Monique & Mark's Big Solar Energy Project

(We're in the process of hiding all the wires, and making this system look more clean and professional. We've also purchased panels that deal better with low-lighting and partial shading conditions.)

Adding wire connectors
Adding wire connectors
Thank goodness it's night time, the panels are draped, and the battery is not connected. Fear of heights is enough excitement for me. 		Crimping a wire
Crimping a wire
If there are a lot of connections to prepare, it can take a long time, and your hands get sore.
The solar panels during their first minutes of use
The solar panels during their first minutes of use
In the morning, the last parts of the system were hooked together. Then, I un-draped the panels for irradiation. Nothing blew up, and voltages looked correct. The black wires contain positive and negative wires. The green wires connect to ground in our plumbing system. 		Fuse, charge controller, and wires
Fuse, charge controller, and wires
This picture was taken shortly after initial assembly. So, it looks a bit messy. The fuse is the thing on the left that prevents the system from getting too much juice if there is a power spike. The charge controller, sitting on top of the cinder block, regulates the energy coming from the solar panels, and prevents the batteries from over-charging.
Heavy-duty deep cycle trolling & house power battery (on right) and Xantrex DC to AC inverter (left)
Heavy-duty deep cycle trolling & house power battery (on right) and Xantrex DC to AC inverter (left)
The battery is 12 volts and 105 amp hours. It is much better for a photovoltaic system than a car battery, because it can handle discharging to about 20% of it's capacity. A car battery is not meant to discharge much. The battery needs to be kept in a well vented area, because it emits explosive hydrogen gas when it is charging. The DC to AC inverter takes direct current from the battery, and changes it into alternate current. That energy can then be used by various household appliances, like a computer and a TV. 		The duplex we are renting, with a view of the solar panels
The duplex we are renting, with a view of the solar panels
The 80 watt, 5 amp solar panels are in the top-right windows. There is also a 25 watt, 1.5 amp solar panel in the center window, just below the top windows. The 25 watt panel is connected to a Xantrex PowerPack 400, not shown in the photos (totally separate system). That smaller system is very simple, portable, and inexpensive.