Lofty Goals

I know I know, sometimes those titles are kinda lame. But I tire of the boring old "Just the facts ma'm."

So I put the loft flooring in... well... sheesh... I guess it's been a month now. It's hard to believe it's been that long. Christy and I are really pleased with it. What a difference an extra inch makes. The flooring is 2x6 tongue and groove yellow pine. It  feels so substantial and solid compared to the plywood. No more having to worry if we''ll break through the floor.

Last week I started work on our ground-mount PV system. I began by digging 6 3-4' deep holes for the piers to support the system. Afterwards I placed 8" and 12" Quik-tubes for the front and rear piers, respectively. Given the tilt of the array, the rear piers needed to be dug deeper and be more substantial (there's that word, again), hence the different diameters. Certainly I could have used 12" all around but that meant more concrete. I then set 1.5" schedule 40 steel pipe in the piers. Then it was basically building a jungle gym - at least it felt that way. I kept wanting to climb it - an urge I eventually gave in to.

I ended up having to use three different types of framing system in order to make things work with the module orientation (portrait). If I had gone with a landscape configuration I could've done without the intermediary framing system (Unistrut) and gone exclusively with SnapNrack. The latter being what the panels are mounted to. See here for clarification on the difference between PV module, panels, and array.

The only things I'm missing are: wiring, AC disconnect, junction box, and microinverter installation hardware. I should have all those things in by early next week. Conservatively speaking, I should be done by the 1st. That'll give me two weeks to get the system inspected in time to meet the state deadline to qualify for the RE credit.

Second PV Installation

I recently had the opportunity to help out with another PV installation with neighbor and friend David Zachow. This installation was for a previous customer of David's who was doing an upgrade. We installed an additional 1.7kW to an existing 3kW system. It was a fairly easy installation given the low pitch of the roof and previous work done. Overlooking the surrounding verdant country side didn't hurt either.The owners treated David and I to dinner afterwards and tons of produce from their garden.

This is the s**t!

Check out my pile of horse manure! I got it from a woman down the street who has 5 horses. While we were at her farm shoveling s**t, one of the horses had her head inside the back of the Subaru sniffing around. We also got to pet baby goats and saw chickens and roosters. It makes me want to have livestock. One day....

So this manure will sit in this pile for two months, and I will turn it over every few days, and it will go through a heat cycle which will kill weed seeds and fly larvae. That's my compost thermometer in the middle. Today it reads 61° with an ambient temperature of 42°. Then I will use it as fertilizer this summer on the vegetables. You know farmers call manure "black gold" because it's so helpful for getting the right nutrients to the plants. Worms love it, and worms are good for the garden!

I planted peas outside on Sunday night. Indoors I have tomatoes sprouting, and beets, chard, cabbage, lettuce, and kale growing right along. Thrilled that Spring is here! What are you all planting this year?

Mr. Brown, Tear Down This Permit!

One of the many days we've been waiting for has arrived - we passed our Certificate of Occupancy inspection this afternoon! We met the county building code requirements and so now can legally move in. Yeah, right!

So even though we have our CO it's feeling somewhat anticlimactic because we still have quite a bit more work to do. Here's the short list:

• Loft Flooring
• Porch
• Cabin Flooring
• Shower
• Bathroom Flooring
• Cabinets
• Sand Plaster Walls

This doesn't include side projects like garden prep/planting and installing the PV system, all of which are, thankfully, in progress. I dug the footer holes for the PV system this morning and got the building inspector to verify they're at the requisite depth. And Christy has been working on the garden pretty much everyday - even after work.

Anticlimacticism (a made-up word) aside, I'm feeling really good. This day validates that doing what Christy and I are doing is achievable for anyone. This is doable.

Solar Site Analysis

I did some site work for the PV system yesterday. The site is situated between the cabin and the garden. I chose this location because it meets two important criteria - solar access and proximity to the cabin. The former was gauged using a device called a Solar Pathfinder. It provides a visual representation of the "solar window" by showing unwanted shading throughout the year and potential insolation. It's a really handy, must-have device.

PV site location

Viewing the "solar window"

So Much So Quickly

We're on a roll here at 542 Diamond Knob Road. Within the last two weeks we've started seedlings indoors, installed the ceiling fan, installed one of two kitchen counters, got running water (hot and cold) in the cabin, and put in temporary front steps.

