Distributed by www.hisrd.

org

Report on the Angoon demonstration project from the Fairfield/

Maharishi University of Management (MUM) team:
 Troy

Robbie
Lonnie

Ashley

The Fairfield team is responsible for appliance and

lighting efficiency, solar electric, solar hot water, wind
energy, monitoring systems, a film, and the web site.
Here is an overview of our work and an update on the
status of those systems as of 9/27/10. A report on the
status of the film will be sent by Robbie Gongwer in the
next few days.
Overview:
The Fairfield team contact information is listed at the end of
this document. The team left Iowa on August 30 and returned
on Sept 23rd, preceded by an
exploratory trip to Angoon in
July and several months of
design and logistics work
getting materials delivered to
Juneau. We spent a couple of
days in Juneau making sure all
of the materials had arrived
and sourcing materials locally
including wire, cement, and a washer and dryer. Home Depot gave a
10% discount with the promise of more in the future with more
notice. We began pre-assembling components, including the power
system for the Williams house. The film crew began to get
interviews, including a critical interview with Jody of IPEC which led
to IPEC becoming a partner to the project with a $1000 donation. At
5 am Thursday, we arrived at the Angoon ferry terminal in Juneau
with a 27 foot truck full of materials. We were joined by someone
from SEAC and Andrei Chakine from Central Council. Frank Jack and
others from T&H Housing helped us unload the truck at the T&H
shop, which we used extensively for the rest of the project. Thanks
so much to T&H housing for your kind support of the Fairfield team
during our stay in Angoon . On arrival, we visited locations for the
wind turbine and decided on a location for equipment at the Williams
residence. It quickly became clear that siting the wind turbine was
going to be a challenge due to soil conditions and the density of
settlement in the village (the turbine needed to be sited at least 100
feet from any structures). We were joined by Dan Lesh of SEAC for
a week. He was a huge help in bringing up and resolving issues
involving siting the wind turbine, in assisting us with the installation
of PV panels, and as a liaison with the Williams family.
 We worked 7 days a week to get
the project accomplished. Aside from
the first few days of digging holes and
pouring concrete in the rain , we were
blessed with brilliantly sunny weather for
our time in Angoon. We were able to get
all of our goals accomplished. We also
hosted two events – a film night and a
celebration BBQ. The most striking
result of the project was the change in
thinking on the community concerning
renewable energy. People were stunned
to see solar panels and a wind turbine
spinning in Angoon. We heard comments
like, “I’ve seen these on TV but I never
expected to see them in Angoon”. Initial
skepticism turned into enthusiastic
support once people saw the Williams
meter spinning backwards and the wind
turbine (which is visible all over town) go
up. The mayor and city councilors are
actively planning for 100 homes powered
by solar and have asked SEAC to help
secure grant funding for the next phase
of the project. One issue is to make
sure that people don’t have unrealistic
expectations about what solar and wind
can do in Angoon.
Monitoring

AS built system diagrams will be added to the web site (www.sustainangoon.org). System
monitoring can be viewed on-line at:
Hobo Link:
https://
www.hobolink.com/
sessions/new

Login: Angoon
Password: sailboat

Google power meter: https://

www.google.com/accounts/
ServiceLogin?continue=http%3A%2F
%2Fwww.google.com
%2Fpowermeter&service=powermeter&passiv
e=1
Email Address: sustainangoonproject
Password: sun1sun1

We are also monitoring wind speed and

solar radiation with a power predictor unit
located at the bottom of the water tower. This
unit has data manually uploaded about once a
week. Go to:

http://www2.powerpredictor.com/

login: Angoon
pass: sun1sun
Recommendations for future action: Sometime in April or May of 2011, one
or two members of the Fairfield team should return to Angoon to review the operation of the
systems, expand the monitoring systems, do any repairs or adjustments to settings, and to do
more community education. Grant applications have already been made to expand the project to
other communities and to do a feasibility study for using these ideas and others to reduce
dependence on fossil fuels in SE Alaska native communities.

If grant money is available a small film crew should create an addendum to the documentary
that will investigate how the project has effected the William’s. What have they learned?
Would they recommend it to others? The addendum should investigate what the community is
thinking now that the project has been in their town a year. What steps are they taking to
organize more projects? Is the community embracing renewable energy? Why, why not? How
has this project affected the town. This footage can be very useful in building buy in for
future projects, and can be a resource for lessons learned which can speed up the transition
from fossil fuel to renewable energy in SE Alaska.

Systems Status Summary

Below is a summary of the status of each component of the project:

Solar electric:
The system is complete and functioning well. On sunny days in late September, the system
produces more energy in a day than the Williams use. On an annual basis, we expect the system
to provide ¼ to 1/3 of the Williams current electrical usage. You can see the output of the
system and the energy consumption of the house on Google Power meter. Go to

https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?continue=http%3A%2F
%2Fwww.google.com%2Fpowermeter&service=powermeter&passive=1

input sustainangoonproject as the email address and sun1sun1 as the password. Note that we
are metering four circuits: The entire house net energy (shows the net of produced and
consumed energy), the output of the PV array, the kitchen circuits (fridge), and the furnace.

