Current activity/output :   ( updates every 5 min if my laptop is talking to the server, Java pulls a new inverter image every 5 minutes.

  Photo is of what I call, my Solar Monolith. (How-To)  A group of us bought several Unisolar 64 panels back in 2001, as part of the Alternative Energy Zone Village at Burning Man.  I wanted to make a self-contained "box" that was portable [ha!] and did not drag a bunch of wires around.    Well, it's all in one box, and fairly neat, but with a full sheet of plywood, and a couple of deep cycle batteries, it's barely lug-able (photo of innards) .  I used Mayor Roger's idea of a 4" PVC pipe as a roller, to load and unload from my truck.  It's been to several fairs, and many trips to the Playa .

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  As time progressed, I fell into the the trap role of being the moderator of the mail list for the AEZ. Maybe I post too much, and this was karma getting back at me. At some point, maybe between Peak Oil and extravagant electrical rates,  I'd come to the decision in the spring of 2006, to look into installing PV panels on the roof.  My house in Hawthorne, CA - just down the road from the LA Airport, was a pretty good fit.  2 stories, no trees, fairly clean - only 1 drain vent pipe, but sloped and facing west.  Not as perfect as a southern slope would have been, but close enough, that with morning's marine layer fog, and a clear view of sky till sunset - I'm guessing I'll have output between 10AM until Sunset.
   So I bit the bullet, accessed the home equity line of credit, and signed on with Real Goods for a 4.5KW STC  (~3.5 after derating & losses)  grid-tie system.  Contains 22 ea Sharp  208W modules on the roof, and a Xantrex 3.8KW inverter, parked in the garage, on the inside wall opposite my power meter. At least I got signed up for the CA State solar install rebate before they started nibbling away at it..

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