Ben & Christy chllin' on Ben's handy-work.

Hot water tank finds home.

My First Post-Classroom PV Installation

Over the past week I've been helping my neighbor David install his second personal PV system. David is a master electrician and owns a PV Installation business. I had volunteered to help him with this installation since it was so close, and I've been wanting to get some more practice in. It's been over a year since I had taken the PV Design and Installation class in Tucson. Well we completed the installation yesterday. It's a 2.6kW on-grid system that's tied into he and his wife, Annie's, Stone Barn Inn. Their other system is also on-grid but with battery backup that sits atop their greenhouse and is tied into their home.










The shallow pitch of the roof made the panel installation much more manageable.
 

 SMA inverter along with DC & PV AC disconnect




And, while were on the topic of PV systems, Christy and I ordered the equipment for our own system. This is a big day for me. I've been wanting this quite some time. We're installing a 2kW on-grid system. Our plan is to convert to off-grid in the future. We're going with on-grid w/o battery backup initially because of time  and cost constraints. I had applied for a renewable energy rebate with the state of Virginia late last year and the system has to be installed and inspected by May 13th. An off-grid system with battery backup is more complicated and time consuming to install. As for the financial aspect of it, an off-grid system with battery backup is considerably more expensive than what we're presently doing. After the state rebate ($2/Watt) and the 30% Federal tax incentive, we'll have spent less than $5K for a system that would otherwise cost well over $10K. Another thing contributing to the lower cost is the fact that I'll be doing the installation myself.

Life is great!

Agua, Wasser, H2O

Oh how we love that miraculous molecule. We love it even more when it comes out of a faucet, and when it flushes a toilet. I'm very happy to announce that Christy and I now have running water in the cabin, albeit cold water. The kitchen sink, bathroom sink, and toilet are all operational. I'm getting a 20 gallon water heater this coming weekend.

There's been a mad dash lately to get the cabin ready for a CO (Certificate of Occupancy) inspection. The building inspector that I've been working with is being replaced after next week. I'm not wanting to take any chances that the new person will be too "by the book" and require us to redo something. The only things that I need to complete by next Tuesday are:

• Install hot water heater and run piping
• Build stairs for the front door
• Cover any unterminated light fixtures/outlets

Because of the rushed schedule I ended up placing the pressure tank under the kitchen counter (where the dishwasher will eventually reside). In the coming months I'll move the pressure tank outside and bury it near the wellhead.

20 gallon pressure tank with sediment filter















What a feeling it is!

Signs of Life

Yay, the garlic has sprouted! After spending this brutal winter out there in the wind, snow, and single digit frozen ground, the garlic said, "Hey, I'm fine. Spring is here!" Garlic is one of those crops that has to be planted in the fall and spend the winter in the ground.

I think the important things I did were put the cloves 4 inches below the ground per Mike Burton's recommendation, and insulate them with a thick mulch of hay (which I will later curse because it had a bunch of hayseed in it).

Indoors we have red and green cabbage, lacinato and hanover kale, beets, chard, and lettuce going.

Look at the way they lean toward the sun. I was worried about damping off fungus problems, because I had trouble with that last year, and I think I figured out what I was doing wrong. I was dumping water on them from a glass instead of misting them. This makes the soil really wet and creates an environment in which fungus can thrive. The fungus can kill the weak little seedlings. So I let them dry out a little, and started only misting, and the white hair-looking stuff is gone.

What do you all want to grow this season?

Goodbye and good riddance to cell phones!

As one more step toward sustainability, we canceled our cell phone account. Recently I've been paying more attention to the talk about how holding a wireless device next to your head all the time CAN'T BE A GOOD IDEA. The official studies that are funded by communications companies which are making a KILLING off everyone buying a new cell phone every 2 years say it's really fine and won't cause you to grow a tumor behind your ear, but I'm suspicious. Plus we can't afford the bill for $90 a month anymore with only one income. So we got a land line, canceled the account, and just keep the phones in the cars now with some pay-as-you-go minutes on them for times when we end up in a ditch and need to call for help. They say that people in rural areas are actually exposed to more electromagnetic radiation from their phones because their phones have to work harder to communicate with far away cell towers. Here's some good information: http://www.ewg.org/cellphoneradiation/fullreport. To all my loved ones, please consider reducing your usage.