May 31, 2011

Powered by the sun

It's official!  And we have the bumper stickers to prove it!  We have power at The Ranch!

 Neal decided to tackle installing our solar system all by himself, after getting a couple of quotes that we thought were too high.  At first, he started by connecting all the gadgets, gizmos and wires in the garage, which will be command central.

Then, he connected all the battery cables and made some adjustments to the box that houses the batteries.

Next, he very carefully climbed up on our metal roof, using rubber-backed rugs for traction.

The end result was these beauties...four, 135 watt solar panels that can produce up to 3.2 kilowatts per day.  I'm not really sure how much 3.2 kilowatts actually is, but Neal powered up everything in the house and seemed pleased, so that's good enough for me.

And speaking of pleased, Mr. Fix-it was very thrilled with his new accomplishment and the fact that we now have power without using the generator.  He couldn't stop saying, "We've got power.  We've got power!"  Can't you just feel his enthusiasm?

10 comments:

Kuhns Acres said...

That is great. We have a system on our house in town and it has helped quite a bit. Where did you get all of the componets of your system. Was it all from one place or did you get them from different vendors? Did you apply for any of the rebates that are available??

LiveWorkDream said...

Sweeeeeeet! It's the greatest feeling of independence, you'll dig it. Just don't get frustrated if there comes a point when you need to unplug the coffee maker before using the microwave or something like that. We call it the Green Acres shuffle when we're in the RV.

Tell Neal if he has any ?s, Jim's got a head full of knowledge about solar. Congrats!

Staci@LifeAtCobbleHillFarm said...

Very exciting!!! Congrats!
Staci

Razzberry Corner said...

YEAH!! You've got power!!!! This is so awesome!

Randy wants to go solar, but he hasn't made the time to look into it. but then, he also says he wants a huge windmill on the property, too. I just want a cell tower on the property so we have good cellular reception in the house.

Anyway, this is a accomplishment - congrats!
~Lynn

Lilla said...

Shelly, Custer county doesn't offer and rebates, unfortunately. And the state and national ones only apply to a primary residence, which this is not...yet. We bought almost everything from a company called Backwoods Solar. They were great to do business with.

Rene, I think the sacrifices will be well worth it! Thanks.

Staci, thanks!

Lynn, we have no cell coverage at our place, so we had to get a land line. Other than that, all utilities will be powered by the sun and it is so exciting and liberating!

basicliving@backtobasicliving.com said...

Wow! You have solar power! That is awesome! Neal is quite the handy man. I'm so happy for you!

Lilla said...

Thanks, Penny! Yes, Neal is quite the handy man...for sure!

Morning Bray Farm said...

Woot-woot! That's awesome!!! :) Congratulations! That last picture is too funny. :)

Anonymous said...

somebody already said "woot-woot" but i am going to say it too! woot-woot!! yay to neal for doing that all by himself - he is a handy man to have around, isn't he? congrats on those beautiful solar babies!

Lilla said...

Thanks Justina and Daune!

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