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Things in our life sure do change and grow!
For a current (2026) update on our much expanded AE system go to the bottom of
this page. But meantime, this is where we started! |
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1983 - Our first solar electric PV panels! |
1985 - Finally on the finished House |
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 1987
- Homemade Tracker |
1993 - The Array Grows |
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1994
our "new" (used) Solar Heating Panels |
1996 - and Grows |
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1997 - the trees in front of the house grew
(surprise!) so the array had to move. Might as well add a few more panels while
we're at it. |
Windmill & Solar Panels - 2000
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Inverter in Entryway (much quieter!) - 2004 |
System control center - 2006
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2007 - always room for a few more, especially for
these used, repurposed panels from a large dismantled commercial array in the
Southwest. They had many more years of life in them and we appreciated the
addition to our power. . |
2015 - Time for newer, more powerful panels -- Four 250-watt Solar World panel plus two Kyocera 135-watt
panels for a total of 1,135 watts at 24 volts. (Some of our old
panels were passed on to someone else who was just beginning their
solar adventure! Plus, a few of them have found use here and there
on the homestead). |
February 27, 2019 - Another upgrade -- New Solar panel finally mounted - in
the snow
Last fall a friend gave us a good deal on one of the last Solar World
300-watt panels but we didn't get it installed before the snows came. The
other day I (Steve) decided it was time to get it out in the sun where it can help
us out during the coming cloudy days.
The new panel will add about
20% to our charging capacity; up from 1135 to 1435 watts. We'll notice the
increase in power mostly on cloudy days. The temporary mount is made from
poplar 2x4's and four aluminum angle brackets. I had to dig 2-1/2 feet down
to find the ground. I was going to adjust it a little but the bases are
frozen in the snow already so it is there until spring - which may
be some time in April. We had a high temperature near 20 degrees today but
the sun was out and the wind was light so it was a fun project.
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2020 - an abundance of power |
For those cloudy short days of early winter |
Fall/Winter 2019 Update
In the summer 2019 we
noticed that our solar system didn't seem to be fully charging the
batteries as it should. We checked the
batteries periodically throughout the fall and early winter and made
some adjustments to the controller. Over a period of several months
there seemed to be a significant loss of battery capacity so we
decided to install one more 300 watt panel and replace the controller.
The existing controller, a Solar Boost 50 was probably working fine
but the new panel made the array too large for the 50 amp
controller. The new one is an Outback
FlexMax-80. The increase in capacity was welcome and the Outback controller
setup is more user
friendly.
At that time we also hooked up a battery desulfator
with the hope that it might help bring
those tired Lead Acid batteries back to life. The combination
of the additional panel, new controller and modified settings on the
diverson controller worked well and the batteries recovered and
served us well until the fall of 2021.
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Fall 2021 -- A Big Change
As we were approaching winter it became evident that our old lead-acid
deep cycle batteries (the red-topped ones in the photo) weren't going to
have the ability to get us through those long
dark days and nights. Those 12 6-volt batteries were installed in
December
of 2015 so they gave us good service for over five years -
which is about average for that type of battery in a system like ours.
At a cost of about $1,200 that worked out to an 'electric bill' of less
than $20 per month for the last 5+ years. After doing lots of
research we decided it was time to upgrade our system to Lithium Iron
Phospate (LiFePo4) batteries.
 Although
the new batteries cost significantly more than our old set they should
have a longer lifespan than the lead-acid batteries and outperform them too. If we take care
of them these new batteries should last at least 15 years and perhaps as
long as 20 years. They will also provide almost three times the usable
storage.
Another advantage of these batteries is that there are
only six
of them and they each weigh noticeably less than the old ones. The
installation went well and the solar charge controller and
inverter/charger settings have been updated. It has been fun watching
the meters which have been confirming that the batteries are performing
as expected.
2021 AE System Components
Here
are the current (2021) components in our system:
· 4 -
250-watt Solar World panels
· 1 - 300-watt Solar World
panel
· 2 - 135-wat 12 volt Kyocera panels in series
Total charging capacity = 1435 watts
· Outback
FlexMax-80 charge controller
· Magnum 4000 watt, 24
volt sine wave inverter
· Samlex 20 Amp 24 volt DC
to 12 volt DC converter
· Trimetric Volts/Amps/AmpHrs
Meter
· Homemade Arduino microcontroller-based
diversion controller
· 6 - Ampere Time 12-volt, 200 AmpHr
Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries
(3 sets of
2 batteries for 660 AmpHrs at 24 volts)
· Appropriate fuses, circuit breakers and disconnects
(updated
12/2021 ss)
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2025 -- So Many Changes in Just the last Four Years
The technology and equipment of solar electric systems keeps changing and
advancing and we have benefitted by those changes, allowing upgrades to our
power system that we had never envisioned several decades ago. We certainly
never thought we would be thinking, planning for, and using such unheard of uses
(in the "old" days) such as electric stove, electric oven, even electric heat on
the small homestead! Our first PV panels were 32 watts 12 volt panels ($400
each) -- our newest 200 watt 24 volts (at $150 each!). I now often cook on a
(small) electric burner, and use a likewise small counter-top electric oven. We
even use small electric heaters when we have enough power. And this year another
very big change when we retired our venerable and much loved water-pumping
windmill and installed an electric deep-well pump. We're enjoying it all.
We still live in the Upper Midwest with low sun in the winter so we do manage
our lives around that. But living with Nature and her many faces of weather is
part of what we love about living here. And the upgrades keep coming, thanks to
Steve's ability to do all the work involved in working them into our 45 years of
ever-changing power system. So for now, more batteries, more panels in the
ever-expanding array, new equipment in the control arena, and new plans and
ideas for next year!
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May 6, 2026 -- Snow is Gone
- Spring Projects Begin!
It doesn't take long to become
immersed in outdoor Spring projects. Steve's "project" is, and has
been, multi-faceted, starting this winter when he realized he could
make a significant expansion to our solar power system with a few
new components, and a whole lot of work. So he spent many hours
designing the changes before hands-on work could begin with the
warmer weather. First was to design and then build a new rack for
the four new solar panels to be added. My only contribution was to
help install the panels, a fun part of the project. [mmm, now
that I think of it, I did get to help haul the new panels down to
the house, on a slightly overloaded sled, when they arrived last
month while we still had a lot of snow on the ground. Putting them
up was a lot easier!]. It's quite a collection of PV
panels now, one we certainly didn't envision when we bought our
first two panels 45 years ago!
Next was to rewire the entire
array, with the help of a fancy new combiner box. New technology
does make a few things a bit easier.
Now to finish up the changes
needed inside.
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Copyright © by Susan Robishaw & Steve Schmeck |
Our favorite sources for alternative energy
information are...
Home Power Magazine, POB 520,
Ashland OR 97520, 916-475-0830
http://www.homepower.com
THE print source on alternative energy; it was the first
and is still the best.
Midwest Renewable Energy Association, 7558 Deer Rd, Custer WI 54423,
715-592-6595, info@the-mrea.org,
https://www.midwestrenew.org
MREA is responsible for the largest and oldest renewable energy fair the third weekend
in June (Solstice Weekend). Highly recommended if you are at all interested in
alternative energy or alternative lifestyles and ideas.
Backwoods Solar Electric Systems, 1589
Rapid Lightning Rd, Sandpoint, Idaho 84864, 208-263-4290,
http://backwoodssolar.com/
Good folks, good information, good prices. We've dealt with them for many, many
years and send people to them regularly. Check them out.
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