Note: This page was written while we were still living at Earth Station. We have since moved and this property is now for sale or rent.

There are a number of buildings at Earth Station. The previous owners started with a mobile home and then added a galvanized steel Quonset house 40x70 feet. They also built the 40x50 foot metal barn which we used for our dairy goats, horse and donkey. A power house made of cinder blocks houses batteries and the inverter for the solar PV and wind generated electricity. And, they started work on an earth sheltered structure which was not completed but is useable for storage. Four years ago we built a more standard single story house using Tech Block for very high insulation. We call this house the "Studio" but it is in fact a bit more robust at 32x60 feet.

The mobile home is used for storage and when we first moved here the Quonset was our residence. The Quonset faces south to catch maximum sun for warmth in the winter. The louvers on the south facing windows reduce sunlight entry in the summer. This house was not connected to the grid (the rural electric coop servicing this area). However, the previous owners left us 51 solar photovoltaic panels, a Jacobs 2.8 KW wind generator, a 3.2 KW inverter and a bank of batteries for storage. But there was a power management problem with this system and even with the large potential power generation capabilities we were unable to pass through enough electricity to meet our needs.

We had to make a choice: either fix this system or connect to the grid. We decided to stay off grid for a while and fix the system.

To overhaul our existing power system we needed to install new props and replace worn parts on the wind generator, replace all of the original batteries, replace the inverter, rewire the solar panels, and this was all new to us so there was a steep learning curve to overcome. We decided that the investment in time, energy and money would be well spent on an overhaul.

The Jacobs 2.8 KW Wind Generator

The Jacobs wind generator is capable of producing 2.8 KW at 36 Volts. It produces DC current. It stands atop a 55 foot tower firmly anchored in four concrete pads. We have recorded winds up to 77 mph. (Linda just completed 15 years as a weather watcher for NOAA.) South Mountain, because of its topography, produces these high winds mainly in the winter and spring months. The generator had to be taken down to replace worn parts and to add the new propellers. That sure was fun.

The Jacobs wind generator was manufactured sometime between 1920 and 1950 and was instrumental in allowing people to inhabit wilderness areas in the west. With this generator people were able to use washing machines, hand irons, light bulbs, and even waffle irons. All of these appliances operated with direct 36 volt DC current. In a junkyard pile of discarded appliances on our property we found all of these 36 volt items that were once manufactured.

The solar photovoltaic panels

There are 51 solar panels mounted on 13 trackers. I believe that these were manufactured in the late ‘70s. As you can see by the pictures they have round silicon receptors, unlike the rectangular panels of today. They tilt to the east in the morning and follow the sun during the day. Each produces 12 volts. They were originally wired in groups producing 36 volts. We rewired them to 24 volts to accommodate the new Trace 4024 inverter. They can potentially produce 2.4 kilowatts per hour.

Power Management

The pictures above show the Trace 4024 inverter, a box full of batteries and a propane tank connected to a generator.

The system we started with used an old 36 volt power inverter to convert the 36 volts of DC current from the wind generator and solar panels to 110/220 AC current. It was power hungry, consuming up to 40% of our power in the process of conversion. This was replaced with a Trace 4024 sine wave inverter.

The original batteries were 2 volt cells used by the telephone company for backup. They weighted 165 lbs each, were very old and were beginning to fail. These were replaced with Trojan 6 volt batteries, enclosed in a ventilated container with power disconnect and a breaker of suitable capacity. They were wired for 24 volts.

To complete our power management needs we added a generator to give us the additional electricity we needed when the sun and wind were not available. We converted this generator from gasoline to propane. It has an auto start capability and can be started by the Trace inverter when it senses low power on the batteries.

The Grid

Four years after we moved here a five acre parcel north of us was sold and a neighbor moved in needing electricity. When the power line was brought up for this location we were able to easily trench to the north road and connect to the grid. New Mexico has a ‘net metering’ law that allows an Independent Power Provider (IPP) to send renewable energy back though the power line when they produce more than they need. We applied for an IPP license from the Department of Energy and established a contract with our local electric provider.

