Category Archives: Energy

Here’s a new renewable energy storage option.

What’s popping up in my news feeds thanks to the Climate Change conference is incredibly interesting! Here’s a new energy storage system now being tested off Lake Ontario. Makes sense given all those wind turbines we saw travelling through the … Continue reading

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Tesla’s battery for your home

I found this article while surfing the web today.  Sadly, the utilities themselves who could be embracing/profiting the most from this technology are actually the ones who are trying to squash it the most. By building a smart grid that … Continue reading

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Surge Protecting PV Arrays

My original design called for surge protection and I was getting sick and tired of powering down the array every time the weather looked threatening.  So I decided to remedy the situation before leaving on a two week vacation. SPDs … Continue reading

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The bottom line on our Solar Installation

Here’s the final breakdown for our Solar project (minus the required occasional trips to Home Depot…).  The bottom line is really quite good if you ask me! Do your own research on this then consider DIY Solar.  Its time!  Click … Continue reading

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Installing the 3KW addition

The 3 KW expansion required the addition of 6 more Renusol racks.  Each pair secured four 265W Suniva panels.  The rails themselves were fastened to the roof using EcoFasten GF flashing at 4 points.  Every other rail landed on an … Continue reading

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The 3KW expansion

It’s started!  I got an estimate for $8,850 yesterday and am meeting with our contractor on the 25th to submit my down payment/go over logistics.  We will be using the same panels/inverters/mounting system and once again, I’ll be doing the … Continue reading

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Another big leap for supercapacitive batteries.

I ran tracked this down after hearing an article on NPR this morning.  There has been a major leap forward in supercapacitor based energy density using straight-forward manufacturing techniques.  Expect this technology to start hitting all facets of the electrical … Continue reading

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Test driving the Tesla Model S.

Yesterday we took this car for a spin.  Its a Tesla Model S with the 85K+ performance package and all the toys you’d expect in a luxury automobile.  I’m a tough customer too since I’m used to the performance, luxury, … Continue reading

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Monitoring Array Output with TED

Monitoring array output is pretty simple with my TED5000.  Once I extended the computer room circuit up to the attic, I installed a new MTU, clamped the circuit taps around the array hot wires and registered everything using the web interface. … Continue reading

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We passed inspection! Commissioning is set for 9/13.

The inspector and my contractor showed up yesterday and the setup breezed through inspection.  Having a parallel PV installation was key here since it split out the existing residential/expense side of my electrical installation from the new commercial/revenue side. As … Continue reading

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