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Hello,
I'm a 58 year old retired empty nester in Sierra Vista, AZ, adjacent to Ft. Huachuca and about 70 miles SE of Tucson at 4,600' elevation. My electric provider is Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative (SSVEC). I am in a 2,300 sq foot stucco house with just enough zero shaded south facing (171 degree) asphalt shingle roof space (22 degree pitch) for 16 65"x40" panels directly on top of my electrical service panel. This roof is over the garage, so a battery bank is an easy proposition. I do have enough space along my north fence to put in an additional 8 panels in portrait orientation ground mounted facing south although the two end panels would border on being overshaded in the morning/evening - an unlikely option I refer to as 'the winter string'. It exists (in my mind) primarily to utilize the extra panels I anticipate from a pallet purchase. I plan to be here 'forever'.
I am keeping a folder with a few design options handy such that if I decide to 'pull the trigger' on installing a system I could get all the trucks rolling within hours, until then I just try to keep track of battery, charge controller, and inverter technology to keep my feet in the water - call it a 'virtual hobby'. Also, I supplement that by wandering around plugging my Kill-A-Watt meter into holes in the wall, taking a clipboard and stopwatch out to my electric meter, and asking the wife "I thought we talked about this" referring to trying to be "not incredibly stupid" about our electricity usage habits.
I started life with four years as an avionics technician in the USAF (A-7D and A-10A). Then did another four years as an Instrumentation and Control tech at Duval Copper Mine near Green Valley, Arizona. Then got my BSEE (actually Computer Engineering, not to be confused with Computer Science) from University of Arizona (the MIT of the West). Capped that all off with 30 years as a Senior Test Engineer and Project Manager for a few Department of Defense contractors based here at Ft. Huachuca, all testing various acquisitions from spy satellites to tactical radios to accounting software.
I am occasionally working on a solar shading analysis tool that [I think] puts Solar Pathfinder to shame and can be performed with most any digital camera and free software. Not for profit, just because I can. I have designed and installed three RV systems and a off-grid system for a cabin.
I think that fulfills the introduction portion.
With so many threads on this board, and the awkward turns and hijacking of threads (which occur on every board) to review, I am sure that it will be quite a while before you see me start a topic, However, some areas I will be keeping an especially sharp eye on include:
1. Best racking option for the 16 panel array on the garage. Changes yearly I'm sure. Actually looking more so for 'Do Not Use' recommendations.
2. Data logging and analysis tools provided with components. (if I had a nickel for every 'not implemented yet' or 'TBD' in the MATE3 manual I could afford my dream system...)
3. How can I best get the power from my winter string (NW corner of property) to the main solar control center (SE corner) with house in the middle.
4. If I go solar, should I convert my evaporative cooler and/or furnace fan to DC operation (I will never switch over to air conditioning).
5. Batteries, batteries, batteries. I have loved/hated them all of my life, even their cables. In particular, recently, how will Tesla going from 18650 to 2170 affect the next generation Powerwall and similar. Has spawned a minor theoretical only interest in micro-hydro and compressed air.
6. Homemade trackers. I love it when somebody uses a self propelled lawnmower to slew a pole mounted array that could sail a frigate.
So, if anyone has been thinking about a thought on any of those areas, if you start a thread I will read and participate. If you post here a link to an existing thread you don't think I should miss, I would appreciate it. Until then, I'll just be grazing through the topics and replying when I think it would be fun for me (or fun for you).
PS What exactly does 'Mark Channels Read' mean/do? Haven't found it yet in the Help.
I'm a 58 year old retired empty nester in Sierra Vista, AZ, adjacent to Ft. Huachuca and about 70 miles SE of Tucson at 4,600' elevation. My electric provider is Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative (SSVEC). I am in a 2,300 sq foot stucco house with just enough zero shaded south facing (171 degree) asphalt shingle roof space (22 degree pitch) for 16 65"x40" panels directly on top of my electrical service panel. This roof is over the garage, so a battery bank is an easy proposition. I do have enough space along my north fence to put in an additional 8 panels in portrait orientation ground mounted facing south although the two end panels would border on being overshaded in the morning/evening - an unlikely option I refer to as 'the winter string'. It exists (in my mind) primarily to utilize the extra panels I anticipate from a pallet purchase. I plan to be here 'forever'.
I am keeping a folder with a few design options handy such that if I decide to 'pull the trigger' on installing a system I could get all the trucks rolling within hours, until then I just try to keep track of battery, charge controller, and inverter technology to keep my feet in the water - call it a 'virtual hobby'. Also, I supplement that by wandering around plugging my Kill-A-Watt meter into holes in the wall, taking a clipboard and stopwatch out to my electric meter, and asking the wife "I thought we talked about this" referring to trying to be "not incredibly stupid" about our electricity usage habits.
I started life with four years as an avionics technician in the USAF (A-7D and A-10A). Then did another four years as an Instrumentation and Control tech at Duval Copper Mine near Green Valley, Arizona. Then got my BSEE (actually Computer Engineering, not to be confused with Computer Science) from University of Arizona (the MIT of the West). Capped that all off with 30 years as a Senior Test Engineer and Project Manager for a few Department of Defense contractors based here at Ft. Huachuca, all testing various acquisitions from spy satellites to tactical radios to accounting software.
I am occasionally working on a solar shading analysis tool that [I think] puts Solar Pathfinder to shame and can be performed with most any digital camera and free software. Not for profit, just because I can. I have designed and installed three RV systems and a off-grid system for a cabin.
I think that fulfills the introduction portion.
With so many threads on this board, and the awkward turns and hijacking of threads (which occur on every board) to review, I am sure that it will be quite a while before you see me start a topic, However, some areas I will be keeping an especially sharp eye on include:
1. Best racking option for the 16 panel array on the garage. Changes yearly I'm sure. Actually looking more so for 'Do Not Use' recommendations.
2. Data logging and analysis tools provided with components. (if I had a nickel for every 'not implemented yet' or 'TBD' in the MATE3 manual I could afford my dream system...)
3. How can I best get the power from my winter string (NW corner of property) to the main solar control center (SE corner) with house in the middle.
4. If I go solar, should I convert my evaporative cooler and/or furnace fan to DC operation (I will never switch over to air conditioning).
5. Batteries, batteries, batteries. I have loved/hated them all of my life, even their cables. In particular, recently, how will Tesla going from 18650 to 2170 affect the next generation Powerwall and similar. Has spawned a minor theoretical only interest in micro-hydro and compressed air.
6. Homemade trackers. I love it when somebody uses a self propelled lawnmower to slew a pole mounted array that could sail a frigate.
So, if anyone has been thinking about a thought on any of those areas, if you start a thread I will read and participate. If you post here a link to an existing thread you don't think I should miss, I would appreciate it. Until then, I'll just be grazing through the topics and replying when I think it would be fun for me (or fun for you).
PS What exactly does 'Mark Channels Read' mean/do? Haven't found it yet in the Help.
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