Exciting! Since we're just a bit down the road from you, the power generation and usage data you've collected over the seasons will be very helpful in figuring out similar solar configurations we are planning. Great work!
Yeah I wish all those solar calculators took into account the summer solstice and using less power in the winter. We would have titled our main array back 10 or so degrees if we known that then.
I’m constantly amazed by Jonathan’s knowledge and capabilities and Ashley’s ability to do just about anything. This is one of the main reasons I love to watch you guys. Thank you both for sharing your talents, family and joy in what you’re doing. Can’t wait to see what’s next! Love you guys!
@@TinyShinyHome I would wish for the opposite: Solar calculators should factor in that I'm off grid in the Colo Mountains and winter is my biggest loads. I have no cooling needs in summer (maybe a ceiling fan). But snow covered panels at times with pellet stove running, lots more lights and etc.. for my most challenging case.
Clever you lot...I have a mini split...I do live by the sea and the salt killed my outside motor, thingamajig, lasted 2 years only...I had to buy a new one..the electrician suggested I get a box made for the machine when NOT IN USE...well I use it summer and winter but you can make a box for it when in use. Just put in LARGE vents either side of the box...make from MARINE PLY, the box and paint with varnish....works....ask your distributor if that is an option....buying a new aircon every two years is not viable.....You guys have a lot of power careful you don't take off to the moon...😊....laffinnnnn..thank you darlings...blessings darling from Granny Linda in OZ...😊
Plenty of interesting use cases for bi-facials, but here at least the gains aren't really worth it with the high winds we have Much simpler and safer to just stationary mount.
Cool, more solar panels on the Airstream parking roof. Yay, almost 10.000 watts! YEAH, east-west exposure from the Airport will give you morning and evening solar power when you need it! Brilliant! Enough wiring in the ground array to add the output from these two rails of 5 panels to add into the existing solar system in the solar shed. That was great planning! Is that your neighbor Bob helping you guys? I love how Adali does a great job working up on roofs. Yay, up to 40 kWhrs per day! Great, the overhead air conditioner died! I'm glad to hear you plan a mini-split system anyway. Thanks for this video Longnecker family!
Nice addition. We’re southern Az. We run a dual split unit for our bus with two victron 3kva’s. The heat definitely kills the panel output down here. I had a 100a mppt sitting around from warranty work and decided to add 2200w of ground deployment. Was well worth the $750 I spent as now we literally never have to watch the power consumption. I did want to address you stating the Quattro is a 5000w inverter🧐🙂
Four suggestions: 1. Put your existing solar PV array on a horizontal tracker that would allow you to catch early morning and late afternoon summer sun or 2. Build a reflector to direct sun onto your pv array. 3. Prevent direct solar gain on your airstream by hanging shade from your carport south side. 4.. Install temporary insulation like fiberglass or cellulose around your Airstream to add R value to help keep it cool and warm.
1. Trackers are expensive, add movable parts that will break eventually, and aren't safe with our winds. 2. A reflector that large doesn't make sense from a cost perspective 3. South facing sun isn't the issue. We already have shade cloth on the west side for that reason 4. This would be incredibly impractical, and winds would be an issue. 5. I promise we've thought about all this for a long time ;)
So good to see the mini air splits taking a hold in the US and esp in your Airstream !!! They are the main source of cooling /heating in our homes in Queensland Australia . It seems funny to watch the excitement of these being installed when they are so standard in our housing here in the tropics & sub tropics. And in the south they are installed mainly for heating. I hope you get many years of cooling and heating from that sweet we minisplit system. You did an xlent DIY install. It may well have been a paid sponsor but you made it appear to be a simply entertaining video of your life as per usual day to day in the desert. Enjoy the QUIET COOLNESS folks. 🇦🇺🤗💞🙏✌️👍👌👏🇺🇸
Oh my goodness Just amazed at your talent Johnathan and your family 💕 it's so good to see you all. As I continue to say, Yahusha has blessed you with great memories to add to your days. Well done beautiful videos ❤
Wow the best desert family anywhere. Get er done as Larry would say; and you do. It is all so amazing!!! Love the new solar. Oh that mini-split is the ticket, sweet. That will make it so nice for all of you. My son has a semi trailer converted into tiny house and his minisplit works amazing for him and he is in the direct sun. Not quite as hot here but shade makes a huge difference. Thank you for sharing. Can't wait to see how you all like it. You rock!!!
