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rockies
Member
# Posted: 4 Oct 2018 18:19
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Laundry sections
Laundry East
Laundry East
Laundry West
Laundry West


rockies
Member
# Posted: 4 Oct 2018 18:20
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Phase 3 elevations with bedroom and utility shed.
East Elev
East Elev
North Elev
North Elev
West Elev
West Elev
South Elev
South Elev


rockies
Member
# Posted: 4 Oct 2018 18:21 - Edited by: rockies
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A few odds and ends.

Some people may have noticed that the base cabinets on either side of the stove are 30” deep. That’s because the fridge and stove are 30” deep and I wanted the base cabinets to be flush with the front of the appliances.

I decided to add storage cabinets above the structural shelf on the north wall of the main room. The cabinets will add approximately 40 sq’ of extra storage within a fairly narrow space that otherwise would be wasted space.

All the interior and exterior lighting is LED (it’s amazing how little electricity an LED bulb uses). The bulbs will be used in recessed lights, surface mounted lights, vanity lights, table lamps, and wall sconces but the coolest product I’ll be using for overall lighting will be an “LED cable lighting kit” to light the main room.

Cable lighting kits come with two thin wires that you string across the room (between opposing walls up near the ceiling). There is a wall anchor for the two wires at one end and a DC transformer at the other. You take the LED light fixtures that come with the kit, clip them onto the wires and then point them in the direction you want the light. This kind of lighting system uses very little power and is perfect for lighting a large room with a high cathedral ceiling.

A small area will have to be set aside somewhere for propane storage. The only things running off propane will be the kitchen stove and a direct vent wall heater (which will only be used if I am away for a few days or in an emergency) so it shouldn’t have to be too big.

The last thing I have to make a decision on is where the solar equipment will go. There is space in the utility shed for batteries, an inverter, etc but since the shed is located on the north side of the cabin and the solar panels will be on poles on the south side of the cabin it might be better to have another small electrical shed located right behind the solar panels. I have read that as the solar panels get further away from the cabin the amount of power that is lost within the wires increases.

QUESTION: Would it be better to have a short length of wire from the panels to the batteries and a longer length of wire from the batteries to the cabin or vice versa? Does anyone have any knowledge about this?
Kitchen Appliance Wall Cabinets
Kitchen Appliance Wall Cabinets
Structural Shelf Cabinets
Structural Shelf Cabinets


Nate R
Member
# Posted: 4 Oct 2018 19:03
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Quoting: rockies
QUESTION: Would it be better to have a short length of wire from the panels to the batteries and a longer length of wire from the batteries to the cabin or vice versa? Does anyone have any knowledge about this?


It depends. Type of charge controller matters for this, as does the level of power we're talking about. Keeping the batteries from being TOO cold can be helpful, too. You can size up on wire to reduce voltage drop from long distances.

NorthRick
Member
# Posted: 5 Oct 2018 14:58
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Quoting: rockies
QUESTION: Would it be better to have a short length of wire from the panels to the batteries and a longer length of wire from the batteries to the cabin or vice versa? Does anyone have any knowledge about this?


In general terms, the longer the run, the higher the voltage you want. That keeps the amps down and the required wire size. With the right charge controller it is usually easier to run higher voltage from the panel array to the charge controller than from the battery bank to the inverter.

rockies
Member
# Posted: 5 Oct 2018 18:19
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A couple of pictures showing the main room with a dining space where the Murphy bed was previously located.

Question: So should the solar equipment be located in a small shed right next to the panels or about 30 yards away in the utility shed behind the cabin?
Main Room NE
Main Room NE
Main Room NW
Main Room NW


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