Wow. Thought the last update was more recent. Anyhow, it's been a crazy summer. Lost the job, bit of a dry spell while finding another one, yadda yadda... The plans are still to make this happen, however it looks like a more feasible timetable will be for the spring. What with PP&L heading for the free market, looks like I better get systems in before the rate hikes. Even if I can only just cut my already low usage, it will still be worth the move to self sufficiency, especially after the rate hikes.

Just a quick catch up now, though. By late next year I should have the house next door to add to the system, it's got a nice, big, flat, black roof over the back room. And it faces south. There is already an unused chimney attached in the rear of that roof, that looks like a good spot for the VAWT and I won't have to drill any holes for the wires. As for the VAWT, I picked up a few old ceiling fan units (freebies), I figure that with 12 magnets (6 per side) and the right coil windings, I can generate 14-15vdc to charge the batteries. Plans are still to use regular marine batteries I can get at WalMart, makes replacements much easier. I still need a system that can deliver about 20 kwhrs per day, almost twice what I currently use, and that's without figuring in for the electric hot water heaters for the main heating system. I'll look into that after I get one running, and see just what I need to stay toasty in the winter (it is Pennsylvania, after all).

I've also recently picked up an old UPS system, I'll need to check that over the winter as well, looks like it's capable of at least 10 amps at 110vac, with about 6 receptacles in the rear, so I'll definitely try to get some power running from there, after I get to play with it a bit. That's about it for now, post will be irregular until the cash flow improves enough to get things moving again. In the meantime, I'll be playing with the toys I've already got...

So it's been a really crazy winter. Snow storms on the holidays, Snow in April, power outages from all of them. Really gets me primed to get the systems up and running this summer. Spent a good portion of the winter designing the VAWT, using an old ceiling fan. I'm still aquiring the magnets for it, so it will be another month or so before it's operational for testing purposes. After that come the SLA batteries, I'm thinking 2ea 1000ah marine batteries, which should give me 2-3 days running time. With the solar trickle chargers, I should be OK until I can get some decent panels. I just aquired the house next door, so that flat southern facing roof should come in real handy. There is also a nice, tall pole that will work just fine for the VAWT. There is also an electric hot water heater installed, so a quick change of the element will be in order. I've also found 12vdc power supplies for the PC. (not the 110vac to 12vdc, these are designed to run the PC in the car, without the wasted conversions)

All in all a really productive winter, even if I didn't have time to keep up with the blogs and websites. But I'd also like to report on actual events, instead of just airing plans that will go nowhere.
Keep the Sun shining, or the wind blowing... ;D

Crazy months... Anyhow, registered about 8-8.5 hours usable sun for December 19-22, so project is still feasible. I'm currently purchasing the house next to me, which has more accessible roof surface for PV cells, and a nice pole already in the ground for the VAWT. Since the oil furnace is already shot, I'll work on replacing that system this summer. I figure that with about 100 gallons of hot water heater capacity at 12 or 24 volt per unit, and the existing pump and baseboards / radiators, the house should stay reasonably comfortable. I'll have to work up a design this spring, aftre I make all the measurements. At least there is an income now, so plans can move ahead.

I'm showing about 9 hours of solar power from the test rig, still wish I could track the wattage genertaed, but that will have to wait. There are some definite disadvantages to being broke, mostly in how long the wish list is getting. (general gripe) Things should be turning around soon, though. Stay tuned.

Happy Thanksgiving folks.

Time to start paying attention to that watch again. It's getting to be that short time of year again. I'll look up the numbers and track the time that this location will generate. I figure that even if I need to adjust the angle of panels on that back roof, I'll still be OK. I'd love to have a 360 degree field for an active array, but I'll take the best that I can get. So far, it still looks like that tree is in the perfect spot. I may relocate it during the spring, I'm still undecided. I'll figure it out then. I'll post the times on the site.

Found an interesting chart on water usage. It looks good for quick amounts on common usage items. http://www.wssc.dst.md.us/service/waterusagechart.cfm Over the summer I installed a bucket system that holds approximately 4 gallons. By turning on the hot water and filling the bucket up about 3/4 full, I'm able to get a decent shower with lower water usage. I still need to get better pressure from it, so I'm looking into that aspect, but if I sit in the tub, the pressure is just fine.

I'm still in need of parts for the VAWT, should be able to scam, er, locate the parts soon. Mostly I'm in need of sheet aluminum for the blades. There's a few people I know putting up some siding, so mayhap I can swipe, er, negotiate about 6 linear feet. I'll see...

North facing home. 5 winters with ice and snow in front. I wonder if I can put a big reflector/concentrator in front of my place so that I can melt the ice on nice, sunny days. I'll have to do some reseacrh on it, already found The Solar Death Ray site. I'll need to do some calcs, find some mirrors, build the thing, and then make sure I don't fry anybody in the process. Problems I can see so far: Need to build large enough to be effective, small enough to be practical. Power needs to be concentrated enought to heat snow and ice to above 45(?) degrees. (Somewhat higher than freezing, will ensure that water doesn't refreeze before runoff/evaporation. Runoff, Hmmm. Gotta make sure I don't melt snow and form ice downhill. Somebody might get hurt. Possibility of 'softening' the snow to make shoveling easier (only if only alternative). Lemme look into it. I'll post here an on pasolarhome.com