or links for personnal sites and blogs (no commercial)

    "as we have not had more than a few hours sun since I built it two weeks ago."

    i see you're tired of that same system rotating rain into the same areas without moving out too.:grr
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