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Category Archives: Solar
Spa Trouble
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
New Spa Cover
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
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Solar, Spa
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Trombe Wall Glass Install
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
Posted in Construction, Maintenance and Repair, Reduce Reuse Recycle, Solar, Trombe Wall
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Tesla Called Again
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
Posted in Maintenance and Repair, Solar
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Tesla Roof Performance
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
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Energy Efficiency, Solar
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RV Solar Wiring
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
Posted in RV Camping, Solar
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RV Solar Install
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
Posted in RV Camping, Solar
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Tesla Starts Early
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
Posted in Construction, Roofing, Solar
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Tesla Called
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
Posted in Construction, Roofing, Solar
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Tesla Solar Roof
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
From Tesla Solar Panels to Solar Roof
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
Posted in Electrical, Roofing, Solar
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Solar Pool Set Up
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
Posted in Maintenance and Repair, Pool, Solar
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Solar Pool Heat
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
Posted in Maintenance and Repair, Pool, Solar
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Stripped Down Solar
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
Finishing Up the Bathroom
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
Posted in Bathrooms, Construction, Design Style, Energy Efficiency, Plumbing, Reduce Reuse Recycle, Solar
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Installing a JuiceBox 220v 40 Pro Charger
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
Posted in Electrical, Solar
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Solar Powered Volt
Way back in 2003 we bought the first model of hybrid Honda Civic sold in the US. It was the only car we would ever buy that was featured in a car show! It was a 2003 model but it … Continue reading
Posted in Solar
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Tesla Solar First Month Report
On the occasion of our first utility bill after adding solar, we found a significant reduction in the cost of the electricity we consumed from the grid. As the Tesla engineers predicted the solar provided about half of our electricity … Continue reading
Posted in LEED Project, Monitoring, Solar
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Solar is Up! Day One
Yesterday the Xcel technician stopped by about 4 PM to install the solar meter. That completed the setup for our solar system. She gave me a hang tag that said the system was ready to bring online! After she left … Continue reading
Posted in Electrical, Energy Efficiency, Solar
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Solar System Commissioned
Commissioning was basically a test of functions. I had the Tesla app open on my phone so I could follow along with the tests. The commissioning was early in the morning so the system was not yet producing full power. … Continue reading
Posted in Electrical, Monitoring, Solar
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