JeepHammer
SHOOTER
I attended a few solar power get togethers before, friendly events where it was mostly end users that exchanged ideas.
I don't have access to a creek or lake with constant outflow, so my micro-hydro knowledge is limited, but I saw some REALLY creative ideas.
Being in the river bottom was down south, I don't have the wind resources for larger scale wind, but again some really good ideas came up from those guys.
I have built/rebuilt generators for both, so I do have some advanced knowledge on that end of things...
What I could contribute is more than 50 years of knowledge on the electro-magnetic link, the basis for every generator based system.
I have more than 20 years of experience in solar (photovoltaic panels) and solar thermal (hot fluids/water),
I also have done many years of technical writing, making instructions & diagrams for the install of products, making important technical information digestable for end users.
*IF* a group were interested in learning about this stuff collected together,
(instead of cobbled together from several sources that may, or may not be accurate, have gaps, etc.)
I would be interested in participating...
Since there are so many ways to do solar electric, and since I've studied it for a couple of decades (to figure out how I screwed things up ) I could pass those nuggets of information along,
My wife has volunteered to print out (paper copies!) of diagrams, general information so maybe some handouts for future reference?
They won't be plastic laminated like she does for my stuff, but then again *MY* specific wiring diagrams wouldn't help someone with different equipment...
-- The IDEA of laminated, or freezer bag protected final wiring diagrams with part numbers would be passed along, since no one can keep specifics in there heads for 10 years until something needs replaced or breaks down...
Nothing like a diagram with all your part numbers, notes, warnings in one place protected from the elements, right where you need them!
One of the best ideas she's ever come up with, and I turned my nose up at it at first, but the longer this equipment runs, the more I value this simple idea!
About anyone can get the general ideas on their own, but the little ideas are what makes or breaks a system,
The 'Devil' is ALWAYS in the details, and a get together, exchange of ideas is what makes or breaks a lot of stuff!
Just knowing what you *CAN* and *CAN'T* get away with is a big deal, and that's what we are talking about...
Energy production is ALWAYS made or broken by the INFRASTRUCTURE,
It's not the PV Panels you use, it's the ground mounts or racking, wiring connections that makes the system reliable & repairable...
I spent the first 3-5 years chasing 'Mistakes', bad connections that corroded, undersize/wrong wiring wasting power, etc.
It's not the generator you use in micro-hydro, it's the mount for your generator...
More than one went down stream with floods!
It's not the generator you use on wind power,
It's the pole & support you have, the generator doesn't make any power stuck in the mud after a storm...
Some GREAT ideas have come from the home installers, and those get passed around person to person, no big company passes those ideas along with their products...
Just an idea, running it up the flag pole to get opinions...
I don't have access to a creek or lake with constant outflow, so my micro-hydro knowledge is limited, but I saw some REALLY creative ideas.
Being in the river bottom was down south, I don't have the wind resources for larger scale wind, but again some really good ideas came up from those guys.
I have built/rebuilt generators for both, so I do have some advanced knowledge on that end of things...
What I could contribute is more than 50 years of knowledge on the electro-magnetic link, the basis for every generator based system.
I have more than 20 years of experience in solar (photovoltaic panels) and solar thermal (hot fluids/water),
I also have done many years of technical writing, making instructions & diagrams for the install of products, making important technical information digestable for end users.
*IF* a group were interested in learning about this stuff collected together,
(instead of cobbled together from several sources that may, or may not be accurate, have gaps, etc.)
I would be interested in participating...
Since there are so many ways to do solar electric, and since I've studied it for a couple of decades (to figure out how I screwed things up ) I could pass those nuggets of information along,
My wife has volunteered to print out (paper copies!) of diagrams, general information so maybe some handouts for future reference?
They won't be plastic laminated like she does for my stuff, but then again *MY* specific wiring diagrams wouldn't help someone with different equipment...
-- The IDEA of laminated, or freezer bag protected final wiring diagrams with part numbers would be passed along, since no one can keep specifics in there heads for 10 years until something needs replaced or breaks down...
Nothing like a diagram with all your part numbers, notes, warnings in one place protected from the elements, right where you need them!
One of the best ideas she's ever come up with, and I turned my nose up at it at first, but the longer this equipment runs, the more I value this simple idea!
About anyone can get the general ideas on their own, but the little ideas are what makes or breaks a system,
The 'Devil' is ALWAYS in the details, and a get together, exchange of ideas is what makes or breaks a lot of stuff!
Just knowing what you *CAN* and *CAN'T* get away with is a big deal, and that's what we are talking about...
Energy production is ALWAYS made or broken by the INFRASTRUCTURE,
It's not the PV Panels you use, it's the ground mounts or racking, wiring connections that makes the system reliable & repairable...
I spent the first 3-5 years chasing 'Mistakes', bad connections that corroded, undersize/wrong wiring wasting power, etc.
It's not the generator you use in micro-hydro, it's the mount for your generator...
More than one went down stream with floods!
It's not the generator you use on wind power,
It's the pole & support you have, the generator doesn't make any power stuck in the mud after a storm...
Some GREAT ideas have come from the home installers, and those get passed around person to person, no big company passes those ideas along with their products...
Just an idea, running it up the flag pole to get opinions...