Nice extension of the solar power and good use of the roof! Last year I extended my solar array from 6kWp to 8kWp and an average summer day production went from 30kWh to 40kWh.
I won't lie, while you explain what you're doing with all this wiring I have not a clue what's happening. So while you're explaining I'm thinking "Oh no be careful around the pizza oven", the kids must be boiling at night, where are the chickens?, the mountains sure look pretty, I wonder how the new trees are doing along the swale, where are the chickens? Lol.
Nice stout power amount. Hey! Dont forget the "cheapo" temperature moderating method..i.e...tapping the earth's nice, steady 55-60°F 8ft down ground temp! Just route maybe 400ft ground grid of 4"dia. Sched.20 pvc tubing 6 to 8ft deep..circulate with modest water pump some antifreeze mix through this and through a car radiator/fan setup in house! You can then augment with a temperature "bump" up/down mini-split setting during real extremes too. Its worth it!
" Fortunately, we planned ahead." Oh my gosh!!! You guys are the most planner-aheaders that I have ever seen.I'm so proud of you guys and your ability to see into the future!!!! "And how did it work? Pretty much the way we had planned." Exactly, you guys rock!!!!!
Great episode. Love how detailed and informative the installation was. Your channel has grown on me 🤓. I’m so impressed with all of your work ethics and team work. Family that works together, stays together. 🤓🥰
Cool upgrade to your solar system and a smart use of the roof area. When this system gets too small for you, consider changing the panels on the ground mount for Bipolar panels (see Average Joe for the system he is testing). Then move the old panels from the ground mount to the roof area to expand those arrays. If you then use brightly colored gravel like a shy white stone under your ground mount you should be able to take advantage of the double-sided panels using the reflections off the gravel The panels Joe is testing are 415Watts on the top side and 215 on the back side, which would be a 3X increase to your ground mount area. Food for thought take care D
Excellent episode. I really liked you highlighting the problems you were seeing with your system and your fixes. I also liked you covering the cooling load challenges with solar generations. Thanks for all that great info.
"...mini split..." I was wondering if you were going to install one. I had a feeling you would want to, but, I couldn't envision how that would work with your beautiful Airstream. Guess we're about to find out 😁
Hey TSH! Good to see that you got that done and can be a lot cooler without worrying about it. Your Solar skills are amazing. Will this add to the main solar so that the A/C can be on while Ashley welds?
Well technically adding more solar won't change our inverter capacity. It's still locked at 5k watts with a 10k surge. Should be able to run the little welder we have depending on what else is running at the time.
So cool! 😎Ive been itchin to see this done. It makes so much sense. I have to sat, though, the way y'all do earthing/grounding makes me laugh! Metal on metal on metal, then you run copper wires all the way down the metal to ground? It would be more sensible to ground the frame at each post, with some copper in the ground away from the structure, and under the conduit tieing the different structures frames together, and a bit extra near the soak-away. Anyhow, you will see how effective your installation is when the lighting comes along...(I grew up in a lightning belt, and was a contractor for three decades, mostly installing antennas, towers, dishes.)
