Don't sell your "extra" panels! You can use them to directly run a solar A/C Heat Pump during daylight hours while your batteries are charging up, replace storm damaged panels, etc. You'll probably find you'll want to add them to your system at some point too.. But it's WORTH having them around!
Was there any way you could have placed the panels on top of the barn facing the Sun instead of having run up & down the mountain? And it all be right there close to the house?? Are @ least don't sell the other panels put them on top of the Battery Shed for extra??
Greg being an ex fork lift driver and trainer of new drivers there is one golden safety rule, and this will apply to tractors with any front loading attachments, on hills, slopes or ramps, when loaded, you always reverse down and drive up them, then you won't over balance and loose the load, or even injure yourself, me personaly even when unloaded I use the same criteria. safety first my friend.
He chains it most of the time I have seen him. and you have to go forward so if it runs away you can dig the forks in to stop it they will not gig in going backwards
Hey Greg ever since you quit your job you seem to be much more relaxed and it shows. Ditto on not selling your extra panels. Chances are you might want to build something else further down the road and at that time panels could cost twice as much.
The evidence proves otherwise. The cost of panels has been plummeting 18% a year for a decade now. They are a technology. The more you make of anything? The cheaper it keeps getting to make more of it. Cost to manufacture solar panels today is less than 15 cents/watt. Its a 100% automated process. In 1978? It was $75/watt.
I recently came across your channel & thoroughly enjoy it! I particularly like subscribing & supporting Canadian content & also, being in BC is an added bonus!! Stay safe this wildfire season, from Vancouver!!
Maximizing Bifacial Solar Panel Output: Low vs High Mount Test Everyday Solar 32.4K subscribers here he show three different mounting methods and what gain can be gain with each. this was one of four or five guys showing what is simple and how muched gain was there with the Bi Facial panel . in another one in the summer he added pvc pipe and water flow to make the most of his bi facial solar panels. but was in the southern part of USA with more sun and warmer weather to deal with too. Just hopeful to share more info to improve you gains with less work as you wire loss adds to your total operations too.
Wow guys it would really improve the life for both with more wattage and better comfort. Kudos to both and its all for the best of ur homesteading. Goodluck and enjoy and make the best after all.
The prep work was tough and your guys sailed through it well. I echo other comments about keeping the extra solar pannels. If you got them at a very good price, just hang on to them for future use wether it be expansion or replacements. See you on the next one. Larry, Central Valley, Ca.
I love to see how far you both have come. Katie used to be so shy and had trouble talking on Camara and now she has really opened up and come out of her shell. Love watching you both build a wonderful life on your mountain.
I'm so glad you guys are upgrading your solar electric system. It's going to make your life a lot easier. You two are amazing. I'm old and crippled so I kinda live vicariously through you. Keep up the good work. And always be kind to each other ❤️. I'll be watching 😊
Anxiously awaiting the final product. You both are an inspiration. If I was younger (I'm 81) I would have loved to try the off grid life. We just installed solar here in AZ, 5KW system. Sure has lowered our elec bill.
might want to think about using more of the new panels, 6 or 7k might sound like enough but on cloudy or short winter days production will be much lower and having more panels will make up for that loss. bigger is better, use all the panels :)
Really enjoy the opening montages showing all the life around your property. That's why you do what you do where you do it! Congrats on the new panels! Steve almost doesn't fit through the fence anymore - growing so fast!
It is very interesting to see your continued progress on new tasks and to see how you overcome the various problems. You will quite likely find it advantageous to have spare solar units on hand to replace damaged or faulty ones, and to increase the overall size of your installation as your needs change over the years.
I built my solar array using 7' steel sign posts and welded things together, then screwed the panels to the existing holes in the posts. I don't want a flammable to burn the panels down if another fire comes thru our property. i also used some old galvanized corrugated panels laying around and put them under the panels so grass and weeds don't grow.
I would keep the solar panels, you can never have too many. We have 5.6KW on our roof, it’s a semi detached house, we are also on the grid, but our power bills are very low.❤️🇬🇧
Love it when y’all work on your solar anything. Solar just facinates me but too old to get into it so I just follow my you tube friends and live vicariously through you people. 😊
Hi I was told that you have to be careful how you string together different panels (different watts). Double check with an expert series or parallel can make the smaller wattage lead, bringing the larger panels down to the smaller wattage. R
Buy one really heavy gauage cable and run all your power up the mountain through that. Using a thick cable and running it higher voltage will substantially decrease the amount of power you lose to reisitance
What a beautiful project. I’m too lazy to do it myself so I hired a company to install my ground mountain system and my Tesla 3 battery will keep you posted
Congratulations on quitting smoking. I started smoking at the age of 17. I quit in 1981 cold turkey. I am 78 now with COPD. Love your videos. You 2 get more done in a couple of hours than most people would get done in a day. Keep it up.
