Full week's production

A week's production of 147.47 kWh

Here's a perfectly smooth chart of today's production of 23.4 kWh. I'm in Milwaukee, but there must not have been a cloud in the sky back home!

First full day of production

It appears I won't be able to keep a live link detailing realtime electricity production on the blog b/c a user name and password is required to access the data on the Kaco server, and I'd rather not post that info for some unscrupulous person to abuse. I will, however, post recaps on occasion, and the first full day of generating electricity is one of those occasions. Ignore the erroneous data to the left of 4:00 am; it's an artifact from yesterday and the fact that that data was still recorded on German time. The day was actually fairly cloudy, so I am pleased with the numbers overall. You have to remember that the panels are only tilted at 15 degrees to the south; not exactly optimal for this time of the year with the sun relatively low to the horizon even at noon. However, we've already generated over 20 kw since recording started late yesterday afternoon. I leave for Milwaukee tomorrow, but it will be nice to stay in touch with the local photons anytime I want to log on.

Let the Photon Harvest Festival Begin!

Bryan and Kenny making the switch

Bitte Herr Kaco, Sprecken sie Englisch?

Testing the generator

To Photon Farmers Everywhere: CHEERS!

Last night was a full moon, so we sacrificed some chicken fajitas to the coyote, and he decided to finally give us a break. The morning dawned crisp, clear and calm. Pat and Lee arrived about 9:30, and then Kenny and Bryan from CMEC showed up right on time at 10:00 with two spiffy new electronic smart meters.Within about 10 minutes we were up and running! We went through shutting off the utility power to demonstrate that the inverter would not back-feed the grid (and potentially electrocute line workers). Same for the standby generator. The only glitch was trying to get Mr Kaco (the inverter) to stop speaking in German. We finally found the right menu and switched him over. Now we're happily making more juice than we're drinking. I went online and registered the WatchDOG ethernet card with Kaco and I'm waiting to hear back from them concerning my login info. When I get that, I plan to post a live link for all to see. Kenny thinks that the coop will be buying REC credits from its members very soon, so we'll look forward to that eagerly. We celebrated with some champagne and said our farewells to Pat and Lee. Ever since the solar seminar I attended exactly 3 months ago, these folks have been an absolute pleasure to work with, completely professional, competent and flexible. I highly recommend Better World Solar to anyone who is considering a PV system in the Albuquerque area.

Final Building Inspection Complete

Pat called this morning with the great news: tomorrow at 10:00 the coop will be here to plug in the rec meter and we can, at long, long last begin generating electricity. Dave, who installed the panels, brought county building inspector Jeff by this afternoon to sign off the final on the already built building as well as the solar installation. All blocks are now checked save the one from the coop. Tonight I labeled the new circuit breakers, a laborious process that was worth some cardio as I ran up and down the back stairs a few dozen times. After dark, I demonstrated what living on just the standby circuits powered by the generator would look like for Michelle. We were very pleased with the speed at which the Generac started up and the high quality of the power it provided (no flickering at all). Tomorrow, we will hopefully have a Photon Harvest Celebration! Stay tuned.

Major modifications to installation approved

This green tag should be made of GOLD!

Thankfully, the electrical inspector is not a reader-of-blogs, so he missed my rant from last night. He came out just now  and signed us off. He's actually a nice guy, so I thanked him for his prompt return to the scene of the crime, and he congratulated me for going solar. Okay coop, over to you...

Grievous errors caught!!!

You in a heap of trouble, boy

Oh, it's so much safer now

Pardon my sarcastic tone, but I've had just about enough of the coyote on this particular project, and I'm sure those actually doing the work feel the same way. I got up early and opened up the barn and the basement in preparation for the final electrical inspection. I waited all morning, but had to go walk the dogs for 20 minutes at 11:00. So, when did the inspector decide to arrive? Yep, and when we returned from our walk, there was a nasty correction notice on the main panel:
"1. Meet required clearances in front of electrical equipment"
"2. Install transfer switch for generator"
We'll get back to #1, but as to #2, sheesh, I left the basement door wide open and it was about 10' to the right of said generator. Said inspector had come out for the prelim last week and Jeremy had explained what the transfer switch looks like and where it would be (inside the basement). The flexible wiring conduit from the generator goes to a box on the outside wall...and then what? Well, since nothing else is attached, gee, it must go THROUGH THE WALL INTO THE BASEMENT where the transfer switch is located! OK, so it was my fault for not being there to answer to this particular charge.
As to #1, the code requires 3 feet of clearance from any electrical box (in this case, the rec meter) to the generator so as not to impede the numerous workmen constantly fiddling with it. Of course, once the meter is installed, it will never ever be touched again! So, Jeremy had to drive all the way back up here and shorten the conduit between the main box and the solar cutoff, thereby moving the cutoff and the rec meter box to the left of the generator. We also physically moved the generator over to the right on its pad. Rules is rules, especially in Bernalillo County. Jeremy will perform some remedial education using the generator owners manual on said inspector, and hopefully all t's will be crossed and i's dotted and everyone will be happy tomorrow. Jeremy has the patience of a saint, so I guess I'll follow his lead.
I just want to make some electricity from the sun. Waaaah

