A Moody Day and Harnessing the Sun
Well, it was another of those moody weather days yesterday and for those of you that read my recent post on the subject, you’ll know that meant I was out prowling the scene for a good shot. A late afternoon walk by the lake here at Markham gave me exactly that, and thanks to my little point-and-shoot I managed to capture the moment while Polly patiently waited for me to finish (the dog is used to my photographic ADHD lapses by now).
A bit like days of past these last glorious rays of the day seemed to portent for today, but in a very good way. You see we’re getting solar installed! So, as I watched the mighty sun fade away I dreamed of harnessing that power with the 600 Watts of panels that we’re getting on the roof today. I won’t spoil all the fun, but will just tease you a tad by revealing that I’ve got a few posts coming on the whole solar thing. As with all things, it was waaaay more complicated than we originally dreamed and yet surprisingly simple in the end, but then the path to off-the-gridhood is written by many trials and experiences. So….until then…enjoy the shot!
I LOVE this photo! Once we are on the road ourselves, I hope to hone my photo skills again.
Thank you! And would love to see your shots when you get back out there! Nina
Very fine picture! We’re celebrating morning and evening skies here in Benson, AZ, as well, but we don’t have a handy lake to catch a reflection. You have a good eye; thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the lovely comment 🙂 It is quite a treat to have the lake handy (for reflections), but I do love those West Coast sunsets too! We’ll probably be there next year. Nina
On the solar install – I’m sure that you have done your homework, but a couple of points. What ever wire is used, go larger. Plan for more panels in the future (a controller that an handle more power if you decide to add more) Watch for shadow areas. Not much shadow can have a large effect on the output of the panels (on the negative side).
If you have not done so, a good place to do a little reading is Jack’s site http://www.jackdanmayer.com/rv_electrical_and_solar.htm He has done many installs.
I am currently correcting many of the ‘errors’ that were made in ours and so far, have doubled the output at minimal expense. The next step is going to cost.
Travel safe – Bill
Bill. Yup we did ALOT of research in the solar and Jack Mayer’s site was one of them. Handybob was another big resource. Will be starting our write up, resources and discoveries this week.