Photograph of the completed solar array

Here's a photo of the completed 2 kilowatt solar array.

[caption id="attachment_93" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Photo of completed 2 kilowatt solar power system"][/caption]

Kudos go to Brothers Electric and Solar for a quick and professional job. If you want a solar power system installed in the Tacoma - Seattle area definitely give Dave Cozine a call! I'll be adding more information to the main Earth, Sky, Stars website on the steps for installing a solar power system. I'll also detail how to approach your homeowners association about such a project (hint: lots of detailed information!).

With any luck the incoming Obama administration will give a big boost to solar power installs and make solar power even easier to obtain.

New toy, just setup TwitMe on my blog...

Just testing Twitme to see if it "wires" the blog into Twitter.

Solar Power system is up and running

Of course some sun would be nice, so we're off to a slow start :-( But the system is now on the grid and producing power. As soon as Enphase sets up my website I'll post a link to it so anyone can monitor the power output. Here's a photo of Dave Cozine, his son Alex, and Tim moving a module to its new home on the roof.

[caption id="attachment_88" align="alignleft" width="199" caption="A Sanyo 200 watt module heads for the roof"][/caption]

Sanyo solar modules arrive!

The photo-voltaic (solar) power system is now sitting in my garage! Hopefully, when the weather breaks on Thursday, Dave Cozine and crew can get them installed. Here's a photo of the modules.

[caption id="attachment_82" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Sanyo 200 watt modules arrive"][/caption]

For each of the 10 modules (200 watt x 10 = 2,000 watts) there is an Enphase grid-tie inverter. Unlike most systems where there is a single, central inverter, the Enphase converts 32vdc to 240vac at the solar panel. If you lose an inverter you only lose the output from one module. Here's a photo.

[caption id="attachment_81" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Photograph of Enphase grid-tie power inverter "][/caption]

Other "green projects" for the holidays ...

While waiting for the solar power install the Clugston's haven't been idle on greening our household. Sandy and I took advantage of the deep cuts in appliance prices to buy a new refrigerator. Of course it's Energy Star compliant. In fact any refrigerator over 10 years old is probably not using power efficiently! It's a shame I won't have the time to test the old refrigerator against the new one with a "Kill-a-Watt" watt meter. The comparison would be interesting :-)

The other green project was replacing high flow faucets and shower heads with low flow units. This is an easy and inexpensive project. And you save on both water heating and water usage costs. You also reduce your carbon footprint as well (less natural gas burned).

Solar Install Update -- The modules (panels) have arrived in Fife, WA ...

Good news on my solar install. Dave Cozine sent an email that the panels have arrived at the freight terminal. At least they made it through the snow! Now maybe next week the install will begin. It'll truly be a happy 2009!

Want to save laser printer toner? Try this typeface ...

The Ecofont is a typeface with tiny holes in the characters. The holes don't reduce legibility, but they do reduce the amount of toner/ink used. The fonts are True Type, so they should work on almost all recent operating systems.

One other thing -- they're free!