After a long, dark winter of limited Internet access and limited posting, we are now the beneficiaries of electricity from the sun. Well, from the sun via solar modules, a charge controller, batteries, and assorted other gadgets. And courtesy of invaluable assistance and consulting from John, without which we would still be power-free. We haven't wired in any lights yet, but I am currently connected to the Internet without running the generator! Best of all, we have installed a Sundanzer DC refrigerator: no more buying ice, lugging ice blocks, emptying drip pans, etc. for the icebox. (However we learned a lot through the icebox experiment: I'll do another post on that soon.) Even after two days of overcast rainy/snowy weather, our small PV system is powering our 5.8 cu ft refrigerator.
We hung the modules from the fascia rather than mounting them on the roof, as we were concerned about the wind and associated lift on our shed-style roof. This will provide nice shade to this section of the house in the summer, but may well be too low to allow our low winter sun in when we need it---we may need to relocate the panels eventually.
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