Electric Power System

I made it up to the land again this weekend for a day trip. I completed the power system while I was there. As I mentioned in a previous post, I wired the shabin so that I can simply plug in AC power from where ever I can get it. So far, that has been exclusively from running my trusty generator. Of course, I want to be more green as well as enjoy some peace and quiet, so I am dipping my toe into solar power. You can see our newly installed PV solar panel above the glass door in the above picture.



The solar panel feeds DC current around to the back of the shabin, where I have set up a low storage shed.  In that shed, I have installed a pair of batteries to store the power. In the picture above you can see the batteries, lots of heavy duty battery cabling, and the small blue and black charger that regulates power from the panel to the batteries.The batteries are inexpensive, sealed deep cycle models from Wal-Mart. They each store 125 amp-hours of power, and are wired in parallel to provide a total of 250 amp-hours of power at 12V. I estimated that amount of power could conservatively power the lights and ceiling fan for about 12 hours of continuous use. It should also be able to power the small fan in the composting toilet for about a month.



I do not use 12V power, though, so on the other side of the mounting panel is an Tripp Lite inverter/charger. This is really the heart of the operation. The battery cables connect to it, as does an extension cord that plugs into the shabin. The inverter itself plugs into the generator, which I have also installed in the storage shed. When I turn on a light inside, the inverter draws DC power from the batteries, and supplies the AC power. If I have the generator on, it pass that power straight through to the shabin and charge the batteries at the same time. My system is really a hybrid. The solar panel, at 15W, is really only enough to keep up with the drain from the composting toilet fan that must run 24 hours. So, primary power is supplied by the gas generator. It is still more efficient than running only from the generator, because i can fully charge the batteries by running the generator for a couple of hours. I can then enjoy many hours of intermittent usage and silent power from the batteries, rather than running the generator all of that time. It also allows me to run the generator while running the air conditioner, which would otherwise deplete the batteries in a short amount of time. If the solar seems to be doing well, I will probably invest in more panels. A reasonably small solar system should be able to recoup our power usage (minus the A/C) during the summer when we are absent for one, two, or more weeks at a time.



I had time for some miscellaneous tasks after finishing the power system. One was covering over the exposed insulation in the shower area. I plan to eventually install a shower in that location, but it now looks like it will be a while before I install the water system. So, I used up some leftover flooring to cover up that wall. Above you see it half done, and the last anyone will see of insulation in the shabin for a long time. I have a few small remaining tasks to complete, and I plan to go up for one more day trip before closing up the place for a few months.

Paneling Complete

I have been up to the land for three days of work so far this month, and that was enough time to finish paneling the inside. Above is a shot of the finished loft.



This shot shows the trim around the doors. In keeping with the rustic appearance, I went pretty basic with any trim. I simply cut down pieces of paneling, as I did for the trim around the windows.



I used some scrap panels to make shelves in the bathroom. The divider wall to the kitchen is only paneled on the kitchen side, leaving the bathroom side with the studs exposed. I installed the scrap pieces in the space between two studs. This should provide plenty of storage space for toilet paper and the composting medium for the composting toilet.



Here is the composting toilet. I have unpacked it, but not installed it yet.

I also has some time to do other little things around the place. I installed the cabinets for the kitchen. Behind the shabin, I set up a small shed to house the electrical systems, which include the generator, inverter, and storage batteries. There will be more on that in my next post. Finishing the electrical system is my next project.