The Airstream cover is an interesting structure. Metal Truss into concrete pad, but the roof is separated by wood purlins. The solar panel racking array is required to be grounded directly to a ground rod (not the power, just the frame), and technically it is connected to the wood purlins as well. The AC power coming from the Solar Shed isn't connected to the structure either, only coming underground and up into the box attached to the separate pump house. I pushed Miracle Truss for some kind of grounding recommendation, and never got a solid answer for if it's necessary to ground the metal trusses when the roof is "floating," and the trusses are connected to the concrete pad. Anyhow, I promise we've thought a lot about it 😂
@@TinyShinyHome the rule of thumb is bond the metal bits together with short flat straps of copper (1" wide and 1/8"thick will do, roof to each leg, then legs to a ground rod in a similar way. Creating a Faraday cage effect. A direct strike on a"sort of" grounded building is the most punishing. The power will make its own way to ground by any means possible, usually in a destructive manner. All the best. Love your content😁
All right! A super nerdy post, and a good reminder about the difference between serial and parallel electrical. This looks so elegant. Glad you have a plan for the air conditioning.
Hey you guys I just got home how was your day looks like it's warm out there how the animals today how the kitties have a good day and God bless you guys
Strange, I have a metal roof like yours. I put all the screws on the ridges, not the valleys. My thought was the water won’t be running down the ridges. Thank you for this good advice.
I feel like vertical bi directional panels would be a good addition. You could ground mount them and angle them E/W and that would give you more morning and evening power.
I took my 110 a/c of the my camper. I bought a 12 volt A/C off eBay. Treeligo. I love it and I only have 600wvof solar and 2 100ah lithium batteries. I was just in my camper and it was 53 Degrees. It fits in the same spot as the old A/C. Plus it is so quiet The only thing is it's in Celsius.
There's a company that I've recently found called Eco-Cool by Gree that sounds like a better unit for travel trailers that I might eventually put on mine ,but I'm building a cabin and hopefully putting hempcrete in the walls and trailer will have to wait.
Direct DC hvac mini splits are easier to installl for the average Joe. You guys would be the perfect candidate to compare a regular v dc hybrid mini split.
Eh, direct DC mini splits are generally more expensive and underpowered, and since we already have AC power they don't really make sense in this application.
5000btu HVAC reqs about 900w/hr. Having 10K available to play with will be nice. Florida is weird like that too. At the height of summer the Sun is so high in the sky that there is not much shade on the North side of the house.
Super channel and this video. As I was beginning the watch, I noticed most of your difficulty surrounds the trailer AC. Have you thought about replacing it with a 12V roof AC? I see they are gaining in popularity and are pretty robust. Keep up the awesome work!!
I'm doing a 24v solar system on my RV and considering swapping my roof air (110) for a 24v version. May add a small 12v mini split truck cab system in the bedroom (back) area of rv.
Lol @ desert summers are special, love how u thought what word to use there, cause saying it is hot as bleep, my sense of humor 😂, forgive me. But well done anyways.
Ambition Strikes at youtube also runs a offgrid solar system, with a automatic switchover propane generator for backup. Maybe something for you guys in the future to?
I'm near Joshua Tree, and my structure is due east/west, and it still is weird to me that the sun in the morning and evening is north of us in the summer. It makes me think that when I do solar maybe I want to do the new bi-facial panels that are perfectly vertical. That way I get the early morning and late evening power, as well as avoiding the peak heat inefficiency of midday. This is supposed to be a bit more efficient than south facing panels and would also keep your batteries from discharging as much since you'd get more late day and more early morning solar, supplementing your overnight usage.
the fact that your air conditioner died seems like the ideal opportunity to change your setup, heat exchange with the ground is much more stable and will save a ton of energy needs during the summer and winter. ground temperatures just 1 meter underground can be a stable 10C throughout the year, heat exchange with 40C air in summer or 0C in winter is a huge energy demand.
Well, that was a lovely visit to your homestead! I'm looking forward to watching the installation of the new minisplit. I'm thinking seriously about installing one myself in my humble abode. It looks doable to me!
Sun-tracker are awesome.. they keep panels on the movement.. so 80% of peak time your banks are 100% and you still run off panels. Try northern Michigan.. generator
If you watch the next video we install a mini split in the Airstream and talk about our evaporative cooler usage overnight. It works...ok. But definitely still too warm in RV.
