Solar PV, Knowlesville 2

System

Sun: 600 W and 1 kW PV systems

Efficiency: Straw bale House

Cost: 600W PV - $5000; 1kW PV $15,000 including installation

Date of Installation: 600 W PV 2002, 1 kW PV in 2008

Type/kind: Residential (4; 2 adults, 2 children)

Installer: 600W, Self installation; 1kW PV, Fundy Solar Inc. (http://fundysolar.ca/)

Description of Case Study: They are building their second straw bale home, which has the 1kW PV and 800W turbine systems. They have an 1800 W inverter and 10 Surrette Batteries (http://www.surrette.com/).

The turbine was constructed at a workshop at Falls Brook Centre based on a model created by Hugh Piggott. It is a 10 foot diameter wood blade and direct drive system.

This is an off-grid system that more than meets the needs of this family. They have several appliances running on this system, including a freezer, a washing machine, power tools, fridge, and many other kitchen appliances.

The main problems faced with this RE system was that several of the nuts were not tightened by the installer prior to finishing the installation, which resulted in issues related to power usage. Once these nuts were tightened, there were no subsequent problems.