Now on most days our meter turns backwards. Then at night if the wind is calm and we are needing more than we are producing the meter turns forward. We no longer need a large bank of batteries. But we have kept them as an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) and to act as a buffer for our wind generator produced electricity. And we no longer need and do not use the backup propane generator.

The grid now takes the place of our batteries for excess power storage. This has increased our power manufacturing capabilities by about 25%. This increase is due to the fact that it takes extra electricity to recharge batteries. Putting our excess on the grid requires no additional electricity use. And we feel good that some of our neighbors are also using our clean, renewable energy.

Water

The picture above shows a water tank protruding on a mound of earth surrounding it. There are actually two tanks buried in the ground totaling 4,000 gallons of water for storage. When you produce your own electricity it is important to manage it properly. Water storage becomes part of this management. So when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing and our batteries are full then we pump water to these storage tanks. Now with a month’s worth of water contained on a high location on the property it can drain back to the house, barn, and outside faucets using gravity alone. Unfortunately the gravity pressure is only a maximum of 15 lbs. So we purchased a 40 gallon water pressure tank and a 24 volt SureFlow pump which boost our house water pressure to 40 lbs. Plenty of pressure to rinse the suds from Linda’s hair. John doesn't have a problem there due to the fact that he has little hair to wash.

Ventilation

From the northeast and northwest sides of the house there are buried air tunnels made from 60 gallon drums welded together (first picture above). They start above ground with vent caps covered in screen to prevent intrusion by insects and other animals. The outside air travels through these air vents for about 100 feet and enters the east and west ends of a Santa Fe railroad refrigerated boxcar. This too is buried below the surface. Air enters from the outside, travels through the drums, enters the boxcar, passes through the boxcar door and basement entrance door, then up through the house and out vents in the roof.

The north side of the house pictured above shows the ground below which lies the boxcar. A short tunnel from the basement of the house leads to the boxcar doors (third picture…spooky). The interior of the boxcar (last picture) is shelved and was used as a root cellar. The ceiling light in this picture is a 36 volt incandescent bulb powered by our 24 volt system.

Heating

Winters at 7000 feet elevation with strong north winds can bring the wind chill to below minus 30 degrees F. However average nighttime temperatures seldom drop below 0F. The middle picture above shows a north window, one of only two. If you look closely you can see that it is imbedded about 8 inches deep in Styrofoam. In fact the entire house is insulated with this thick interior coating of insulation to keep back the winter cold.

When we first moved here there was no central heating. A single barrel wood stove was used to heat the entire house. Back rooms were often a bit chilly. We replaced the barrel stove with a more efficient wood burning stove pictured above.

The house had been constructed with a slab foundation covering the south side flooring. The north side contains a full basement. The slab is imbedded with 1” steel water pipe to provide radiant floor heating. However, it had never been connected to a furnace. We purchased a propane furnace and connected three heating zones to it. We now have the new wood stove, central radiant floor heat, plus passive sun through the south facing windows.

And we’re not finished with yet another alternative heating method to keep us warm:

A few years ago we started construction of an active hot water heating system. The first picture above shows four hot water panels installed on the south facing roof. There are now six.

It is connected to a 300 gallon heat transfer tank in the basement (second picture). It is insulated with a thick coating of Styrofoam. The solar heated water is connected to our propane boiler system. When the temperature of the solar boiler is more than 120 degrees, heat is drawn from it for our potable hot water and central heat. This water can get very hot so a control panel turns it off at 160 degrees.

These panels provide all of our hot water needs and about 30% of our winter heat requirements. We will be adding more panels in the future.

The Farm Animals

1. The north entrance to the barn.
2. The south side has windows allowing sunlight to enter during the winter.
3. Charlie, our barn cat.
4. This year’s kid crop.
5. Silver Spur Chinaberries, the 2000 ADGA national LaMancha production breed leader. (We didn’t cut off their ears; they are born that way.)

The House Animals





The Human Animals

You can reach us at jcalhoun@winnovations.com or lgrilli@winnovations.com. Want to give us a call? You can try 505-847-0312. If it’s not busy and we’re not busy, and we’re home, and it’s not too late, and we’re not too tired, and, well…. you get the picture…