My vote is earth sheltered design it'll keep you lots cooler than an airstream , a cave would be ideal never freezing and 50 to 60 degrees at the height of summer , I live in Tucson AZ......just saying......
Can you plant deciduous trees near the buildings that need cooling off. Natural shade will lower temps inside the buildings and in winter if they lose their leaves the building can be heated by the sun...or put a thick shade sail over the top of the dome ?
Frankly if your going to all that hassle I woulda filled both side of the roof with panels now that panels are 33% the price they were 2 years ago. You can never have too many panels but you can always have not enough! :D
@@TinyShinyHome No pressure. I just love following your journey... We just did solar and batteries and are fighting our own power production demons, but they too are getting solved. (doing solar in a subdivision without going on a roof and a small lot, for 70yr olds, yes, it is challenging for us!)
I love solar wish i could afford it really,but what i dont understand is why the planet doesnt run on it countries could build huge solar plants and have homes connected with solar to and everyone has power for free
Exciting! Since we're just a bit down the road from you, the power generation and usage data you've collected over the seasons will be very helpful in figuring out similar solar configurations we are planning. Great work!
Yeah I wish all those solar calculators took into account the summer solstice and using less power in the winter. We would have titled our main array back 10 or so degrees if we known that then.
I’m constantly amazed by Jonathan’s knowledge and capabilities and Ashley’s ability to do just about anything. This is one of the main reasons I love to watch you guys. Thank you both for sharing your talents, family and joy in what you’re doing. Can’t wait to see what’s next! Love you guys!
@@TinyShinyHome I would wish for the opposite: Solar calculators should factor in that I'm off grid in the Colo Mountains and winter is my biggest loads. I have no cooling needs in summer (maybe a ceiling fan). But snow covered panels at times with pellet stove running, lots more lights and etc.. for my most challenging case.
That’s the kind of stuff a calculator just can’t tell us yet I guess. Gotta live through a few seasons to learn what works best for you.
You're so far ahead of me in understanding and working with solar it's not even funny. I bow to your superior knowledge and skills, o' Solar Masters!!
Mini split will use half the power vs that roof top. Not to mention a whole lot quieter
Just wait till next week. Power usage is even better than that 👍🏼
@@TinyShinyHome
And they have solar mini splits
@@PjSmithSolar minisplits?!? Yep! Looked it up on Google! I learn something new every day!
At least the power can still be useful by going to the house in the future
Clever you lot...I have a mini split...I do live by the sea and the salt killed my outside motor, thingamajig, lasted 2 years only...I had to buy a new one..the electrician suggested I get a box made for the machine when NOT IN USE...well I use it summer and winter but you can make a box for it when in use. Just put in LARGE vents either side of the box...make from MARINE PLY, the box and paint with varnish....works....ask your distributor if that is an option....buying a new aircon every two years is not viable.....You guys have a lot of power careful you don't take off to the moon...😊....laffinnnnn..thank you darlings...blessings darling from Granny Linda in OZ...😊
I need a mini split! I can watch you guys put yours in first. 😊
If you ever look to add more panels, check out mounting bi-facial panels vertically. Panels face East/West. It widens the production curve.
Plenty of interesting use cases for bi-facials, but here at least the gains aren't really worth it with the high winds we have Much simpler and safer to just stationary mount.
I feel it. My AC in my old Jeep went out. Gotta love AZ anyway.😂
Cool, more solar panels on the Airstream parking roof. Yay, almost 10.000 watts! YEAH, east-west exposure from the Airport will give you morning and evening solar power when you need it! Brilliant! Enough wiring in the ground array to add the output from these two rails of 5 panels to add into the existing solar system in the solar shed. That was great planning! Is that your neighbor Bob helping you guys? I love how Adali does a great job working up on roofs. Yay, up to 40 kWhrs per day! Great, the overhead air conditioner died! I'm glad to hear you plan a mini-split system anyway. Thanks for this video Longnecker family!
