You just don't go down to Ace Hardware or Sears and say, "hey I'd like to buy some solar panels to put on my roof". Let's face it, the industry is NOT plug and play "yet". Not every one has a solar array on their roof or a wind turbine in the yard, especially in the Northeast USA. It's just not like owning a refrigerator or kitchen stove, you just don't cart it home and plug it into a socket. That's why you need creative and adaptive problem solvers at the helm of any alternative energy project. Enter Rich, from Freedom Renewable Energy out of Derry, NH, he has both of those qualities. Rich's mind is in a constant state of "idea flow"...just the kind of adaptable quality you need when things are not black and white. He's the designer of our "confluence of energy"...a three forked stream where wind, grid tie solar and off grid solar all flow through conduit and into our house, it's our custom made energy stream.
Freedom Renewable told me up front that wind is NOT a good option for our site...and I agree with them. My only purpose with wind it to help trickle charge our battery bank during no sun but perhaps windy, stormy days when we typically lose power. But they are a flexible and open minded company and they agreed to help me. I had a few concerns reading through the "Air-X Land/Marine" PDF instuction booklet. At the top of my list was how to attach the small gauge wire...a lightweight #10 to the BIG and HEAVY #2. With 42 feet of #2 attached to that flimsy #10 with what Air-X deemed "suitable"... a split bolt connector...I could envision the wire breaking at some point...not good!!!! Well, guess what....Rich had the SAME concern and he had a work around!!!!! Yup' that's right....you gotta' just love creative thinkers!!! I want the sucker to work, and I don't want anyone getting zapped in the process... have a broken wire hitting that 42' steel pole and you have a potential problem..Rich's work around is just what we needed...creative problem solving..that's at the crux of this industry right now. Like I said, it's not like plugging in a fridge you just bought from Sears you need a guy like Rich in your corner on a project like this.
Rich has all kinds of nifty way to do things. Remember the old Volvo commercial, "it is better to push ze car than to pull ze car" well...it is better to pull ze wires than to push ze wires...much easier, and Rich has a very cool way to snake them through!!! Watch this video to see his "vacuum method", he is shown pulling a rabbit out of a hat, well almost...he pulls rope out with a vacuum..the rope will then be attached to wires that will snake through the conduit...voila!!!
Click Here
And, check this out....Rich in da' hole, holding forms as Rich, the backhoe op gently sifts loose soil, culling out the big rocks...wow...guts and skill!!!
Click Here to watch Guts and Skill
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