Thursday, August 21, 2014

Beginning The Solar System Install

I'm back to work part time teaching fiber optics and associated disciplines to the telecommunications industry once more. The curriculum has changed a bit and the class I teach has gotten one third longer. I was rehired by the company that laid me off in 2008. I am looking forward to getting back to a 20 hour work week and It's great to be back in the work force once again

As far as the living space goes, I do not have any plans to stop living the way I live now in my cargo trailer. I dream of a time when I can live on a property that will last more than two years because moving every two years is kind of a drag. But I owe a huge thank you to my good friend Bob O. for letting me live on his property for this long. My stay in beautiful Juniper Hills California has been bliss and I believe that I couldn't have been any more content anywhere else.

My friend Bob is selling his home and moving back to his home state which means that once again it's time for me to begin the search for a new place to live. I am hoping that I can get on a property that is close to the freeway so that my commute is shorter than the 132 miles I drive round trip from home to work and back. I can't move too close to work because I am still attending college which is in the opposite direction from home.

I am almost done with the first part of my college education and the one class I am taking this semester will complete my goals for two associates degrees in graphic arts. Going to college has been a great deal of fun along with an equal amount of difficult academic work that I have not had much experience with prior to these past few years.

A few weeks ago My friend Pete and I took a trip to the San Fernando Valley in my pickup truck to buy some fastening materials to install my new solar panels. A few months ago I purchased 4 brand new 300 watt polycrystalline solar panels to install on the roof of my Cargo Trailer home. I designed the system to be wired in series-parallel to a 96 amp Midnite Solar charge controller which will charge my pair of 8D parallel wired AGM batteries. [I was a union electrician before I began my teaching career]

I am hoping that before I move to the next location I will have the 4 huge [6.5 ft by 3.5 ft] solar panels installed securely. Once they are installed I can do the necessary wiring to finalize my off grid electrical system.

If you or anyone you know needs a vibrant well spoken instructor to teach materials that are hard to comprehend while keeping the atmosphere light and humorous, feel free to send an email. If you can teach me, I can teach anyone! Until my next post... Take care!