tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393Wed, 24 Jun 2026 02:53:31 +0000WVcheap PVnet metersolarCO2 offsetcoalconservationglobal warminggridtiesolar projectsPVclimate chagedecentralizepower billSRECcarbongrid tielocal economyoff gridpv incomepv schematicsmall solarsolar planswinterCO2 sequestrationDSLIRAaerationbroadbandcappingchinadata solardeep_drillingeclipseeconomy pv_pricesenergyeutrophicationfoodforestsgeothermalgooglegrantsgulfheat pumpincentivesindustriallunarmonitoringobama solar whitehouseoilonlinepower companypv financepv planspv_ financepv_costspv_costs solar_pricesremoterenewablerpssketchupsmall businesssnowsnowball earthsolar artsolar funsolar hot watersolar pumpsolar_pricessolars chematicsolsticestirling hot_air_engine solar_heattax creditstreesturbinesutilitieswindmillswireless bridgehttp://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Sunny Bob)Blogger46125en-ustag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-8690828235197668882Sun, 14 Jul 2013 19:07:00 +00002013-08-18T13:53:38.058-07:00CO2 offsetcoalconservationglobal warminggridtieoff gridsmall solarsolar planssolar projectswinterWV Solar PowerHouse. the modules in the background are gridtied and some can be switched to DC Battery wiring is a temporary set up to be upgraded .  Back on June 20th, I posted about a fairly simple yet sophisticated solar battery system. I finally got the last of the wiring done last week. In the top picture is the "PowerHouse" which I designed and had local Mennonites make as a http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2013/07/on-grid-off-grid-project-results.html1noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-496438601121071726Fri, 05 Jul 2013 19:12:00 +00002013-08-18T13:56:36.218-07:00carboncheap PVclimate chageCO2 offsetcoalconservationdecentralizeglobal warminggridtielocal economynet meteroff gridpower bill This idea came directly from my previous post on a practical PV backup system. I have some grid tied modules nearby my battery backup shed and wanted to employ the grid tied modules to help out when the power was down. I decided to switch 6 modules into a 2 x 3 panel series string to feed the charge controller. The above diagram represents one string. It will deliver >100 VDC @ ~8A. My http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2013/07/different-way-to-have-battery-backup-on.html0noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-3924343564644042672Thu, 20 Jun 2013 19:02:00 +00002013-08-18T13:58:27.344-07:00cheap PVclimate chageCO2 offsetconservationdecentralizeglobal warminggrid tiepower billpv schematic It's been awhile since I last posted on this blog. We have been quite busy with our PV and electronics businesses, not to mention all the chores. Anyhow, now that we are fully gridtied with more than our annual electric needs, I decided to develop a DIY kit for either grid backup or totally offgrid use. I knew it had to be kept simple, conservative, yet as a high performance system with http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2013/06/sensible-solar-battery-system.html0noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-2427874467366530698Sat, 16 Jul 2011 15:17:00 +00002011-07-16T09:43:23.738-07:00Since we have completed our PV expansion a few weeks ago, we have been piling up the KWh credits on our grid meter. According to our predictions, we could generate a surplus of 5 MWh (5000KWh) over the course of a year. This was no accident but a strategy to replace conventional fuels with solar power.The main appliance we obtained was a high efficiency heat pump made by Mitsubishi. It's purpose http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2011/07/filling-out-our-new-solar-economy.html0noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-4205984171812439625Mon, 13 Jun 2011 18:04:00 +00002011-06-13T12:30:56.718-07:00Many sites we visit to make a PV assessment have the house roof either facing the wrong way or is too shallow of a roof pitch. When the roof of the house or outbuilding is out of the running, ground mounting is a common solution. It can be a top of pole mount or a linear structure. In any event, factory made ground mounts are always much more expensive than roof mounting.We recently made a http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2011/06/alternative-solar-mounting-powerhouse.html0noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-4576558638046131631Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:27:00 +00002011-06-13T10:52:43.685-07:00Most people think solar won't work well in West Virginia. The fact of the matter is that WV has better solar irradiance than the Great Lakes states, New England, and even Germany which is the most PV developed country in the world.If you go to the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and look at their OpenPV site, you can click on any state and see the statistics gathered over many years. If you http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2011/06/solar-is-growing-in-west-virginia.html1noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-359173038194261233Tue, 31 May 2011 17:40:00 +00002011-05-31T11:25:24.250-07:00A few months ago, I posted about our plans to add on to our home PV system. This spring has been the most rainy one I've seen in a while. Needless to say, progress was slow on construction. Add to that a couple customer PV installs, and I'm amazed it is done at all.Anyway, we added over 4kw to our existing 3.6kw. The design of the mount was a prototype of a less expensive ground mounting. It is ahttp://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2011/05/pv-upgrade-finally-done.html0noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-5242683890450850536Fri, 08 Apr 2011 20:23:00 +00002011-04-10T13:44:44.049-07:00Exceptional