Once a year, we scrub off the pine pollen that builds up into a paste on our solar panels.
![[Spring cleaning of old and new solar panels 2024-03-30]](http://www.okraparadisefarms.com/pictures/2024-03-30--solar-cleaning/many.jpg)
Spring cleaning of old and new solar panels 2024-03-30
That’s all the maintenance they require.
Youtube playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLk2OxkA4UvyWjnmPf2_IoWUZMzvzlsvT&si=UUEQp_GztriKw28n Continue reading
It’s that time of year.
In the spring, pine pollen settles on the solar panels like yellow mud. A strong water spray loosens it up, and scrubbing removes it. Continue reading
Update 2022-01-12: Starlink Router inside 2022-01-10.
Turns out Starlink doesn’t work too well during thunderstorms. Other than that, so far so good.
![[Longleaf, solar panels, roof mount]](http://www.okraparadisefarms.com/pictures/2021-12-27--starlink/many.jpg)
Longleaf, solar panels, roof mount
Also looks good against longleaf pine. Continue reading
If my electric utility paid me as much as I pay them for electricity, I’d be making a profit from my solar panels. As it is, I profit anyway by paying a lot less, the panels are paid for, and I get to watch the electric meter galloping backwards on a sunny day:
The little bars are moving to the left below the numbers, which means I’m selling solar power to the power company.
And that’s with only about Continue reading
Solar water tank temperature.
From solar electric fences to selling solar power for profit,
John S. Quarterman will talk about
solar opportunities for farmers and some legal hurdles,
at
South Georgia Growing Local 2014:
Why solar power is the fastest growing industry in the world and how to apply it to agriculture. Financing is the main obstacle. Some ways to get financing, and at least one law that could be changed to help with that.
His conference bio: Continue reading
Testing out the solar dehydrator with okra, tomatoes, peppers, and a thermometer:
Pictures of Gretchen Quarterman with the solar dehydrator
by John S. Quarterman for Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia, 4 August 2012.
-jsq
The sun shines through the window into the lower box, heating air that rises through the upper box, dehydrating fruits and vegetables on the racks. That's the theory; we'll see if it works. Idea shamelessly stolen from Raven Waters; I figure it's his fault if it doesn't work. 🙂
Gretchen Quarterman placing racks in the solar dehydrator
Pictures by John S. Quarterman for Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia, 3 August 2012.
-jsq
![[Old (2006) 20 solar panels]](http://www.okraparadisefarms.com/pictures/2024-03-30--solar-cleaning/20240330_084520.jpg)
![[Middle and last panels]](http://www.okraparadisefarms.com/pictures/2022-05-10--clean-solar/many.jpg)
What we do for excitement out here in the piney woods:
watch the electric meter run backwards.