Category Archives: Solar

Solar energy use

Oh No! Broken Glass in Trombe Wall

Posted on November 15, 2022 by ellen

Some of the plastic lattice trim around the Trombe wall glazing has been curling away from the house from the intense heat from the sun. I don’t think I used enough nails to tie it to the boards behind it. … Continue reading →

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Next Steps

Posted on October 11, 2022 by ellen

This summer was the culmination of ten years of work on the house. We had to push to finish the major LEED features of the remodel because we had an end of June deadline for evaluation under LEED 2009 version … Continue reading →

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Is the Tesla Roof Worth It?

Posted on October 4, 2022 by ellen

We were on the Metro Denver Green Homes Tour last Saturday. It occurs each year on the first Saturday of October which is the National Solar tour day. We were a site to see the Tesla Solar roof and our … Continue reading →

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Tesla Solar Roof Data September-June

Posted on July 14, 2022 by ellen

The solar roof was installed at the end of last August so its first month of production was September, 2021. The solar performed well in September but after the equinox production dropped dramatically. Energy sent to the grid dropped to … Continue reading →

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Spa Trouble

Posted on June 18, 2022 by ellen

Every couple of years there is a major expensive problem with the exercise spa. And another chance for me to make mistakes. I was happy to finally get the new spa cover and we unpacked it and installed it. Dave … Continue reading →

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New Spa Cover

Posted on June 14, 2022 by ellen

Five years ago at the 2017 ASES Conference in Boulder, I heard a presentation about a new type of spa cover. The company, Modern Spa Covers, manufactures the covers in my own town of Arvada. I was determined to buy … Continue reading →

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Trombe Wall Glass Install

Posted on April 10, 2022 by ellen

The trombe wall in the front of our house was a classic non-vented passive solar installation. We removed the glass in 2015 because it was in the way when the new windows were installed. This was the second time I … Continue reading →

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Tesla Called Again

Posted on March 10, 2022 by ellen

My Tesla team watches and maintains the solar roof without me having to do it too. Winter has been hard on production. Mine was so low it concerned them enough to make an appoinment to send a team to check … Continue reading →

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Tesla Roof Performance

Posted on November 14, 2021 by ellen

The Tesla roof was up and running for part of the day on August 28th. It has been operating for almost three months. The app does not have a date to date feature so I downloaded performance for each full … Continue reading →

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RV Solar Wiring

Posted on November 6, 2021 by ellen

Once the rack was finished and the panels installed I had to figure out the wiring from the roof to the equipment inside. One benefit of the Solarland panels is that they use thicker wire. They come with the MC4 … Continue reading →

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RV Solar Install

Posted on November 6, 2021 by ellen

I had always wanted to install solar panels on our old RV but instead we used a portable 50 watt panel to boost the batteries when camping. I had the panel strapped behind the storage box we had at the … Continue reading →

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Tesla Starts Early

Posted on August 26, 2021 by ellen

The solar roof was originally scheduled to start on Sept 7th but the manager called and asked if they could start earlier and I said, “Sure!”. The first day another company tore off the old roof. I asked if they … Continue reading →

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Tesla Called

Posted on August 19, 2021 by ellen

Tesla finally called to schedule the solar roof installation. I was very excited. We have been working with Tesla since April of last year and I have been on the waiting list since June 1, 2017, the day President Trump … Continue reading →

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Tesla Solar Roof

Posted on July 15, 2020 by ellen

The Tesla solar roof is made from tempered glass. Advertising mentions quartz glass which is a form of tempered glass, the other form is silica although the terms are used interchangeably. The product is called Solarglass and is textured. Last … Continue reading →

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From Tesla Solar Panels to Solar Roof

Posted on July 12, 2020 by ellen

When the new glass roof tiles from Tesla were in the media, I was intrigued because we eventually needed a new roof and we live in the Hail Alley of Colorado which means hail is frequent and often damages roofs. … Continue reading →

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Solar Pool Set Up

Posted on June 7, 2020 by ellen

The extra parts arrived and all of the piping was finally connected with minimal leaks. Not without several issues however.I had the bypass valve assembly ready to install. Unfortunately the plastic that the reducers were made from did not hold … Continue reading →

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Solar Pool Heat

Posted on May 25, 2020 by ellen

Everything takes time and money. The solar pool heat project is no different. I have put together a system based on the old copper collector and a new stainless steel heat exchanger. This is the system design. I purchased a … Continue reading →

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Stripped Down Solar

Posted on May 19, 2020 by ellen

One of the reasons the repair I tried for the 3′ x 7’ solar panels was a disaster is that the glass broke when I was moving it. The glass in the solar panels seems to be extremely fragile. I … Continue reading →

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Finishing Up the Bathroom

Posted on April 3, 2020 by ellen

There were a few more tasks to finish the bathroom remodel. The contractor and his helper came one more time to complete the job. The largest project was the installation of the solar tube in the ceiling. He finished the … Continue reading →

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Installing a JuiceBox 220v 40 Pro Charger

Posted on June 11, 2018 by ellen

I decided to upgrade to a Level 2, 220v EV charger in order to charge faster during the highest solar production time of day. After researching various options, it appeared the JuiceBox delivered the most bang for the buck. Some … Continue reading →

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