We did successfully close on the
property this past Wednesday. Yesterday we went out and put in
stakes and string outlining our 20 ft yurt site. Today we went out
and removed some trees and raked the site clean of debris and duff.
Then, we began digging. Brent, after we'd dug maybe 10 minutes, had
the fortunate insight to suggest we ought to separate our soil layers
as we dug. So, we began digging just the top layer (B horizon for
soil people) off and making a pile of it and then there will be
another pile for the clay (the next layer). After about 2.5 hrs of
this, we called a break to meet with our solar power person: Jen
Cooper of Cooper Power Solutions LLC.
Jen was great. She is very
knowledgeable and excited about our project. She likes that we don't
need education in how to live off-grid as we've already been there,
done that. It's easier for her. We liked her enthusiasm and
knowledge. She will be pricing out a 24v and a 48v system for us.
Sounds like the plan is to go ahead and install what we'd need for
the house now, rather than building an expandable system. This is
the better way to go for battery life/health. It isn't recommended
to add new batteries to old ones as it is a detriment to the life
span of the new batteries.
So, 24v or 48v? We had a 24v system in
Maine. We had 8 batteries. If that same system had been set up as a
48v system, we would have had 16 batteries. Batteries are VERY
expensive. That would make a 48v system seem the wrong choice,
right? Well, a 48v system doesn't have the voltage dive way down if
you have several things draw at one time. For example, if you're
running the washing machine and the well pump kicks on and the dang
refrigerator kicks on – that will suck down the voltage in a 24v
system, but you won't see that major draw down in a 48v system.
Having a deep dive in your battery voltage is not good for battery
longevity.
We aren't sure yet which way we'll go.
We are also considering a suggestion Jen made about our well pump.
She suggested we might put in a solar set up (no battery involved)
just for the well pump. The well pump would pump water into a
storage tank when the tank wasn't at capacity so long as the sun was
shining. The well pump would then never impact our main solar
system, making a 24v system more attractive. In Maine, our well pump
was the main power draw, so this seems like a really good idea. Our
only concern is what kind of maintenance such a water storage tank
might need.
Jen did make an offer of renting out
her “Tortoise”. It is a portable solar power system that would
allow us to live in the yurt before our full solar system was set up.
We jumped at the chance to do so! Anything to keep from paying rent
or burning gas!
What does tomorrow bring? Water well
drilling: we start the permitting process for drilling and water
rights.
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