An enjoyable evening

When there are no contractors at the house, Catherine and I sleep at the house. It is so peacefull.

Jan posing by the pole.

It is peacefull at the house but I don't sleep so well (too many things on my mind). I woke up the next morning in time to see the sun rise. It was beautiful.....

Solar!!!!

The solar components arrived this week. Now all I have to do is figure out how to connect them all together!. These are the panels. There are 14 of them and they are 180 Watt panels.
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The batteries were not fun to unload. The trucker and I had quite a time getting them off the truck. This skid of batteries (16) weighs 750kg (approx 1650 lbs).
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This is the power inverter. It converts the 48 volts from the battery into 120 volts for the household. It also takes care of charging the batteries using the solar panels. This controller is HEAVY. I thought it was screwed to the floor when I tried to lift it up!!!
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Motorcycle buddies

To me, this is a most beautiful site. Motorcycles parked in front of our house. Mine is off in the distance. The guys won't let me park next to them. ( I think they're jealous!)

We had a great evening. Dinner in the county, a little riding, and a few beers by the campfire. It doesn't get much better than that!

The next morning Ake and Rob took off on their week long bike ride. I'm sure it will be a great trip.

Insulation

The insulation we went with for the house is called BIBS (Blown in Blanket System). It is a blown in insulation that gives us an R-40 in the cathedral ceiling . First they staple in cardboard forms that give the air space for ventilation.


Next they cover the framework with a fabric. The fabric holds the insulation in place while letting out the air during the blowing process.

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The following day the truck showed up to blow in the insulation.

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You can see the insulation blown in the left 3 cavities.


All done!


The next day the crew came to poly the insulation


The effect this insulation has on the house is amazing. Prior to insulating, on hot days, the first floor was cool (the logs keep the heat out) and the upstairs was unbearably hot. After insulating, on hot days you would swear the house was air conditioned! It is great!

Panel Preparation

Once the poles were in the holes, cementing them in was easy.


I realized just how tall the poles are when I tried to paint them. Too tall for a ladder, so I painted as far as I could reach. I then realized that I would not be able to install the panels or even change their angles for summer and winter operation because of their height.


And so begins the next project....


I need to build a platform so I can reach the top of the poles. This is the start.