How about a solar car port on a budget?

[Crossy]

15 minutes ago, lom said:

Calculated using your Faber-Castell slide ruler for engineers..?  😄

 

At school, nah. Bloody log tables! (included sin, cos, tan etc. etc.) 

 

 

At college etc. we actually had calculators (although we were supposed to also have slide-rules, nobody ever used them). 

[carlyai]

For me just slide ruler as we never had them fancy button thinggys.....maybe my age is showing.

My prostrate is showing my age.

[Muhendis]

On 2/23/2025 at 5:24 PM, Crossy said:

I was more than mildly surprised that my Grammar School trig. actually worked to calculate the cutting angles (nothing is at 90^o, it's a scalene triangle so you can't just use Pythagoras, you need to remember the "rule of sines" etc.) resulting in minimal gaps when welding.

 

I wouldn't have bothered with sine language.

Clamp everything in position. Mark where welding/cuts are needed then go for it with angle grinder and welder.

[treetops]

On 2/24/2025 at 7:29 AM, Crossy said:

Nearly, SOHCAHTOA, which everyone remembers . . . .

 

Or if they can't remember they can always use The Orange Alligator Sat On His Cornflakes And Hiccuped.

[Crossy]

Here we go with the numbers from February.

 

The period from the 15th to the 26th was dull and cloudy leading to Consumption being greater than Production and gradually discharging the batteries until we needed to use the grid 😞 

 

Since our bill won't come until March 19th I'm hoping for a few more sunny days where we can get the batteries fully charged so we can export some juice (spin the meter backwards) reducing what we pay to PEA.

 

[Crossy]

Meanwhile the roof extension is coming along.

 

Beams are currently bolted up with about half now welded, welding will be completed on Sunday. That ruddy power pole is in a somewhat inconvenient location. No, we will not be moving it 🙂 

 

 

And the roof tiles have arrived.

 

[Muhendis]

Don't forget to set up your direct link to air traffic control at Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports. 

[Crossy]

I'm waiting for the locals to complain that we are sucking in all the sunlight and they don't have enough

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-town-rejects-solar-panels-amid-fears-they-suck-up-all-the-energy-from-the-sun-a6771526.html

 

[Muhendis]

"During the Woodland Town Council meeting, one local man, Bobby Mann, said solar farms would suck up all the energy from the sun and businesses would not go to Woodland, the Roanoke-Chowan News Herald reported.

 

Jane Mann, a retired science teacher, said she was concerned the panels would prevent plants in the area from photosynthesizing, stopping them from growing.

Ms Mann said she had seen areas near solar panels where plants are brown and dead because they did not get enough sunlight.

She also questioned the high number of cancer deaths in the area, saying no one could tell her solar panels didn't cause cancer."

 

The average IQ in North Carolina is reported to be 100.2. 

I have serious doubts about that

[Crossy]

Visble progress this week.

 

We should get the tiles up next week and possibly the maintenance (panel cleaning) walkway.

 

 

Inverter #4 is in and under test using one of the existing panel strings.

 

These MaxSky Solar branded units are identical in every way to the Deye units, even the same firmware version. Works perfectly with the existing units and Solar Assistant, plus they are $$$ cheaper.

 

 

The neighbours have installed wind-turbines!

 

 

[Crossy]

Got the tiles on, enough for this week, too darn hot.

 

 

 

 

Somebody left a power pole in the way

 

 

And the added bonus of having panels that nobody really thinks about.

 

[Muhendis]

Looking good.

But those are seriously hot temperatures.

Perhaps a sun shade?       

Looking forward to pictures of the pole moving ceremony.

[Muhendis]

Out of curiosity.

What temperatures are your batteries seeing?

Mine got up to 30º ambient yesterday.

[Crossy]

8 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

Out of curiosity.

What temperatures are your batteries seeing?

Mine got up to 30º ambient yesterday.

 

The shade hedge is a bit thin at present having had a haircut, but not doing too bad.

 

I may add some ventilation fans to move some air around.

[Muhendis]

57 minutes ago, Crossy said:

The shade hedge

Yeah

Plenty of greenery has a noticeable cooling effect on local air due to shading and giving off water vapour.

 

I will be doing a DIY fridge type cooling enclosure on mine later this year ideally maintaining an ambient of 25º.

