Solar Power Cells

4/29/09


4/29/09 Photovoltaic installation began today. Twelve solar panels will be installed on the roof and will provide 2.7 KW of power. That means a system that size will produce 2.7 Kilowatt Hours of energy every hour under full sunlight. This electricity will be fed back into the electric grid thereby erasing an equal portion of whatever it can produce from our monthly electric bill. Factoring in our weather here, it should produce an average of about 300 KW hours of power per month.

Interior Walls Moving Along

4/29/09


4/29/09 Interior Plaster and sheet rock continue to proceed.

Exterior Walls

4/29/09 Brown Coat Stucco going up today over the first Scratch Coat, although it's hard to tell the difference in the photographs. Next will be the final coat with color.

Exterior Walls

4/26/09 Scratch Coat

Exterior Walls

4/26/09 Scratch Coat

Exterior Walls

Scratch Coat

Exterior Walls

4/26/09 Scratch Coat going up now. Next comes the Brown Coat, then the final Stucco.

Interior Walls

4/26/09 Living Room

Interior Walls

4/26/09 Drywall going up inside

Rainwater Collection

4/26/09 Rocks cover Rainwater Collection. Dirt will be next.

Rainwater Collection

4/17/09


4/17/09


4/17/09


4/17/09


4/17/09


4/17/09


4/17/09


4/17/09


4/17/09 Curved bottom of the old pool is leveled with rock and prepared to receive the milk-carton-like boxes. The boxes fit together. The entire assembled unit of boxes is then wrapped in water-permeable cloth, put in place and filled in around the sides with aggregate then covered with the geo-grid mesh. It's already collecting rain before it's covered with topsoil.

4/16/09


4/16/09


4/16/09 Assembly of interior structure of pool cistern, the aggregate to surround it, and the geo-grid to cover the entire structure dispersing weight. Everything will be covered with topsoil and when finished it could take the weight of a truck.

4/14/09


4/14/09 Getting the old pool ready to capture rainwater and sealing it.

Solar Hot Water Heater

April 14, 2009, The solar hot water heater is installed. The water heated by it will be stored in a Hot water tank in the house. If the water temperature gets too low it will be boosted to the right level with a whole-house-on-demand water heater to get it just up to the right level. The goal is to never need to use the on-demand heater, or to just use it to bump it up a few degrees.

April 14, 2009, Frame for new pool

April 14, 2009, Preparation for Stucco Application