Solar electric system-Return to sustainability menu

	The new panel! So this should be it for the next year or so.
	The new battery installed... seems to work fine and it holds a much higer charge.
	August 17th 2008. The new battery has arrived!
	All of them are put on... but they are wrong way round so tomorrow I'll redo them!! Then on to the electrics!
	August 27, 2008 putting up another set of solar cells on the newly designed solar cell rack.
	The Brake for the windmill I made from a switch. Note that when turned on all the three phase wires contact each other effectively stopping the blades even in high winds.
	the recitifer (150 amp) and heat sink.
	The rather crowded panel!
	A closeup of the solar cell rack.
	The windmill in the background, the solar cells and the newly made hatch for easy access from the inside of the barn.
	Her is the crowded panel. I 'm just installing the diversion load controller.
	The wiring at the Barn just outside the battery and controllers... getting a little crowded?
	These where the rectifiers that I was going to use but I decided to use ones that used screws so I got a better contact. So I have ordered new ones .
	The solar cell controller
	Jan 15, 2008. The trench is finally filled in... and to think the ground was not frozen! A good example of working with the weather.
	Jan 15, 2008 Jean help[ing fill in the trench after helping me pull the lines through the conduit. Here is a case of community helping each other.
	Jan 15, 2008 The trench being dug for the wqater heater line
	Dec 16, 2007This is how I suppliment the solar panels until I get the windmill operational. which I monitor with this plug in meter. So far what seems to happen is that the charger takes varying acounts of electricty depending on the solar cell collection and my useage.
	Dec 16, 2007 -The solar Cell controller showing about 137 watts on a very overcast day.
	Dec 5, 2007-I was worried about the battery being cold as the barn has no heat so I put some two inch foam around the battery.
	Solar cells, four 123 watt units, mounted on the roof of the large barn/sailplane shop. Below the solar cells is my rain water collection system which proved very useful in the very dry summer of 2007
	Roof top view of the solar cells
	Close up of the solar cell stand I designed.
	The electric panel, including the biodiesel generator, the inverter, charger and controllers. Part of the oil expeller is on the left. The large black object on the right is the fork lift battery.