Pool Party

On Memorial Day, after we visited Grandma, we went down to Trudi & Daniel's house to officially break in their pool with an afternoon pool party. They had invited another family with 4 kids, so with their own 3 kids included there was a total of 70 little fingers & toes splashing in the pool! (not including those 60 bigger fingers & toes). After a yummy supper of hotdogs & hamburgers a few of us had fun climbing trees. :)

Grandma's Garden [update]

On Monday (Memorial Day) we went over to visit Grandma and to check up on her garden. She was very happy to see us since she hadn't been feeling well earlier in the day. She seemed happy for the company.

Her garden is doing great! Since we last saw her she has added two new rows of beets to her garden. The Lima beans, green beans and tomatoes are also looking very healthy. The potted corn seems to also be growing well in spite of their close quarters. It will be interesting to see how that turns out! :)

While we were there, we also trimmed a crape myrtle bush that had been damaged (about 60% of it) by the hard freeze we had a couple of months ago.

Beh-beh Ducks

Yesterday (5.27.07) we went to the Chickamauga Dam Park to throw frisbees and watch boats. We also saw these baby ducks.

Bye-bye!

Rock Town

Last Sabbath a group of us drove down to LaFayett, GA for an afternoon hike. After a 1 hour drive we had to hike about a mile before we finally reached our destination - a cluster of rock formations called, Rock Town.

This photo is a good representation of some of the many cool formations we saw.

These rocks where perfect for "boldering" and practicing your rock climbing techniques.

We climbed up a big rock and found this little grassy patch on top.
The perfect location for a private picnic.

This sequence of photos shows Er!c crawling through a small hole in the rocks and then reappearing a few minutes later down a side canyon... Ta-Da!!!!

This was the view from atop the mountain (where Rock Town was)

Todd & Er!c jumping the chasm...

Our Anniversary

May 15, 2007
Today was our 2 year Anniversary.

"Happy Anniversary to us, Happy Anniversary to us..."

Compost Cage

Yesterday we built a compost cage and loaded it up with a pile of already-composting leaves and sticks. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a good healthy compost pile because there were already lots of earthworms in the mix! :)

Lazy Tofu

Our cat Tofu was lazing around in a pool of sunlight one afternoon and let me take some great photos of her.

~

Around The Yard

Here's a recent photo of our back yard at dusk.

The above photo is of the new neighborhood directly behind us. New houses have recently been going in left and right. The two in the middle just went up this past week (our house is right in the middle at the end of the cul-de-sac).

We bought a new hibiscus bush last week and it has the most beautiful blossoms!

We decided to removed the row of cardboard boxes and build a "real" shelf with 3 upside-down terracotta pots and a shelving board.

~

Dining Room Lanterns

Recently we went down to IKEA in Atlanta and bought these cool hanging paper lanterns for our dining room. It really warms up that room quite nicely!

The End of My Solar Dream

Check out my previous attempts at harnessing solar energy.

I came to the sad realization last night that solar energy isn't really going to save us much money. I started crunching the numbers and the best deal on a solar panel (dollars per Watt) would cost me $280 for a 60W panel. That would provide plenty of power to run 4 or 5 fluorescent house lamps for approximately 4 hours each night.

However, since these are already energy efficient, the long-term savings isn't all that much. I estimated that we'd only save $10 - $12 per year by taking those lamps off the grid (based on the current price per kilowatt and the predicted usage each year). That means it would take us nearly 30 years to pay off the $280 solar panel from the benefits we'd be gaining from it... and then it would be time to buy a brand new panel again!!! Not worth it in my estimation (at least according to my math).

I think the larger the solar setup the more practical it is. Getting those bigger energy hogs (AC, stove, water heater, fridge, etc...) off the grid is where you really save big bucks. Simply taking a few low-wattage fluorescent lamps off the grid isn't going to do a whole lot.

However, if we were living out in the jungle, miles away from the nearest power grid, I can imagine that a 60W solar panel would come in VERY handy, and a 400W array might actually be worth the investment.

Anyway, as much as I was looking forward to getting into the world of solar energy, I just can't seem to convince myself (or Jane11) that it's really worth it to pursue the solar energy dream any further. We'll probably save more money each year by simply adjusting the thermostat 1 degree warmer this summer (and cooler next winter).

I still plan to continue to keep my little 1.5W solar panel hooked up to our emergency backup battery to keep it topped off in preparation for the next unexpected blackout...

~

WHAT I'D REALLY LOVE TO HAVE...

Having already been somewhat inspired by my parents (who are successfully "off the grid" for about 8 - 10 hours every day with their solar setup) I was emailed today a link to a friend's blog and their superb solar farm! Wow! Their power meter is actually "running backwards".

And then I was checking out the No Impact Man blog (one of my latest favorite blogs), and he's gone solar as well.

Here's another good solar option.
~

Mini Solar Farm

For some odd reason I got the urge last week to research solar energy. In the process I stumbled upon an inexpensive solar panel which you can put in your car to keep your car battery charged. I already had a power inverter and so I had this brilliant idea:

All I need to do is get a cheep 12 volt car battery and I'll be set! I'll let the solar panel charge the battery during the day (while we're at work) and then at night I can power small appliances like my laptop, or the living room lamps... maybe even more!