Great things happening! 😊❤
real good editting in this video, action packed, specialy the instal of the panels
You have that instillation down to a science Jonathan. It’s such fun watching all you guys just getting better and better at everything you do.
😊 fabulous upgrade!
Nice addition. We’re southern Az. We run a dual split unit for our bus with two victron 3kva’s. The heat definitely kills the panel output down here. I had a 100a mppt sitting around from warranty work and decided to add 2200w of ground deployment. Was well worth the $750 I spent as now we literally never have to watch the power consumption.
I did want to address you stating the Quattro is a 5000w inverter🧐🙂
Four suggestions: 1. Put your existing solar PV array on a horizontal tracker that would allow you to catch early morning and late afternoon summer sun or 2. Build a reflector to direct sun onto your pv array. 3. Prevent direct solar gain on your airstream by hanging shade from your carport south side. 4.. Install temporary insulation like fiberglass or cellulose around your Airstream to add R value to help keep it cool and warm.
1. Trackers are expensive, add movable parts that will break eventually, and aren't safe with our winds.
2. A reflector that large doesn't make sense from a cost perspective
3. South facing sun isn't the issue. We already have shade cloth on the west side for that reason
4. This would be incredibly impractical, and winds would be an issue.
5. I promise we've thought about all this for a long time ;)
So good to see the mini air splits taking a hold in the US and esp in your Airstream !!! They are the main source of cooling /heating in our homes in Queensland Australia . It seems funny to watch the excitement of these being installed when they are so standard in our housing here in the tropics & sub tropics. And in the south they are installed mainly for heating. I hope you get many years of cooling and heating from that sweet we minisplit system. You did an xlent DIY install. It may well have been a paid sponsor but you made it appear to be a simply entertaining video of your life as per usual day to day in the desert. Enjoy the QUIET COOLNESS folks. 🇦🇺🤗💞🙏✌️👍👌👏🇺🇸
Way to go Jonathan & Ashley, you guys are amazing! Love your family & channel!❤
Oh my goodness
Just amazed at your talent Johnathan and your family 💕 it's so good to see you all. As I continue to say, Yahusha has blessed you with great memories to add to your days. Well done beautiful videos ❤
Gosh you guys are becoming so technical well done.
definitely a plot twist at the end....was gonna say "amazed you guys didn't upgrade that ancient RV AC to some heat-pump mini-split" 🤣
Wow the best desert family anywhere. Get er done as Larry would say; and you do. It is all so amazing!!! Love the new solar. Oh that mini-split is the ticket, sweet. That will make it so nice for all of you. My son has a semi trailer converted into tiny house and his minisplit works amazing for him and he is in the direct sun. Not quite as hot here but shade makes a huge difference. Thank you for sharing. Can't wait to see how you all like it. You rock!!!
Nice extension of the solar power and good use of the roof! Last year I extended my solar array from 6kWp to 8kWp and an average summer day production went from 30kWh to 40kWh.
Yay for more power!🎉 Boo for broken air conditioners! 😩🤦🏼♀️😂 Love you guys and thanks for sharing all of your adventures with all of us! 😊❤
I won't lie, while you explain what you're doing with all this wiring I have not a clue what's happening. So while you're explaining I'm thinking "Oh no be careful around the pizza oven", the kids must be boiling at night, where are the chickens?, the mountains sure look pretty, I wonder how the new trees are doing along the swale, where are the chickens? Lol.
Nice stout power amount. Hey! Dont forget the "cheapo" temperature moderating method..i.e...tapping the earth's nice, steady 55-60°F 8ft down ground temp! Just route maybe 400ft ground grid of 4"dia. Sched.20 pvc tubing 6 to 8ft deep..circulate with modest water pump some antifreeze mix through this and through a car radiator/fan setup in house! You can then augment with a temperature "bump" up/down mini-split setting during real extremes too. Its worth it!
