Dragonwood Chronicles: Solar Panels

Wecome to Dragonwood Chronicles

Tucked away deep in the woods at the southern edge of the Tug Hill region of New York. Dragonwood is our off-grid sanctuary. Six acres of pond and gardens bordered by forest on three sides.

The project began in 1995, when after a long search, Debe and I purchased the property from a local logger. To date we have built a cabin, a bridge, out house, two sheds in addition to expansive gardens and stone work. We have a generator, propane lights, refrigerator and grill, a wood stove and modest solar system. A dug well and small stream suitable for watering gardens and other needs and a nearby spring for drinking water.

The Dragonwood Chronicles will serve to document the project with photographs and notes. Future projects will include additions to the cabin, a root cellar and a studio building.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Solar Panels

Well we finally took the plunge and I don't know why we waited so long. This 45 Watt system is basically a solar battery charger. I had to purchase a 12 Volt deep cycle battery to go with the system. Basically a marine or RV battery. This system came with a regulator and two DC 5 Watt compact fluorescent light fixtures.

One of the biggest challenges of being off the grid is lighting. As soon as the sun goes down things become difficult especially if it is overcast and no moonlight. We have used propane lanterns, tiki torches and rechargeable lights as well as oil lamps.

I was somewhat skeptical, but I have to tell you it works great. This system is an inexpensive set up made for campers or a remote cabin like ours and clearly has limitations. We will eventually have to purchase an inverter if we wish to operate AC appliances, but for now I am just happy to have the lighting.

As an experiment I ran both lights all night long, which normally I wouldn't do. The two lights only drew down the battery to 12.3 from 12.8 on the regulator.

The solar panels connected brought the battery back to a 13 on the regulator in just a little over a half hour. I am impressed.