We've got the Power

The sustainable energy system has been installed and has started charging the storage batteries, marginally! Just as the final wire was terminated a full 8 oktas of cloud cover and absolutely no wind were recorded. Considering the hole in the ozone above the continent heightens the risk of sunburn exponentially and that Cape Denison is (rumored) to be "The windiest place on earth (at sea level)", the early results have been a little disappointing. Last "night" we were bathed in the luxury of fluorescent lighting in the kitchen to complete galley duties and in the main living area for recreational past times. All without the drone of the petrol generator in the background. For the technical minded the breakdown is thus: 2 x 75 Watt "BP Solar" solar panels connected in parallel and installed on the north wall of "Delaney's Dunny" at an angle of approximately 80 degrees and a "Forgen" vertical axis Savonius rotor wind generator (producing a trickle charge of only a few watts) provide the power. Power storage is with 2 x 12 volt, 22 amp hour "Sonnenschein" gel batteries connected in parallel giving a total storage capacity of 44 amp hours at 12 volts nominal. The battery charging and power distribution is controlled by a "BP Solar" PL20 controller. A 150 Watt "Dick Smith" inverter is used to convert the 12 volt DC to 240 volt AC and is enough to run all the fluorescent lighting in the Sorensen or charge one lap top computer battery. This, however, is a drain on the batteries when there is minimal sunshine on the solar panels (did I mention the cloud cover?!) The data collection abilities of the PL20 will provide information for future improvements of the system and hours of enlightening conversation around the hut over the next couple of weeks. Steve Beaton Electrician