Nothing about installing 400' of pipe is cheapo 😂
" Fortunately, we planned ahead." Oh my gosh!!! You guys are the most planner-aheaders that I have ever seen.I'm so proud of you guys and your ability to see into the future!!!! "And how did it work? Pretty much the way we had planned." Exactly, you guys rock!!!!!
Great episode. Love how detailed and informative the installation was. Your channel has grown on me 🤓. I’m so impressed with all of your work ethics and team work. Family that works together, stays together. 🤓🥰
Nice addition to the solar!
I didn’t understand all the explanation but I got how it is going to work and am so happy you have added this to the “done” list!
Smart, hard working family 💪.
You all have the gift of perseverance in spite of many challenges. Bless you all.
Cool upgrade to your solar system and a smart use of the roof area. When this system gets too small for you, consider changing the panels on the ground mount for Bipolar panels (see Average Joe for the system he is testing). Then move the old panels from the ground mount to the roof area to expand those arrays. If you then use brightly colored gravel like a shy white stone under your ground mount you should be able to take advantage of the double-sided panels using the reflections off the gravel The panels Joe is testing are 415Watts on the top side and 215 on the back side, which would be a 3X increase to your ground mount area. Food for thought take care D
This system won't be undergoing any more major overhauls as we'll be building a separate system for the house.
I'm taking note, 1, think ahead. ✌
nice. and glad a mini split is in your future.
Excellent episode. I really liked you highlighting the problems you were seeing with your system and your fixes. I also liked you covering the cooling load challenges with solar generations. Thanks for all that great info.
"...mini split..."
I was wondering if you were going to install one.
I had a feeling you would want to, but, I couldn't envision how that would work with your beautiful Airstream.
Guess we're about to find out 😁
It was an adventure for sure :)
Mini-Split! I like it!
Awesome sauce! More power when you need it. Oh, and don't let the SolarFoot sit out in the sun. They get all gummy... Forgot to mention that.
Hey TSH! Good to see that you got that done and can be a lot cooler without worrying about it. Your Solar skills are amazing. Will this add to the main solar so that the A/C can be on while Ashley welds?
Well technically adding more solar won't change our inverter capacity. It's still locked at 5k watts with a 10k surge. Should be able to run the little welder we have depending on what else is running at the time.
Congratulations on the Solar upgrade!!!😊🎉❤
I like how he respects you
I’m not so technically inclined, but I have to say, this was very interesting to me👍🏾
Looking forward to seeing the mini split install!
So cool! 😎Ive been itchin to see this done. It makes so much sense. I have to sat, though, the way y'all do earthing/grounding makes me laugh! Metal on metal on metal, then you run copper wires all the way down the metal to ground? It would be more sensible to ground the frame at each post, with some copper in the ground away from the structure, and under the conduit tieing the different structures frames together, and a bit extra near the soak-away. Anyhow, you will see how effective your installation is when the lighting comes along...(I grew up in a lightning belt, and was a contractor for three decades, mostly installing antennas, towers, dishes.)
The Airstream cover is an interesting structure. Metal Truss into concrete pad, but the roof is separated by wood purlins. The solar panel racking array is required to be grounded directly to a ground rod (not the power, just the frame), and technically it is connected to the wood purlins as well. The AC power coming from the Solar Shed isn't connected to the structure either, only coming underground and up into the box attached to the separate pump house. I pushed Miracle Truss for some kind of grounding recommendation, and never got a solid answer for if it's necessary to ground the metal trusses when the roof is "floating," and the trusses are connected to the concrete pad. Anyhow, I promise we've thought a lot about it 😂
@@TinyShinyHome the rule of thumb is bond the metal bits together with short flat straps of copper (1" wide and 1/8"thick will do, roof to each leg, then legs to a ground rod in a similar way. Creating a Faraday cage effect. A direct strike on a"sort of" grounded building is the most punishing. The power will make its own way to ground by any means possible, usually in a destructive manner. All the best. Love your content😁
All right! A super nerdy post, and a good reminder about the difference between serial and parallel electrical. This looks so elegant. Glad you have a plan for the air conditioning.
