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PV

CHAdeMO Relay Hack, Switch, and Testing

November 11, 2021

Continuing work on my CHAdeMO Vehicle to Home project… On the Mitsubishi iMiEV electric car, it’s totally possible to activate power to the CHAdeMO port WITHOUT needing to use CAN bus signals. It can be done completely analog, with just a few simple 12V signals. Part of the reason why is that the relay which […]

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Solar Savings – August 2019

September 9, 2019

I just got my electric bill for this past month. Let’s open it up and see what it comes to! August was relatively cool, so we didn’t use the air-conditioning much. That’s important, as what I PAY for electricity is simply the difference between how much I make with the solar and how much I […]

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The Long Shadow – Winter Solar Shading

December 17, 2018

We’re coming up fast on the winter solstice! It’s been sunny the last few days, a nice change to all the cloudy weather we have had for so long! However, the sunny weather also reveals the LONG shadows cast this time of year! My garage does NOT have IDEAL solar access, but it’s pretty good. […]

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November Electric Bill

December 15, 2018

I recently got my November electric bill, but set it off to the side until I had the chance to open it on camera. Since installing solar, my electric bill has often been NEGATIVE, but with the bad weather and short days, what would it be this month!? After opening the bill, I saw that […]

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Solar Ammo Can Disconnect Switch

July 26, 2018

On the original Solar Ammo Can project, I got a few questions about a battery Disconnect Switch. “Don’t we need one?” Well, the answer is NO, but let’s discuss this deeper. Many battery chargers can become a slow drain on a battery if they are left permanently connected, but are NOT powered up. That’s not […]

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June 2018 Solar Savings

July 6, 2018

I’m weird. I know it. I look FORWARD to getting my electric bill. On the other hand, it’s gotten much easier to take knowing that it’s most likely that the power company OWES ME! In this month’s electric bill, not only did I NOT have to pay, but the electric utility owes me $18.07. That’s […]

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Solar Ammo Can

March 2, 2018

With my recent work in solar, quite a few people have started asking me about designing small BATTERY-based solar systems. I thought it would be nice to work on a project demonstrating basic solar battery charging principals, and at the same time, have a handy and useful project when I was done. Thus, the Solar […]

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Snow-cover on my Solar Panels!

December 9, 2017

I woke up this morning to a gray half-light, and a blanket of snow covering everything…. including my solar panels! Hmmm. What would this do to my solar power production? To find out, I thought I would clear the snow off as many of the panels as I could and see what the difference would […]

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Solar Shading

December 6, 2017

A few weeks ago, I started noticing a shadow creeping up to the solar panels on my garage. Sure enough, in winter the sun would be low enough in the sky for the shadow of a pine tree in my front yard to start blocking solar panels! What’s a person to do?! Well, other than […]

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Solar REBATE Arrives!

September 11, 2017

Through the window of the envelope, I could just make out the words “PAY TO THE ORDER OF” above my name and address. Could it be? Was this finally my SOLAR REBATE CHECK!?…

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