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Fernglade Farm

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Commenced:	01/01/2005
Submitted:	08/04/2011
Last updated:	16/02/2016
Location:	Cherokee, Victoria, AU
Climate zone:	Cool Temperate

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Fernglade Farm

Cherokee, AU

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A little bit more sunlight

Project: Fernglade Farm

Posted by Chris McLeod over 10 years ago

This week has involved work on increasing the off grid solar electric capacity here at the farm. I also include a link to a video I recently uploaded showing the chicken enclosure, hen house and gravity fed water capture and distribution systems.

Activities this week focused on the off grid solar electricity systems here. Sometimes, you just need a little bit more energy – especially over winter.

You’d think that a shop selling high technology solar electric equipment would be like walking into a mad scientist’s workshop where there are all sorts of unexplained high technology looking items hanging around, perhaps a few computer displays providing readouts for who knows what. However, the shop that I have been frequenting for a few years now is actually run by a bunch of lovely hippies – who are all very helpful! The hippies look like they’ve spent the weekend blockading forest roads from miners and loggers or possibly they were just in an inner city park fire twirling and playing the bongo drums. However, they really know their solar stuff and are pleasant to deal with.

This week, I’ve installed three new solar panels.

Solar electricity is great, however, I am not connected to the electricity grid and have no desire to rely on a fossil fuel powered generator. Therefore, I have to be able to reliably produce enough solar electricity from the panels under the very worst weather conditions. These worst conditions are usually found in the depths of winter. If the system itself does not produce enough solar electricity, it simply shuts down. The shutdown occurs to protect the batteries which would otherwise be permanently damaged if they were completely depleted.

Check out the rest of the weekly blog here: http://ferngladefarm.blogspot.com.au/

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