Heroglyphic Solar
Another weekend hobby of mine (apart from the photography, websites, computers and everything else) is learning how to produce clean, abundant, free energy... I see what we're doing to the planet, yet when I look around I don't see solar panels on any roofs? The reason is cost, the average homeowner (or renter) just can't afford them, yet. I've recently taken the SLR 101 & 102 classes at Pima Community College, taken and passed the national NABCEP basic certification test, and have joined a local non-profit to help install solar power for other non-profits. If you'd like to see pictures of our non-profit in action, please the Solar Guild website at www.solarguild.org. My ongoing goal is to learn enough so at some point I can help get affordable clean solar power out to the masses... I want to be able to look around and see solar panels everywhere!
Anyway, hope you enjoy all the pic's below... I posted some of them while taking the classes at Pima, and the rest are pics of our non-profit (Solar Guild) in action. We've installed a 40KW system for the University of Arizona's Biosphere 2, installed some standalone lighting on the ramadas at Catalina State Park, done various projects for the Girl Scouts, and more. If you have the same passion and want to talk solar, drop me an email using the contact box on this site. You can join the Solar Guild for a small yearly fee and be invited to help us with upcoming projects too... for more info visit us at www.solarguild.org John Hiserman.
Anyway, hope you enjoy all the pic's below... I posted some of them while taking the classes at Pima, and the rest are pics of our non-profit (Solar Guild) in action. We've installed a 40KW system for the University of Arizona's Biosphere 2, installed some standalone lighting on the ramadas at Catalina State Park, done various projects for the Girl Scouts, and more. If you have the same passion and want to talk solar, drop me an email using the contact box on this site. You can join the Solar Guild for a small yearly fee and be invited to help us with upcoming projects too... for more info visit us at www.solarguild.org John Hiserman.
Are you interested in learning how to install solar systems while helping out local non-profits at the same time? We are a local, membership supported non-profit who's mission is teach solar installation through community involvement.
For only $35/year you can help support the Solar Guild and be involved with our upcoming projects!
Please visit the Solar Guild website at www.solarguild.org for more information today!
Page History
June 2011 - I'm back in school! Currently taking a Photovoltaic installation class at Pima! Will keep you updated...
June 25th, 2011 - City of Tucson, Pennington St. Garage Solar Installation Tour - Amazing views from up there! Check out the pic's posted (below the newer T.E.P. tour photos below), taken on June 25th, 2011... enjoy!, John.
Aug 6th, 2011 - Part one of the SLR101 class is finished! Part 2 "advanced" starts soon... I got a "B"!! (it's a tough class!)
October 29th, 2011 - Mid-way though the advanced solar class, learning a lot, initially the class seemed easier, but the it 'creeps up' on you... but I really like the class! We're finally building an electrical panel from scratch, when done we get to take them out and hook them to real solar panels and plug-in and power real appliances. I posted the pic's of our tour of Tucson Electric Power's 'Solar Test' Yard that we took on Oct. 22nd below... check 'em out, it's very cool stuff... John
October 30th, 2011 - Stitched some of the photos together and posted them below.
October 31st, 2011 - Happy Halloween, Folks!
I forgot to mention that I joined the Solar Guild last week,... and will participating in the Biosphere installs!
I'll post the pic's when I have them...
November 6th, 2011 - Biosphere 2 Install! - Boy I'm tired. Those panels weigh (what feels like) 100lbs/ea... Anyway, added some pic's
from the day below,.. and the stitched photos below these, hope you enjoy! John.
November 13th, 2011 - Biosphere 2 Install - Part 2 - Wet, soaked and tired!... but we did it! Enjoy the new pics from today, ... John
June 2011 - I'm back in school! Currently taking a Photovoltaic installation class at Pima! Will keep you updated...
June 25th, 2011 - City of Tucson, Pennington St. Garage Solar Installation Tour - Amazing views from up there! Check out the pic's posted (below the newer T.E.P. tour photos below), taken on June 25th, 2011... enjoy!, John.
Aug 6th, 2011 - Part one of the SLR101 class is finished! Part 2 "advanced" starts soon... I got a "B"!! (it's a tough class!)
October 29th, 2011 - Mid-way though the advanced solar class, learning a lot, initially the class seemed easier, but the it 'creeps up' on you... but I really like the class! We're finally building an electrical panel from scratch, when done we get to take them out and hook them to real solar panels and plug-in and power real appliances. I posted the pic's of our tour of Tucson Electric Power's 'Solar Test' Yard that we took on Oct. 22nd below... check 'em out, it's very cool stuff... John
October 30th, 2011 - Stitched some of the photos together and posted them below.
October 31st, 2011 - Happy Halloween, Folks!
