In the last post I got 30 bifacial panels mounted straight and neat on the Chiko rack. But a bifacial panel is only half-installed when the modules are bolted down, because the whole point of paying for glass on both sides is the light that comes up from underneath — and that depends entirely on […]
Free Watts From the Ground: Boosting Bifacial Gain With What Was Already on My Pallets Read More »
My particular installation might serve as a useful guideline for yours, even if you elect to do a DIY rack. For various reasons I decided not to do mine DIY, mostly because I was concerned that I’d need an engineering stamp to pass local codes and land use planning requirements. Perhaps I actually didn’t. When
Setting 30 Panels on a Chiko Ground Mount: What the Manual Doesn’t Tell You Read More »
If you’ve ever installed a backup generator, you know the drill: the generator can’t just be wired into your panel alongside the utility. You need an automatic transfer switch (ATS) — a big mechanical relay box that physically flips your home between “grid power” and “generator power” so the two sources can never touch. The
How the EG4 18kPV Knows the Grid Is Down — and Why It Doesn’t Need a Transfer Switch Read More »
Who Cares? This post is really for geeky folks who want to know what this thing is going to be who appreciate technical detail. If that’s NOT you, then maybe just read the next four paragraphs. It’s also useful for those folks who wonder why this is taking so long. It’s a bigger project than
EMS Knowledge File Build Checklist Read More »
This is a demonstration of how you can work with the EMS system to have it precisely suit your needs. We’re getting closer to a release for the system. If you can’t wait for the tested and proven version and want to start playing around let me know in the comments of the included video.
This is just a way to get people up-to-date on what I’m working on. Your House Is Wasting Energy Right Now How a smart energy management system pays for itself — and how you and AI can build one fitted exactly to your home Here’s a question worth sitting with: what percentage of the energy
March 2026 • 10 min read • Beginner-friendlyIf you’ve been watching your electricity bill climb every month and thinking “I wish I could do something about this” — this post is for you. You don’t need a rooftop. You don’t need an electrician. You don’t need to spend $20,000. What you need is a south,
Balcony Solar + Battery + EMS + Presence Detection: The DIY Power Stack for Everyone Read More »
So I’ve been building this wildfire defense system for my place on Maui. Cameras, sprinklers, automated response — the whole deal. And if you’ve watched any of the earlier videos you know I was pretty deep into the fire detection side of it. I’ve changed direction. Not scrapping the project — If anything, I stepped
The Big Pivot–Why I Changed Direction Read More »
After the 2023 Lahaina fires, I decided I wasn’t going to wait for someone else to protect my property. I was going to build a system myself. Over the past 18 months, that system has evolved into something I think could protect a lot more than just my house. It can protect yours, and I’m
AI-Powered Wildfire Defense: Building a Complete Home Protection System Read More »
Some viewers have commented that the fire resilience system I’m building will be expensive–that’s just not true. I’m designing the core system to be less than $3000. It might make your home insurable, or if not, greatly reduce the risk that your home could be a total loss. Virtually all mortgage lenders require you to
Cheap fire resilience Read More »
