The panels are the part people photograph. The rack, the neat rows, the glint of glass — that’s the money shot. But the decisions that actually make or break a solar build often happen in the unglamorous space between the array and the inverter, where a calculation you get wrong can cook a $3,000 inverter […]
This is what I posted on Facebook: New plan. I’ve been considering pumping my solar channel by doing better videos. But that means less getting stuff done and more screwing with videos. So no. Instead I’m going to do short posts to ExpertAmateur.com, my blog, showing what I’m up to, and short, crappy videos with
so my newest EMS/Detection/Fire Resilience experiment is implementing the system at my home and my shop in Hood River. I previously stated that once I had the prototype of the project files to dump into Claude, that it only took four hours to implement. That was misleading–I took four hours to get the integrated software
It’s harder than I Thought Read More »
I’ve been telling people for years that changing tires is all about technique, not equipment, and you can change tires easily with just two small aluminum tire irons, and good tire lube. A bead holder is handy but not critical. I’m not wrong for smaller bikes, like dual sport and small-ish adventure bikes, or for
Sometimes I’m Just Wrong Read More »
What a Smart Energy Management System Actually Saves a Two-Income Household There’s a specific kind of household that’s perfectly positioned to get the most out of a solar-plus-battery energy management system, and almost nobody is talking directly to them. Double income, no kids. Two people working. Both out of the house most of the day.
The value of an EMS Read More »
As the Expert Amateur name suggests, I’m not a professional electrician, which means no one pays me to do this stuff, but I’ve been working on electrical and electronics projects for a ridiculously long time, and I insist on studying and digging deep enough to know what I’m doing (hence, the Expert part of the
Solar Grounding and Bonding Demystified Read More »