Hardware is all Finished

Outside and...

...inside. Inverter, Transfer Switch/Standby Circuit Breaker Panel, Canoe.

I don't know how late Jeremy stayed b/c Michelle and I went to our neighbor's for dinner, but when we returned, the inverter was installed in the basement and the box for the new meter was ready to receive its new component; a meter capable of running backwards. The county should be out to inspect tomorrow, and then it's all up to the coop. Still a question mark is the WatchDOG circuit board for enabling internet monitoring of the system. I see it's still in its box on top of the inverter. Hmmmm...

DC wiring harness from panels

Barn interior box moved and made legal

Jeremy and co came at 10:00 and fed the wires through the 100'+ of conduit: both DC from the panels and 220VAC back toward the barn for the inside service. They also moved Michelle's computer circuit to the transfer panel, so that's all complete now. I got a first look at the inverter, still in its packaging. It looks like the add-on WatchDOG monitoring card will require a hardwired ethernet hookup instead of WiFi, so we'll have to figure out how to get to the cable modem/router from the basement. Tomorrow should complete the install, and the inspector is expected on Tuesday. Keep your fingers crossed!
I picked Michelle up at the airport, and noticed these screens (picture to the right) as I was waiting. They provide info about the Sunport's 145 kW PV system consisting of over 400 panels installed over the parking garage. This system has produced over 71,000 kW hours to date. A nice way to offset some of the huge carbon footprint an airport has to have.

Troubleshooting the Generator

$10 fuse

I did some troubleshooting today and determined that the two 5 amp fuses on the utility sense circuits in the transfer switch were blown. These are not easy to find! I finally located a substitute fuse with the same rating at Summit Electrical supply in Albuquerque, and made the trip down the mountain to get replacements and extras. $10 each! Shut the power off, replaced the fuses and went through the Generator owner's manual steps for setting up automatic operation. All is well now, and the generator started and picked up the load as advertised. The transfer switch reset to utility power after I turned it back on. Excellent! While the generator was powering the standby circuits, I checked what was on and what was not in the house. Oh-oh, Michelle's computer was the missing circuit! We'll have to fix that tomorrow or there'll be hell to pay.

Service Upgrade/Generator Complete

Pieces Parts

Roy, Adam, Jeremy show their best sides

I told you it would be a lot prettier!

Inside the basement

I had a tough commute back home from Milwaukee this morning after working all night, but it was worth it to see Jeremy, Roy and Adam hard at work this afternoon. I called Pat from DFW and then he recorded a voicemail for me to hear on my cellphone when I landed at ABQ. Picked up some fried chicken for the guys and  got home about 3:30. The place is a mud pit with all the melting snow, but relatively warmer than it's been. By the time they left at dusk, then new service was installed and we're finally ready to hook up the inverter. Jeremy will come back on Sunday to do this, and then it's just a matter of getting the coop out again to switch out the meter. We started up the generator and it powered the basement lights, but would not auto-shutoff. Additionally, putting the main house garage on one of the 220v circuits looks to be problematic b/c of wiring issues. Also, there is an extra 110v circuit not wired to a house circuit, and this doesn't seem right to me. I'll take a look tomorrow after I get some sleep.

I got lucky with the huge storm this week. Fedex decided to shut down the Indianapolis sort, and the Milwaukee airport closed for several days, so I took my 757 to Memphis, my trip ended, and I came home. It's a good thing the trench is already dug with the nasty cold we're having. hopefully things will thaw out for next Friday. Pat emailed some dates and times for the Better World Solar commercial on KOB. They are:
2/3: 6:28 pm and 11:25 pm
2/5: 6:57 pm
2/6 5:08 am