Solar Panels on the roof.....

(We are currently in Foley, Alabama but have been without internet for the past few weeks. I will continue posting my blog posts in order, posting a few a day until I get caught up. Sorry for the long dry spell. ~laugh~ )

Our Location: Coastal Solar Parking Lot, Hinesville, GA
(Jan 5, 2017 Post)

A nice evening last night, not cold but cool enough. I slept well, the place is pretty quiet and except for a few noises but I didn’t hear much.

This  morning at 6:00 A.M. the morning wake up call at the nearby military base was loud enough for me to hear and cause my eyes to open. We’ve heard different ‘timed’ military base notes throughout the evening yesterday and today. On my drive to pick up some diesel today I actually drove past the base, it’s not far away, maybe a mile at the most.

Jason (orange sweater) and Cody (?) on the roof of the Igloo laying out the panels

Bright blue skies with a few white wispy clouds were the order of the day. The temps reached into the mid 60’s F/15.5 C by this afternoon. Warm enough to keep the big door open all day.

Our morning started off with me cleaning out a closet in the front of the Igloo to allow cables to be run down the inside so as to keep them hidden. After that we were up, chores complete, breakfast finished and a bit of reading in before 8:15 am. I had the door open for a bit as it was warmer outside than inside. Jason from Coastal Solar was here bright and early to start work. He appeared with a smile on his face and a fantastic attitude that never left him all day. He is an extremely conscientious young man, very polite, very knowledgeable and a truly happy person. I felt very much in good hands with him doing this work.

 

Looks like they know what they are doing, doesn't it?

Riley and I left for a walk just as he was getting started. Nothing worse than someone looking over your shoulder when you’re trying to work, so I felt it was in HIS best interest at the time and MY best interest in the future for me to leave the area and let him do this thing. Riley and I walked for a couple of blocks West but had to retrace our steps as we ended up on a dead end street. We turned around walking back those same couple of blocks, adding a few more until we had completed a small loop of the area.

Jason and his buddy, (I think he said Cody) spent a bit of time on the roof top laying out, installing the 4 panels (100 watts each), running the cables, and fastening everything tightly. After a very quick lunch only Jason returned to finish up and to do the dreaded drilling of a hole to run the cables into the Igloo. Jason is from the Northwest regions of the USA where it rains a great deal, he worries about water leaks and I think drilling the hole was probably the toughest part of the job for him.

Monitor panel (black box), Charge controller (silver box) and connection from batteries to charge controller (left under black box)

Various times throughout the day folks dropped by to see how the install was progressing. One or two climbed up on the roof to have a look, take some pictures and just to ensure things were going well. All great people that work here, friendly, knowledgeable, warm, and generous.

There are 4 of these up here, 100 watts each, should keep us in power with no problems. 

I don’t have a lot of pictures of the actual work or each step taken, I felt it was more important to stay out of the way and leave the man alone to do what I asked him to do than it was for me to document each step. I will over the next number of months learn more about the entire system and give updates as to how I like the system, how well it works to cover our needs, any extra we add on and I’ll add pictures of the various pieces and parts of the system. I truly won't know much until we get back to Canada and actually start using our new system. 

Suzanne was a huge help as well. An extremely nice lady, more than understanding about things, friendly with a ready smile, she adds a certain zest to this team.

I can’t say enough about the fantastic way we were treated, how professional, friendly, knowledgeable, and kind the people of Coastal Solar here in Hinesville, Ga have been to us. I would not hesitate to recommend them for any of your solar needs. They do mostly much bigger installations but were more than happy to do our small job. We were the first RV install for them, and I think the first install of the new year as well. We wish them continued success in the years ahead.

I told you I had 4 of them!!!!!

After Jason finished the install, Riley and I spent some time putting things back in order (the closet), enjoyed reading our books and just relaxing. Around 5 pm we headed outside to hook up the Dogsled, and get everything outside secure for our travels tomorrow. We are heading to Gunter Hill Campground near the city of Montgomery, Al. According to Phoebe (RV GPS) we are 345 miles away, which should be 6.5 hours but i think it will be more likely to be about 8 hours drive time.

Dinner tonight was spaghetti with oregano chicken and veggies. It was excellent, easy, and quick. Dishes finished, some reading and then it’s time to head off to bed. As I write this in bed, it is less quiet than last night but still nice.

Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a comment. Until next time…be safe…take care.