How Simple Solar Changed My Life

By Backwoods Solar Customer: Dennis O'Brien

(Panels at full summer tilt. Cross-bracing made frame much sturdier.
Cabin (yurt) in background, with “passive” solar cooling.)

In the summer of 2014 I was spending most of my time sitting in a recliner due to a back injury. The boredom was as bad as the pain. But my new neighbor was a solar contractor, and I went to one of her presentations at the local environmental center on how to install a solar power system. My creative juices began to flow.

For a while all I could do was to visualize the system and start to draw plans. I live out in the country in a small cabin on the edge of civilization. We still have access to the electric power grid, but I decided I wanted to be independent in case we started to have rolling power outages like during the last power crisis a few years earlier. I didn’t want a large system to totally replace the grid, just something big enough to allow me to survive in my small cabin during outages while reducing my use of non-renewable energy the rest of the time. So I decided on a battery storage system instead of one that was intertied to the grid.

I knew from my neighbor’s presentation that I needed four basic components: the solar panels, a charge controller, batteries, and a DC/AC inverter. She first advised me to use her watt meter to determine how much power I needed. After checking everything that drew electricity (loads), I realized that I could power most items by producing about one kilowatt per day. This did not include anything with a compressor (refrigerator and air conditioner) or a heating element (stove, oven, and electric heater). But in a pinch I could survive without all of those. I even had a wood stove to replace the heater, if necessary.

I decided to build my own frame for the panels. It’s always helpful to draw plans before building anything from scratch. There was some scrap wood at the ranch where my cabin is located, including some 2x4’s. I found what I needed: a couple boards that were five feet long, and four more that were four feet long. By now the doctors had started to fix my back, and I was able to do some light work. I gathered the wood, borrowed a power saw, and cut the exact lengths that I needed. I then figured out how many screws, nuts, and bolts of various sizes I would need, which I purchased at the local hardware store. I could only work a bit each day, but progress was steady, and when the frame was finished, I felt a sense of accomplishment, far better than sitting on a recliner counting down the minutes till the next pain pill.

My neighbor/contractor is Kelly Larson, who also teaches returning veterans how to use their skills to become solar contractors. She checked my plans to make sure everything was safe and doable, then helped me order the components. I spent a little extra buying separate components rather than a kit; the total cost was about $1200. The panels were rated at about 300 watts. Although there were lots of trees on the property, we were able to find a spot near my cabin that got enough sun to achieve my goals. I learned then that direct current has a significant loss of power the further it travels, and that the thicker copper wire that could compensate for that was very expensive. There are times when one must make compromises based on availability and cost.

As my back improved, I was able to do the bending and lifting necessary to install the panels on the wooden rack (see picture). After considering many options for how to adjust the tilt for the changing sun angle, I decided on the simplest: build a rigid frame and put bricks or concrete blocks under the front or back to tilt it during the summer and winter. I partially hammered a nail into the frame, perpendicular to the panels, to act as a “sundial” to show when it was time to change the tilt angle. This has given me a heightened awareness of the seasons and the angle of the sun as it crosses the sky.

Every component came with detailed plans that guided my work. How to securely fasten the panels to the wooden frame. How to connect the wiring to the panels. How to connect to the charge controller. How to connect to the batteries and the invertor. What size wire I needed, and what strength fuses. I slowly but surely got it all set up, then asked Kelly to check it out before making the final connection. I was very pleased when she approved it, as I was definitely at the edge of my own knowledge and skills. It showed me that a person with no special training could still learn enough to build their own basic solar power system; Kelly called it “Simple Solar”. Thus it was with great pride, on the winter solstice of 2014, that I switched on the invertor and began to power my life with solar energy.

Starting on the solstice had been my goal, as I wanted to see how much I could power up with the least amount of sun, then add on loads as the sun got higher and more power became available. I found that I could power all my lighting right away, but had to wait till spring to add on my electronics: computer, satellite modem, TV, satellite receiver, DVD player, and stereo. I could even power a fan during the summer, cutting down on my air conditioning. With a couple of well-placed extension cords and power strips, it was easy to switch loads from the grid to solar and back, depending on the season or occasional stretch of cloudy days. And when there was a power outage, I was able light my home and stay connected with the world.

But perhaps the greatest sense of accomplishment came one day as I was standing on the back porch, admiring the panels and the work I had done to make it happen. Behind the panels is a large stand of bamboo. It occurred to me that, no matter how efficient humans made solar panels and other components, we would never achieve the efficiency that plants do when they convert solar power. Suddenly I was overwhelmed by the feeling that the plants were thanking me, that somehow I had achieved a higher state of being by becoming more like them, becoming more sustainable in my use of natural resources.

Two years earlier I had been a lump on a chair, wondering if I would ever do anything meaningful again. But on that day I realized that sustainability is the new covenant with the eternal; if we commit to living our lives without depleting Nature, then Nature will provide a paradise here and now, and we won’t be burdened with having to justify stealing from the future. On many levels – practical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual – I had freed myself.

These days saving energy has become second nature. Even when components are plugged into the grid, my energy saving habits, e.g., turning off the modem when not in use, continue throughout the year. And none of it feels like a burden. Simple solar has produced the simple delights of being in tune with Nature and knowing that I’m doing my part to make the world better for future generations. A bi-power system may not be the ultimate solution, but it goes a long way toward restoring the balance with Nature. And it will change your life, as surely as it has changed mine.