I forgot to mention that I joined the Solar Guild last week,... and will participating in the Biosphere installs!
I'll post the pic's when I have them...
November 6th, 2011 - Biosphere 2 Install! - Boy I'm tired. Those panels weigh (what feels like) 100lbs/ea... Anyway, added some pic's
from the day below,.. and the stitched photos below these, hope you enjoy! John.
November 13th, 2011 - Biosphere 2 Install - Part 2 - Wet, soaked and tired!... but we did it! Enjoy the new pics from today, ... John
Biosphere 2 Install - November 13th, 2011
Click Play to start the slideshow,.. which set to 3 seconds/frame, or pause and click the small thumbnail pics to navigate..
Biosphere 2 Install - Panoramic Photos
November 13th, 2011 (fast, initial pass stiches just to get them uploaded quickly)
Biosphere 2 Install - November 6th, 2011
Click "Play" on the large photo to start the slideshow, or pause it and use the "next & back" arrows that appear.
Biosphere 2 Install - Panoramic Photos
November 6th, 2011
The photo above was rushed when I took it, so it's a tough one for the computer software to stitch automatically, but wanted to get these up quickly for everyone... plus it looks cool, (I'll re-stitch it at some point, too tired from lifting those panels all day :-). The one's below came out much better. The first (upper left) image below was taken in the morning, and the last one (lower right) was as I was leaving for the day... both taken from almost the same place. The light really was amazing all day, and it had just rained the day before so the air was clean. I had a great time helping install these with the Solar Guild, my classmates and instructor...,very glad I was given an opportunity to help.
Click on the pics below to enlarge them on your screen... hope you like, John.
Click on the pics below to enlarge them on your screen... hope you like, John.
Tucson Electric Power, Solar Test Yard - October 22nd, 2011
Here's the pic's I took of my class's tour of T.E.P.'s Solar Test Yard on Oct. 22nd, 2011. DeAnna Lewis of the U of A was our guide as we walked around what felt like dozens of solar panel arrays all from a dozen different panel manufacturers... and I'm very happy that I was able to tour their facility, which seems to be maintained by nothing but U of A students and teachers. For me, since I have an interest in panel manufacturing processes, I was fascinated to see such a wide variety of panels on display, both Chinese and (maybe one?) American made modules were present, all hooked up, racked... and producing electricity!
However, I was kinda disappointed to see some of the panels to be in a state of poor repair,... several of them missing covers on their junction boxes (on the back of the panels, which I'm sure will cause an electrical short when it rains). Others (mainly the "rubber surround" type (rubber instead of an aluminum frame) were all dry-rotting, and really should be sealed with a silicon sealant to prevent further damage to the cells, which are already plagued by water & oxygenation-breach issues. Or, maybe we just need to remind ourselves that this is a solar "test yard", after all, and we need to let all that go... They know what they're doing, right? After-all,... it is T.E.P. and the U of A.. |
Some panels from prominent manufacturers looked to be made very well. Solid frames, no water damage, very rugged looking. Some were so well made they were almost, dare I say... sexy. Another interesting thing to see was various frames (racking) from different manufacturers, and some home-made 'custom' looking frames, got a few ideas there... I also noticed (sorry, more bad news) that some of the panels were being "yellowed" by the sun... and badly. It's an issue with the material that's used in the industry to "seal" the cells to the glass (a.k.a "solar encapsulation", or "solar laminate") in an attempt to keep all the air & water out of them - and away from those fragile Silicon Wafers... What's encapsulating your solar cells, folks?
Anyway, here's the pictures taken that day, all of them. The new panoramas are below these. You can pause the slideshow if you wish, the photos are set to scroll at 3 seconds/ea.... or hit the forward arrow to move them along even quicker.
Anyway, here's the pictures taken that day, all of them. The new panoramas are below these. You can pause the slideshow if you wish, the photos are set to scroll at 3 seconds/ea.... or hit the forward arrow to move them along even quicker.
T.E.P. Solar Test Yard - Panoramic Photos - 10-30-2011
Remember that I didn't use a tripod, ...so they didn't turn out all that great, people moved around a lot, so the software will do what it can to stitch the pic's together (and it makes some fun mistakes when it wants too)... are those legs or arms standing over the Solendra panels? :-) I try to always "pan" a scene with the camera, that way I get a greater sense of the area, and they're fun to see put together...
Pennington St. Garage Solar Installation Tour - June 25th, 2011
Pima SLR 101 - Our tour of the garage's solar panel installation up on the rooftop.. with the City of Tucson guide (forget his name, but nice guy) with my solar class... they said I could bring my camera,... so enjoy!
Click on pic's to enlarge...
Click on pic's to enlarge...