Solar - Moving the Panels - Part 1

Here at the lake we use solar energy.  It was not really an environmental decision, had Ontario Hydro been running a line at the edge of the property we likely would have signed up and gotten our power that way.  But, in fact, Ontario Hydro is about 4 km away from us, and the logistics and expense of hooking up to the grid was easily decided against.

Panels near the lake

So – we have a ground mounted solar array feeding a (very large) battery, which in turn supplies an inverter that powers our home.  Currently the panels and their mounting frame are located next to the lake (luckily, we face south).  When we originally placed the panels we also considered the option of roof mounting, but ultimately the decision between using some of our land space vs putting huge number of mounting holes in our roof….. we decided on the ground mount option.  Most ground mounts include a rack of some sort to hold the panels and a concrete base big enough to avoid the panels being turned into sails.  Our set up is made of extremely heavy laminated beams that came with our recycled cottage and were replaced in the build.  Now surplus, these beams were covered for weather protection and used to create a (very) heavy ground mount unit.

Placement was close to the lake, facing south.  There was a spot with very few trees or branches that had to be removed and the panels fit there nicely.  All was well for a couple of years.  However over time the branches of the near by trees gradually found their way into the open sunlit space and more and more of the panel surface was in shadow during part of the day.  Solar needs both intensity of the light exposure and enough time exposed to fully charge the batteries.   We were left then with a choice - cut down a lot of trees at the lake shore or move the panels. 

Now cutting down trees is straightforward but the result would be that our water’s edge would look less and less natural.  For the most part our lake has trees right down to the shore.  Plus, we were finding that the look of the panels from the water bothered us – again not the natural look that we like so much.  This left the “moving the panels option”.  Luckily about two years ago we cleared a space of land about 140 meters inland from our cottage to build a large garage.  This area gets sun all day, and is not visible from the lake.  In fact, it is barely visible from the cottage.

Our orange friend at work

So – the decision to move the panels was made.  A general plan was developed which involved moving the panels, moving the battery and control equipment, and setting up for future upgrades in the garage (electricity, water, internet).  Oh, and burying a 140 metre cable to feed power to the cottage. Application was made for an electrical permit.  The previous installation had been inspected and approved as part of the original build but since that time the electrical code had been updated including the addition of information on solar installations.  So - $825 later our plan was approved and we were permitted!

The trench

Part of the planning was to get as much done as possible before doing anything to disrupt power to our cottage.  So – a big dig was begun.  Luckily part of our fleet is a Kubota backhoe.  Through the trees our trusty orange friend dug and dug, aiming for 24” deep.  Our land is basically sand – so once the trench was dug the next task was to ensure that the base of the trench was clear of rocks, stones, and generally anything that would be hard on the cable.  This included judicious use of clippers to rid the trench of roots (which are problematic when trying to lay a cable).  We also laid in some softer sand to gently rest the cable upon.

At this point, there was a huge mess!  The trench not only ripped up previously undisturbed forest it also crossed 3 different parts of our driveway.  We knew the next steps had to come soon …