Hello Greg and Katie, sorry about the 🐝.. nice you could tie into rock and not have to dig 4ft. I would wait to sell the extra panels till you have everything done and working the way you need it to. Just incase.. can't wait for the next episode ❤
Katie Summer hat , Good deal , Style😁. makes a huge difference, i wear a Sombrero doin yard work. 🤙🤙Forms look great Greg, Rebar in stone thats the way, and a string, yur set🔧🛠️🔨🔧🛠️. Be blessed , stay outta that heat n smoke, lifes too short. 🙏🙏🙏
Greg looks great and can’t wait for the finished product. I watched this woman throwing around bags of cement like nothing 😢I felt like a wuss 😂.. Stephen loves his second momma so cute. What I really love is being able to see real off grid videos the ups and down just keeping it real 👍 no script or acting thanks. Look forward to next episode ❤
A very enjoyable video. I swear Stephen is the cutest animal in the forest. You have spoiled him but that is OK. I am glad you will have all the electricity needed to live comfortably.
Future suggestion. when doing rebar to tie back to concrete you may want to have a L shaped so it grabs the concrete better. Personally I would not strip the sono tubes, l let them rot but have seen people say to remove them when above ground.
I read an article recently that stated it is more efficient to mount them vertically. Alternative directions, facing the midday sun side on (the the edge side).
I just now could comment on this video. Personally, I would get the 2nd string hooked up then replace the old panels with then new ones and sell the older ones. More power for sure. Have a super blessed weekend. God bless in all things. Love form Texas.
With the new panels being bi facial one maybe look into some sheet metal as a reflective surface to places inback on the new panel to reflect light onto the back side as will add to there output
You can’t do that, but you gotta make sure you don’t overheat the collectors. I’m gonna use snow in the winter time for extra power specially in cloudy weather
Katie, be careful of heatstroke in this unusually hot summer for Canada. I've known farmers who had heatstrokes and it can be deadly. Stay hydrated, and wear a straw hat to cool your head.
Hi Greg and Katie well the two of you sure love your work your a hard working couple even in the extreme heat your getting there with you task stay safe friends
They say not to mix panels, need to run same watt panels to get best performance out of them, I'm sure you know that by now. Now I'll enjoy your video.
Hi dear couple! God bless you! Here in Brazil, when we produce energy from solar system, connected to the grid, we can sell to electrician power supply the exceedent (sorry if that’s the wrong word). For exemple if you produce 500 kWh and use only 400 kWh, the rest 100 kWh will be used by the electrician company discounting from your monthly bill. Or we can use it to other account (selling to a friend for exemple). Does you have some way to do this? Just a suggestion. Best luck😊
Once you can afford it, don't sell the extra panels. I guarantee you in less than a year, you'll come up with ideas for other projects where those extra panels will come in very handy.
I saw a guy on u-tube who made a really good post hole digger, he used a large piece of pipe the diameter of the hole and maybe 12 to18 or so inches wield on a cap and a pole and sharpen the other end , it makes a nice round hole and the weight of the pole makes it easier to dig 😊
Are congratulations in order ? Ive been so busy working on my projects I have missed some videos ! I notice a ring on Katie's finger ! I wish you guys the very best .. You work incredibly hard ..
Our system is set up for 5000 but we only use about 800 W. We have a propane clothes dryer, stove and water on demand. It runs a freezer and a pool as well. Great job! I would love to have your tractor, lol
There is a trick to lift the pallet out of the truck when you just need a little more lift... Lift as much as you can, then put the weight on the back of your tractor on the ground, then lift the loader more, which will lift your back tires up just slightly. Then pick the weight up in the rear and the back tires will go back down as the pallet comes up. Then if it's sketchy, just pull the truck forward, then slowly lower load to ground.
Yea, I was wondering if you could use your old panels to charge your power stations in the barn or something, if you can get enough daylight there to set them up.
That's gonna be great. You'll haves enough power to get you a couple mini splits for the house. Katie is looking great also😊. Peace and love y'all, Tim
Love the show and all you guys do. You should look into buying a Mud Mixer or see if they will sponsor you. It makes life so much easier when doing concrete work...Keep up the great work.
Straight line is usually the shortage run. Consider getting the mower out and mow a straight path down hill. Maybe 10' wide. Clear out all trees and brush. Kinda like the Power company does with over head lines. It's important and worth the extra effort.