The system configuration is as follows:

(All components sourced from AEE solar except batteries. Batteries sourced from Costco in
Anchorage)
PV panels: Ten 215 watt REC PV modules , 24 volts nominal PV Angle: 48 degrees
 PV Subarrays: One subarray of 6 Charge controllers: Two Xantrex 60 amp. 150
panels and one subarray of 4 panels peak voltage maximum power point controllers

Inverter: Xantrex XW 4000 watt, 24 volt dc input,

split phase 120/240 inverter configured to put
power to grid and operate 6 outlets in the home
during power outages. Inverter feeds into the
circuit breaker formerly used by the electric dryer.

Batteries: Eight six volt, 220 amp-hour batteries

configured for 24 volts, 440 amp hours.

Metering: On site - Xantrex system conrol

panel. On-line – TED unit and Onset U30.

TED unit monitors output to the grid and Onset Computing U30
unit monitors array current, battery voltage, and solar intensity
(insolation), and Kwh produced. (see above for how to access on-
line metering)

Improvements: Array should be tilted to a higher angle for optimal winter energy production.
Existing racking is at the maximum angle. Need to install extension arms on rack to get higher
angle for panels. Angles: 75 degrees winter, 45 degrees summer, 60 degrees spring and fall.
If the array is left at the same angle all year, 60 degrees is the optimum angle. Based on
monitoring so far (I have been checking the system 5-10 times a day) the solar electric system
is working perfectly. I do not expect problems with this system - once properly set up, which
it seems to be, then it can run for a very long time without problems or maintenance. The
battery water level will need to be checked once a month. We left a bottle of distilled water
on the cover over the batteries. I do not expect much water usage with the settings on the
system (grid support voltage set to 25.5) Array Voltage: Nominal 48 volts
Solar Hot Water

The system is complete and functioning, but we had trouble getting the air out of the system.
We got over 150 degree water off the hot side of the roof collectors, with 110 degree water
coming back to the collector from the heat exchanger in the tank. We did not see tank
temperature rise like we would have expected. The system is operating consistently (when the
sun is out, the input into the tank is hot and the tank temperature begins to rise) but there has
not been a fully sunny day since we re-flushed the system, purged it of air, and got it working
consistently. We may need to change the angle of the solar electric panel that operates the
system pump to increase flow rate. Ashley and Rocky Estrada Jr can do this if needed.

System configuration: Improvements/potential problems -

System provided by Butler Solar, Solana beach,
California
Hot water panels: 60 square feet of lightweight
Solar roofs Skyline collector, double glazed
polycarbonate glazing, selective surface copper
absorber plate.
Angle of collectors : roof angle, 23 degrees. Tank:
65 gallon GE 10 year warranty tank with polyiso
insulation (Home Depot)
Heat Exchanger: 4 ft solar wand by Butler Solar
Pump: Ivan Labs DC pump
PV panel for pump: 10 watts
High temp shut off: Click switch in top of tank
Collector low temp pump shut off controller
Approx. 50 feet of tubing between collector and
tank.
Panels may need to be moved to a
higher angle for optimum hot water
production. Panel angle favors
summer hot water production.
Evacuated tubes at an angle of 90
degrees (to help with snow
shedding) should be considered for
future systems. Breakage during
shipping is an issue with evacuated
tube systems, and we did not want
to risk breakage for the
demonstration system. System may
need to be flushed for air if fluid
stops circulating.
Wind Power:
(Turbine, controller, and tower sourced
from Bergey Wind Power. Inverter
sourced from AEE Solar. Batteries
sourced from Costco in Anchorage.
Winch from Grainger. Wind turbine and
inverter have 5 year limited warranties)

Wind turbine: Bergey XL 1, 1 kw (1.3 kw

peak) 8.2 feet in diameter
Tower: 100 foot tilt up
tower with 4 sets of guys

Tower to controller
distance: Approx

Inverter: Xantrex XW 4000 watt, 24 volt dc input, split phase

120/240 inverter, configured to power two outlet sin the
laundry room.

Batteries: 4 six volt, 220 amp hour batteries configured for

24 volts, 220 amp hours

Metering: Xantrex system control panel, dc amp meter on

output of wind generator, battery voltmeter.

Improvements: Connect to grid so that surplus output goes to grid. Because the high
school is served by 208 three phase power, and the Xantrex inverter requires split phase
240/120, we were not able to connect the inverter directly to the electrical system, at the
high school. A 208/120 to 240/120 transformer needs to be installed (cost approx $1000
inc shipping). No online system monitoring – options to add include the TED unit for around
$300 or Onset Data may donate a U30 data monitoring unit.
Team contact info:

Lonnie Gamble (systems) Troy Van Beek (systems)

1860 Woodland Dr Fairfield, Iowa
641-919-2269
Fairfield, Iowa 52556
troy@idealenergyinc.com
641-451- 0499

Micah Salaberrios Robbie Gongwer

(Film, cameraman and editor) (Film Director/Producer)
Fairfield, Iowa Fairfield Iowa
rawlight@gmail.com robbie@tidalwavegroup.net
928-466-4937