Hey you guys I just got home how was your day looks like it's warm out there how the animals today how the kitties have a good day and God bless you guys
Dan the man
I hope your minisplit works as well as mine, I love mine. My heater went out last year, and talk about miserable.
So cool, I was thinking mini-split as soon as you started the video. Good work, all.
That's awesome guys. Love from Australia
Good info, and entertaining. BUT, best part of video, by far is 3:24 wildlife
Strange, I have a metal roof like yours. I put all the screws on the ridges, not the valleys. My thought was the water won’t be running down the ridges. Thank you for this good advice.
Different R-panels have different installation recommendations 👍🏻
I feel like vertical bi directional panels would be a good addition. You could ground mount them and angle them E/W and that would give you more morning and evening power.
Yayyy. Great job. I was just about to ask about getting a Mini Split. Loving this!!
I took my 110 a/c of the my camper. I bought a 12 volt A/C off eBay. Treeligo. I love it and I only have 600wvof solar and 2 100ah lithium batteries. I was just in my camper and it was 53 Degrees. It fits in the same spot as the old A/C. Plus it is so quiet The only thing is it's in Celsius.
Haha I was like...53 degrees?!?
Adalai is POWER. !!!!
There's a company that I've recently found called Eco-Cool by Gree that sounds like a better unit for travel trailers that I might eventually put on mine ,but I'm building a cabin and hopefully putting hempcrete in the walls and trailer will have to wait.
Nice system! 👍
Wowsa, great job guys! And don't ya know it's inevitable that something else needs fixin😂🎉
Direct DC hvac mini splits are easier to installl for the average Joe. You guys would be the perfect candidate to compare a regular v dc hybrid mini split.
Eh, direct DC mini splits are generally more expensive and underpowered, and since we already have AC power they don't really make sense in this application.
Nice going Guys👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🌺
5000btu HVAC reqs about 900w/hr. Having 10K available to play with will be nice.
Florida is weird like that too. At the height of summer the Sun is so high in the sky that there is not much shade on the North side of the house.
Super channel and this video. As I was beginning the watch, I noticed most of your difficulty surrounds the trailer AC. Have you thought about replacing it with a 12V roof AC? I see they are gaining in popularity and are pretty robust. Keep up the awesome work!!
Watch to the end ;)
Always a great vlog.
I'm doing a 24v solar system on my RV and considering swapping my roof air (110) for a 24v version. May add a small 12v mini split truck cab system in the bedroom (back) area of rv.
Go 48v system with an inverter and just get a 120v minisplit. The switch to 120v from 48v is so much more efficient.
Lol @ desert summers are special, love how u thought what word to use there, cause saying it is hot as bleep, my sense of humor 😂, forgive me. But well done anyways.
Have you considered using a gear system to build an adjustable frame for your solar panels?
With our winds? No way
Seriously more solar panels is your answer.
Outstanding!
I've never seen a dead cat in a tree, but I have seen a cat in a dead tree 🤣
Sweet
Ambition Strikes at youtube also runs a offgrid solar system, with a automatic switchover propane generator for backup. Maybe something for you guys in the future to?
They don't have as much sun as we do. The goal was to not need the generator (at least for this setup - we will probably put one in for the house)
This is great!!! Do I have to wait til next week to see the minisplit install????
Tuesday.
