Now that we've been in the house for six months I've compiled stats for what we've generated off of our solar panels since June of 2003. Because we reset the system when we swapped in the new battery in early June the stats for June start at the 11th.
I have no stats for the wind generator because we have no way to track its production over time right now. If I can find a method of storing data for the wind generator that isn't expensive and that doesn't consume electricity itself I'll set it up, until then it's all anecdotal. Most of the summer was pretty still and winds have been steadily increasing since late September/early October.
All readings are in amp/hours (AH). Our solar panels and battery bank are wired for 48 volts (V). To calculate Kilowatts (KW) multiply AH times voltage (V) which will give you kilowatt/hours (KWH) at 48V, divide by 2 for KWH at 110V.
Our solar collection system consists of 8 BP Solar 85 watt panels, which feed 48V through a Trace C40 into our battery bank. All of the stats are taken from the C40.
Glen and Joanne,
Thanks for this great site. It has been helpful to see the process unfold and will surely help me convince my wife that a straw house, as well as solar and wind generation is the way to go. Ironically, the beautiful country side shots will help her convince me that Peterborough is the place to live! Keep up the 'artsy' shots!
Best of luck with the house and the little one.
cheers,
Livio Passera
Glen,
Cool site! This is really great. I wish my brother could have seen this before he and his wife built their house in Illinois. Good luck!
-- Dawn
Hi Glen.
I was checking out your 6-Month Solar generation numbers.
Excuse my ignorance, but what are the units for the numbers you are displaying?
Phil.
From OurCoolHouse.com
I've updated the entry to add the units (sorry Phil) and some of the electrical formulas.
GH