drought in the southern midwest is spurring some to predict the beginning of another dust bowl. It's not just global warming but climate change that describes the effects of CO2 release. Think of all the recent severe weather and floods around the world.We must do all we can as individuals to stem our carbon output.http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2011/04/another-dust-bowl-starting.html0noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-2187964712437731434Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:49:00 +00002011-03-13T14:48:51.295-07:00pv incomepv_ financepv_costsrpssolar_pricesSRECWVWest Virginians with solar installations may sell their solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) to the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, and, Ohio. This monetary reward, up to 34 cents per kilowatt hour, helps to pay off the upfront costs of installing your own net metering PV system. It is essential to have this benefit to increase West Virginia's renewable energy content.Since WV has no http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2011/02/wv-needs-renewable-portfolio-standard.html0noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-125107106302403874Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:33:00 +00002011-01-22T14:17:57.338-08:00googleheat pumpIRAsketchupsolarSRECtax creditsWe just sold our first two SRECs (Solar Renewable Energy Credits) which are 1 Megawatt/hr blocks of energy from our PV array. The buyer actually does not buy the power itself, but the right to call it their renewable energy. We used all that power at home already for free, so its like getting paid twice at 2 to 3 times the going rate. The lucky buyer was Washington, DC for $250 each. We can alsohttp://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2011/01/solar-powered-iras.html1noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-5850189850701144027Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:17:00 +00002011-01-21T13:30:26.347-08:00conservationnet meterpower billThis is our power bill for December 2010 showing that we finally bought some net grid power from Allegheny Power (264KWh) Ever since the PV net meter system went online back in June, our bills have been virtually zip. Its hard to tell what we used per month last winter and spring because of the over-estimates the power company used. They are now required to read the meter every month and the net http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2011/01/power-bill.html0noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-5527588589503889685Sun, 02 Jan 2011 19:11:00 +00002011-01-02T12:15:15.949-08:00coaldeep_drillingenergygeothermalrenewableWVResearch produced by Southern Methodist University's Geothermal Laboratory, funded by a grant from Google.org, suggests that the temperature of the Earth beneath the state of West Virginia is significantly higher than previously thought and capable of supporting commercial geothermal electricity production. As seen in the above maps, which shows temperatures from 4.5 to 7.5 kilometers deep, a http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-west-virginia-energy-source.html0noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-2710555544404793097Wed, 29 Dec 2010 15:32:00 +00002010-12-29T08:10:45.369-08:00gridtienet metersolarWVAt the end of November we had a surprising 400-some KWh in credits on our meter. After 28 days of snow and clouds, I suspected we would have burned that up by far. When I checked the meter 12/28, I saw we had finally bought 122 net KWh from the grid. I never thought we could get this far into winter before dipping into the grid. The gridtie system has performed beyond expectations here in the http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2010/12/power-production-update.html0noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-3750691029586169453Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:18:00 +00002010-12-20T12:07:11.384-08:00eclipselunarPVsolsticeEver since near the end of November to present, our weather has been unusually cold, snowy, and cloudy. It's the kind of weather you would more expect in January. Needless to say, it really knocked a hole in our PV production. Our predicted harvest was for 216 KWh, the lowest month of the year. So far, we have only captured 96 KWh and it is the 20th already. This is where the climate averages http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2010/12/return-of-sun-eclipse-of-moon.html0noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-1131025738054857323Sat, 11 Dec 2010 20:39:00 +00002011-01-11T05:36:01.232-08:00One thing you can do on snowy days is to explore the capabilities of your computer. I regularly use Google Earth to study PV site for potential customers. This time I decided to model our proposed shop PV array using Google SketchUp (free, google it) The sketchup program can use Google Earth data for shadows and geophysical features. There's a control where you can set anytime of the day, any dayhttp://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2010/12/shadow-study.html1noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-6684812579317029279Sat, 11 Dec 2010 19:56:00 +00002010-12-11T12:24:42.753-08:00PVsnowwinterAfter finishing the job described on the previous post, I thought there would be a quiet period while winter ramped up. To our surprise we started a job on a new home site by setting poles for a top of pole PV installation. We'll try to get all the conduit laid while the builder is there with excavation equipment. At some point he'll have to shut down during any severe weather. We'll pick it up http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2010/12/winding-down.html0noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-4894842822943965253Tue, 