GeekPi

There’s been a lot on my plate as of late, but I thought you may enjoy this initial rendering of my next solar project/expansion of the office’s 10kw PV array.

An integrated green screen & 2.8kw PV awning system that’ll shade the building’s south face during the hot summer sun. Even more interesting is that we’ll be using Silicon Energy’s Washington State panel, and an Outback inverter – making us one of the first setups eligible for the WA state $0.54 kWh production credit. Also, a kind of fun idea, we’re looking into using hops as the ‘green’ part of the green screen. That way we can benefit from the sun’s energy on the face of the wall, helping to heat the building during the winter. During the summer, the growing vine will shade the building (when the exterior South face typically exceeds 180 degrees). I’m curious if we’d have enough hops to offer a limited, solar micro-brew.

With an estimated 3200 kWh produced annually – that’ll be a guaranteed  $1750 credit every year, until 2020. When you include the energy saved, 30% federal tax credit and accelerated depreciation – it’ll be a 6-7 year payback. Cha-ching.

As soon as I get the construction documents, I have to build/weld this badboy over the coming weeks. I’ll make sure to keep you informed with its construction. Just as a point of reference, to the right is how the building looks today.

Share on Facebook