I'm near Joshua Tree, and my structure is due east/west, and it still is weird to me that the sun in the morning and evening is north of us in the summer. It makes me think that when I do solar maybe I want to do the new bi-facial panels that are perfectly vertical. That way I get the early morning and late evening power, as well as avoiding the peak heat inefficiency of midday. This is supposed to be a bit more efficient than south facing panels and would also keep your batteries from discharging as much since you'd get more late day and more early morning solar, supplementing your overnight usage.
the fact that your air conditioner died seems like the ideal opportunity to change your setup, heat exchange with the ground is much more stable and will save a ton of energy needs during the summer and winter. ground temperatures just 1 meter underground can be a stable 10C throughout the year, heat exchange with 40C air in summer or 0C in winter is a huge energy demand.
Watch to the end ;)
Well, that was a lovely visit to your homestead! I'm looking forward to watching the installation of the new minisplit. I'm thinking seriously about installing one myself in my humble abode. It looks doable to me!
Have you thought about mounting your panels on a rotating mount, that allowed you to adjust and direct your panels at the sun?.
We don't think they're worth the cost, complexity, and dangers with the wind we get here.
Sun-tracker are awesome.. they keep panels on the movement.. so 80% of peak time your banks are 100% and you still run off panels. Try northern Michigan.. generator
Is part of winter charging.. still beats utility bills.. 1 fill every 2yrs propane 300gallon.. 😊
Yeah not here with the winds we get...
@@TinyShinyHome had no issues with high winds they rotate face up automatically
Have you ever thought of using some wind turbines for supplemental power?
No, they aren't very practical or cost effective. At least not yet. Maybe one day.
I'm not sure if you have a water source but if you did a small swamp cooler for 100-200$ would do wonders. Waste only 40-90watts and cools perfectly!
If you watch the next video we install a mini split in the Airstream and talk about our evaporative cooler usage overnight. It works...ok. But definitely still too warm in RV.
Good muscle man😊
My vote is earth sheltered design it'll keep you lots cooler than an airstream , a cave would be ideal never freezing and 50 to 60 degrees at the height of summer , I live in Tucson AZ......just saying......
nice!, i would replace the stock wires in the combiner box they are pretty thin.
They’re already oversized for their application.
hi guys ave a good one
Wow! It's been so hot 🔥 🥵.
and all free free free free ...... there is a God.
😎
Can you plant deciduous trees near the buildings that need cooling off. Natural shade will lower temps inside the buildings and in winter if they lose their leaves the building can be heated by the sun...or put a thick shade sail over the top of the dome ?
maybe a cheaper and less effort upgrade would be an extra battery and updating your a/c to a more efficient one. IMHO. great project!
Try to get a Windturbine Maybe that helps
Frankly if your going to all that hassle I woulda filled both side of the roof with panels now that panels are 33% the price they were 2 years ago. You can never have too many panels but you can always have not enough! :D
The rest of the system wasn't built or wired for more than this unfortunately.
Oh no I was hoping to say congratulate you on finnially being cool to hear that it died on you, that sucks!!!
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just level the rail on the roof and mark through the hole to mark were the mount goes
The S5 mounts can technically slide anywhere on the IronRidge rail so we have to set them keeping in mind the ridges on the roof.
What is the report on the little dome for your daughter? Love/hate/need more power/could use less? Just curious.
One thing at a time ;)
@@TinyShinyHome No pressure. I just love following your journey... We just did solar and batteries and are fighting our own power production demons, but they too are getting solved. (doing solar in a subdivision without going on a roof and a small lot, for 70yr olds, yes, it is challenging for us!)
At about 3:23 in the video I'm wondering is that your house cat in the top of that tree? If not what is it?
One of our many barn cats
🖤🖤🖤
What tall structure do you have on property to protect other structures from lightening?
Do you have consistent wind? Could supliment with a wind generator to offset some of the cloudy evenings.
I love solar wish i could afford it really,but what i dont understand is why the planet doesnt run on it countries could build huge solar plants and have homes connected with solar to and everyone has power for free
The last word ...free...we can't have anything for free unfortunately 😔
Like everything, there are pros and cons at scale. Re-doing power grids would be crazy expensive.
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