Fall Protection

May 10, 2017

Probably my single biggest goal of building my own solar system is simply to NOT FALL OFF MY ROOF! Once I got the first piece of solar racking up, I had a brace which let me get ON the roof. At that point, I realized that the metal roofing is INSANELY slippery and would NOT […]

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Solar Racking Begins!

May 8, 2017

I finally had a chance to start installing the Racking! My package with the S-5! clamps showed up, and I was able to begin the racking during two evenings of this past week. Let’s state two things right off the bat: 1) I am NOT a professional. I do not make a living doing this […]

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Solar Road Trip!

April 30, 2017

Today, we headed out on a road trip to pick up the solar panels for my garage. My brother, Wayne, and I hitched up my multipurpose trailer to the van and hit the road to go see Phil Manke at Practical Solar in Wautoma, Wisconsin. Phil runs a solar hot water installation business. He also […]

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Solar Experimenting

April 9, 2017

Spring is Sprung! It was the first Saturday of spring with some actual nice warm sunny weather, so that means it’s time to experiment with solar! A couple of weeks ago, I got a few used Enphase micro-inverters in the mail. My buddy, Russ, (https://www.youtube.com/user/rwg42985) had found some inverters at an electronics salvage yard near […]

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Insulation Day!

March 15, 2017

We got most of the insulation in today! And by “We”, I mean the crew that I hired. After running the numbers on the cost of just buying insulation, plus the trips to and from the big box store, it doesn’t actually cost all that much more to hire some pros to do it. The […]

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Insulation, Doors, and Solar Cables

March 11, 2017

Two weeks ago, I got the bid from the insulation company. Because of their economy of scale, and having a nice box truck and other equipment handy, the insulation company can insulate my garage for not a whole lot more than if I went to the big box home improvement store and bought insulation to […]

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Solar Proposal

February 27, 2017

This past week, I turned in my proposal for my solar electric system to the local power utility. Here’s the equipment I’ll be using and why. Please keep in mind that there’s more than one way to design a solar electric system. What is right for me may not be right for you, but I […]

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Garage Update Feb 9 2017

February 9, 2017

  Time for a Garage Update! Ross the Electrician has been over a few times lately, and got most of the rough wiring done. The downstairs is wired for plenty of wall outlets, two electric car chargers, an electric boiler, and plenty of switched outlets in the ceiling for the LED shop-lights. There will also […]

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Garage Progress, Jan 3 2016

January 3, 2017

…After that, it was time to install the skylights. SKYLIGHTS!?!!? In a garage!?!? Yup….

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Solar Pathfinding

December 17, 2016

The last two days, I was working with my friend, Kurt. Kurt and his wife, Monica, helped out on the garage a little while back when I was putting in the Pex tubing for the hydronic heat. Kurt mentioned that Monica had a Solar Path Finder. I asked if I could borrow it, and sure […]

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