Awhi farm : Construction :Solar panel re-organisation

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The panel on the roof is the old setup
When i got to the farm, it was mid summer and the solar panel for the communal area was strapped to the roof of a tent.

This isn't an ideal situation as the sun alters its track through the sky and solar panels like to be perpendicular to the suns rays.

So I was tasked with re-jigging the setup.

We built a frame to house two panels, the angle of which can now be adjusted to make the best use of the suns changing position in the sky as the seasons cycle by.

The batteries like to be kept at an even temperature so we scrounged up an old chest freezer to house them. A side benefit is that currently the four deep cycle lead acid batteries are taking up room in the communal roundhouse and shifting them frees up some space.

I mainly organised the labour on this build. C.J. a young local builder knocked up the frame, and Andy (our resident mad scientist) hooked up the cables.



New setup
Andy and the new panel















Angles of the sun in sky
Current battery setup




Jig for plotting the correct angle of the sun







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