23 Nov 2010 20:44:00 +00002010-11-23T13:31:35.415-08:00Due to the fact a recent customer decided to get a new roof before we install, and waiting on back-ordered parts, we are finally here on November 22nd for the panel installation. Ominous weather forecasts and Thanksgiving pushed us to work on the weekend and Monday to get off the roof part of the installation. As you can see the weather was perfect that day. Now, all thats left is the homerun http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2010/11/final-day-on-roof.html0noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-1956696580791251861Wed, 17 Nov 2010 19:25:00 +00002010-11-23T15:18:54.082-08:00pv_costs solar_pricesThe image is from the Open PV Project of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. It shows the national average cost of an installed PV system at $7.15/ watt. Our last few installs worked out to be about $5.50 to 6.00/ watt. These were projects that were pretty straight forward roof mount, grid tie systems. Special mounting options or offgrid installations are more expensive.Our selection of http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2010/11/getting-better.html0noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-6387507258410333203Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:02:00 +00002010-10-29T08:53:06.339-07:00When I was a kid watching Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea on TV, there was a scene that facinated me so much, it is clear in my head to this day. In the 1965 episode called "The Invaders" Robert Duvall played a being from a 20 million year old race that disappeared from Earth. The scene shows Commander Lee Crane getting acquainted with this advanced entity. The being reached up to a light fixturehttp://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2010/10/evolution-of-lighting.html0noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-4203847650899164779Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:57:00 +00002010-10-27T07:42:44.645-07:00economy pv_pricesWe have two nice PV jobs to get done before the snow flies. Timing is everything in the logistics of pulling the various parts together on the sites. In the past, its been a matter of placing an order with a couple of suppliers and the parts would show up in a reasonable amount of time. As this year marched on, I noticed the cupboard shelves for PV parts getting a bit thin.The past two weeks I http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2010/10/pv-and-state-of-economy.html1noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-6181626843803066671Fri, 08 Oct 2010 18:51:00 +00002010-10-08T16:34:25.474-07:00obama solar whitehouseWell it's finally happening, Obama has decided to mount solar electric and thermal on the roof of the White House. Actually there are small installations on the grounds, but they received little fanfare from the press.http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101005/ap_on_bi_ge/us_white_house_solar_powerThe picture at the top of this page was composed earlier this year as I had the dream of being the http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2010/10/solar-back-on-whitehouse.html0noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-1972472864979780035Sun, 03 Oct 2010 18:56:00 +00002010-10-03T12:51:00.581-07:00Tenley and I were driving to a site assessment when we went by a school zone. After getting past the first sign and towards the end of the zone, I realized that the PV modules where pointing towards each other. We were on a north-south highway, so one of the modules was bass ackwards.If you look to the left in the distance you'll see the correct one facing roughly southwest. If you look to the http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2010/10/sooo-wrong.html1noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-4725118120102235948Fri, 01 Oct 2010 21:51:00 +00002010-10-03T12:45:33.241-07:00grantspv financepv incomesmall businessWe have decided to pursue an ambitious solar project at Alterra's shop building. The project involves 20 kilowatts of installed generating power to the roof of the shop. This installation will be one of the largest to date in West Virginia. It will be able to produce enough surplus power (25 Megawatt-hours/year) that we can get rid of our propane heat and have plenty left over for AC, daily http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2010/10/pv-announcement.html0noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-350708477094750897Fri, 17 Sep 2010 18:23:00 +00002010-09-17T13:21:08.494-07:00Where was I......Oh yeah, I was at the beach while Hurricane Earl clipped by. No internet, no need. When we got home, it took 4 or 5 days to become officially caught up with unfinished business. Now for the rest of the story.We left our heroes in the blazing sun assembling the PV modules. Our progress was pretty smooth until around noontime. By then it was 90 and humid. Plenty of water was http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2010/09/tale-of-pv-installation-part-2.html2noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1479662309655997393.post-3919356855191600906Fri, 10 Sep 2010 17:37:00 +00002010-09-10T11:09:31.702-07:00I posted a progress report back on August 20th showing our 183 kwh credits with the power company. Yesterday, Sept 10th, I took the above pic showing us with 333 kwh in the bank only 21 days later. What helped us to pack it on was a change in the weather pattern to dry clear days. We have been producing 20 to 22 kwh on most days for the past two weeks. Another important factor was that we were http://alterra-sunny-days.blogspot.com/2010/09/2nd-report-net-metering.html0noreply@blogger.com (Bob Hoffa)