Mine are supposed to be good up to 30º but I feel like a good project and would be happier with lower than 30º.

[Crossy]

OK, we are getting there.

 

Walkway is up.

 

 

 

And the first panels are mounted.

 

 

It got too hot so we retired for a beer, going to finish the job next weekend. We should get another 7 maybe 8 panels on there 🙂 

 

Of course, I'll hook those 6 panels up so we're not wasting their energy 🙂

 

The Thai grand-daughter is staying for the school break so we will need the energy

[3NUMBAS]

Add some wind generators as well to use 2 sources

[Crossy]

14 minutes ago, 3NUMBAS said:

Add some wind generators as well to use 2 sources

 

I did think of having some turbines, but the cost per "real" Watt, combined with the lack of reasonably consistent wind isn't really conducive. I may spend a few hundred US as an experiment. I'll need a new obsession once all the panels are up.

 

There are turbines at the local farmer's market, in 15 years of driving past on a regular basis I've never seen them actually going round

 

 

[Muhendis]

On 3/23/2025 at 3:21 PM, Crossy said:

Walkway is up.

Didn't they used to be called "duck boards"?

 

Don't forget to make your connections prior to bolting down the panels unless, that is, you have a team of powerful, big red ants standing by.

Also hoe are you fixing your panels to the frome? There doesn't appear to be much hand space between panels and roof.

[Crossy]

2 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

Didn't they used to be called "duck boards"?

 

Don't forget to make your connections prior to bolting down the panels unless, that is, you have a team of powerful, big red ants standing by.

Also hoe are you fixing your panels to the frome? There doesn't appear to be much hand space between panels and roof.

 

Quack, quack! - I thought that actual duck-boards were about not walking through water, but we can use the term if you like 🙂  https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duckboards

 

Connections are (just) accessible but they are being plugged together as the panels are installed.

 

We are actually using commercial mounting hardware this time, aluminium extrusions and clamps.

 

[Muhendis]

14 minutes ago, Crossy said:

I thought that actual duck-boards were about not walking through water

 

In the mid '60's, the older buildings at BAe Filton had signs on the roof to warn people not to walk on the asbestos roof but to use the duck boards instead. Since that was a bit pre-google I guess they had no way of telling if they were using incorrect terminology.

One day, in the not too distant future, every time the tide comes in they may earn the name I called them then you will be glad you fitted them and you can laugh at your neighbours who are without.

[Crossy]

Our huts at Thorn EMI in Wells (darkest Somerset) had signs saying "Fragile roof covering, use crawling boards" on the asbestos roof.

 

I think we all understand what it's about 🙂

 

EDIT I did check on google Maps to see if the old TEMI site on Wookey Hole Road was still there. Sadly, like so many of the defence industry places I used to work at it's now a housing estate 😞

[007 RED]

Lesson learned... The hard way 🤕

[Fruit Trader]

1 hour ago, Crossy said:

We are actually using commercial mounting hardware this time, aluminium extrusions and clamps.

 

I was surprised you did not use a fixing system from the start.

Our work shed roof strings. 

120mm brackets fixed to the low flat areas of the roof sheets. Compared to 80mm brackets we found the 120mm provide better air flow and access to connectors. Thick rubber gaskets and strengthening plates behind provide good reliable water seal.

 

 

 

[Crossy]

3 minutes ago, Fruit Trader said:

I was surprised you did not use a fixing system from the start.

 

Long ago when the earth was green and we started playing with fusion power the commercial fixings were silly money, so we went home-brew.

 

Prices (and funds) are now less scary, although the fixings are still not what could be considered as cheap!

[Muhendis]

3 hours ago, Crossy said:

I did check on google Maps to see if the old TEMI site on Wookey Hole Road was still there. Sadly, like so many of the defence industry places I used to work at it's now a housing estate

 

Absolutely and totally off topic:-

I did some work at Wookey Hole mill for Thorn EMI Datatech (the mill was quite high tech at that time) who made data recorders for satellite receivers. That was about 1985. Myself and a couple of other contractors used to pop up the hill to the Priddy Inn for friday "lunch". First time I ever tried Thatchers Cider and was an instant convert.

That recorder contract was later transferred to the main Wookey Hole Road TEMI site and my contract reinstated for skills continuity.