I mentioned my idea to a coworker, and he hooked me up with a used marine deep cycle battery which was essentially new and had only been used briefly by the film crew for the movie Secret of the Cave.

So last Friday the solar panel arrived, I picked up the marine deep cycle battery, I came home and hooked everything up. But it was a cloudy weekend and so it didn't get enough juice to charge the dead battery. However, after charging the battery (with a car battery charger overnight) and letting the solar panel do "it's thing" over the next two days, I now have enough power to run the lights in our living room!

It's nice to know that we'll always have electricity, even if the power goes out. :)

Even as I type, I am basking in the warm glow of free energy! It is dark out at the moment but these two fluorescent lamps have been faithfully burning now for over two & a half hours... I'm curious to see just how long they will last.

Stay tuned for an updated progress report.

~

THE NEXT MORNING...

Well, the battery didn't last much longer... The lights ran for about 2.5 hours, however I'm not 100% sure the battery was fully charged to begin with. I need to get (or find) a voltage meter so I can test and monitor the power levels. I'm thinking that I might need an array of 2 or 3 more batteries (and possibly also a couple more solar cells) to make this thing more of a viable solution. But I'll stick with this setup for now.

Although the lights (two 15W fluorescent bulbs) ran for 2+ hours last night they did begin to dim over time and eventually flickered to an abrupt stop. So far, it isn't very practical for everyday use, but it would at least supply us with enough short-term energy in the case of an emergency.

Yesterday I built a protective glass case for the solar panel so I can place it on the roof and it won't get damaged by rain... hopefully it will get better direct sunlight up there. At the moment I just have it propped up in the window which only gets about 3 hours of sunlight in the late afternoon -- I doubt that's enough to fully charge the battery each day.

~

METERS & ROOFTOPS...

Today during my lunch hour I broke down and bought a small voltage meter. I think I have (had) one somewhere but haven't seen it in over 2 years. Anyway, when I got home the sky was clear and the sun was still shining bright. I pointed the panel directly at the sun and noted the voltage at 20. The battery was registering a steady 12 volts both with or without the help of the solar panel. I don't think the solar panel was in the sun long enough today to fully charge the battery. I'll run the same two living room lamps tonight and see how long they last.

Also this evening I finished up the protective box for my solar panel and positioned it on the roof. I slightly angled the box with a brick to increase the direct sun rays. I'm hoping it will get a strong blast of sunlight for 5 or 6 straight hours a day. That should be able to top off the battery each day.

I'm not only saving money by not having those lamps "on the grid" each night, but they also provide a constant reminder to me of the other lights or appliances I needlessly leave on, wasting energy and money...

~

SUNNY DAY!

Today looks like another beautiful sunny day. I checked the voltage coming from the solar panel this morning at 7:30 and it was already getting 13-15 volts! Once the sun gets above the treetops it should be registering close to 20 volts most of the day. I'm hoping that will do good things for the battery... :)

I'm still a bit of a novice when it comes to electricity... I know the basics (like RED means positive and BLACK means negative), but when it comes to Watts, Amps, Ohms, etc. I get confused fast! So I did a quick internet search and found this website and equation:

I = P/V or P = VI

I represents current (or Amps), P stands for Power (or Watts), and V of course for Volts.
So, by using that equation I can figure out that my two 13 Watt fluorescent lights (a total of 26 Watts) are drawing 2.17 Amps from my 12V battery... (I think that is correct -- someone please correct me if I am wrong). Fully charged my battery says it has 875 "cranking amps", so I'm not exactly sure what that means for my 2.17 Amps... I'm guess that's how many Amps it can hold when fully charged?

I just received this simple explanation from my electronically gifted Dad:

Let's say you want to be able to charge up your battery so it can deliver 24 watts for 4 hours (96 watt-hours). Your 1.5 watt solar panel will have to charge for 64 hours! This is why more panels will really make it more practical. Ideally, you'd like to be able to fully charge during the day and use it at night. If you got 6 hours of direct sunlight, you'd need 16 watts of solar panel output (96/6) or about 10 panels (16/1.5) of the size you currently have.

So it's official. I need to get more solar panels! Ha! :)
Actually, I'm still interested in seeing how well my current setup will work and just how much I can milk out of it when running at peak performance. I need to probably fix my wiring (from panel to the battery) plus any & all loose connections to reduce energy losses where I can.

~

Grandma's Growbox Garden

Today we delivered two growboxes and a garden bench to Grandma Pettibone. She helped us plant the various vegetables and flowers that we brought her and seemed quite pleased with the whole setup. Here are a few photos.

1. Low growbox for tall plants
2. High growbox for shorter plants
3. Bench to sit on

Choosing which seeds to plant


Grandma planting Lima beans


Tomatoes, green beans & cucumbers in the lower growbox


A homemade hook for Grandma's new hummingbird feeder


Planting a Lima bean


Planting corn in terracotta pots


Grandma's new patio!


Grandma's patio a week ago...