Quote:
Originally Posted by Daox
Can we get some pictures of the actual system?
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Sure!
Before that, I can say that I am working on a presentation and information for a crowd funding run on RocketHub. I will
announce it here when it launches, and will greatly appreciate your support to either spread the message, a small contribution or both. The initial support is essential. I have most of it installed by now, but need a little extra in materials and expertise help. The fund raising will enable me to finish totally this summer, so it's ready for winter.
What's inside the ground can't really be shown as it's obviously hidden. I do have some pictures somewhere from years back, when I dug it all out. Most visible are the solar panels, this is from mounting them:
Because of the weight of the panels, we had to replace a number of tiles with plastic tiles, to reduce the weight of the roof. Total weight of panels and mounts is over 1000 lbs. Each tile replaced by a plastic "tile" saves over 5 lbs. Those clear tiles are originally designed to allow light to enter an attic (in lieu of windows). It was an expensive move but the only way (or least expensive and complicated way) I could proceed (I am way beyond the point of no return here). tearing down the roof completely and rebuilding it in a stronger way was way beyond what was possible and feasible.
Panels being mounted, we rented a lift. Unfortunately, this lift had some problems which delayed us, but up came the panels:
I didn't want the panels to be active until needed, so we covered them in ... yes, what to do? Ended up getting some packaging paper and masking tape. That was all great until wind and rain tore it off - and it was a while before I could get back to finish it. More lessons learned.
We made a custom hydraulic connector to use between the panels, as I didn't want a lot of fittings/connections that could potentially leak:
This S-shape is used in particular to enable movement by thermal expansion. It is soldered up so there are no joints apart from the entry and exit in each panel, and should "last eternally".
After mounting the panels, it looked like this:
And with the scaffolding removed:
As you can see above, the panels are mounted very tightly: Just over an inch between them both horizontally and vertically. To fit 12 panels this way, we literally had to start right at the left edge of the roof, just above the upper limit of the three windows, up to the rooftop and just on the limit to the neighbour house (These are 4x attached houses). We even had to cover one window, which was south facing in the attic level (2nd floor).
The main junction of the system is located inside the staircase leading from ground floor to 1st floor. It's not too pretty but will be tidied up. With the limited space available, it will inevitable look a but messy, especially while still under construction:
When I go live with the crowdfunding, and later on - the wiki/FAQ/DIY web site - there will be a lot more pictures and videos, along with animations. Here is an exclusive sneak peak of an animation, testing out various possibilities (I am not very seasoned with graphic design, but I will do what I can. Youtube is a great help for tutorials).
I will get back with more information later - as I go "live" on the crowdsourcing.
Thank you for your support
