Wednesday (06-November-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Autumn Nature in New Jersey.

Rain, and much colder predicted for the next few days. Trying to catch up on some winter preparations. The rain barrels and outdoor hoses needed to emptied before it freezes. I am continuing to cut down the remaining wildflowers and clearing the walkway around the house. I am going to miss not having the rainwater for the hydroponic systems. For the winter I will need to filter the well water (ZeroWater) to remove the sodium chloride added from the water softener. Some of the work was recorded as time-lapse video with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

Daily Electric Energy Used (70.3 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (31.6 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More clouds than yesterday. At this time of the year the sun is lower, and the Sycamore tree leaves shadow the solar panels part of the day. Overall a net deficit of 38.7 kWh.

Current Weather Conditions

powered by Ambient Weather

Saturday (26-October-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Autumn Nature in New Jersey.

Heavy rain is predicted for tomorrow so I needed to put down some lime, rototill, and seed some of the wildflower sections with crimson clover as a winter cover crop. Some of the work was recorded as time-lapse video with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera. During the work I found another Praying Mantis ootheca or egg sack that I moved to a protected location.

Daily Electric Energy Used (62.8 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (28.7 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More clouds than yesterday. At this time of the year the sun is lower, and the Sycamore tree leaves shadow the solar panels part of the day. Overall a net deficit of 34.1 kWh. Use higher than yesterday because of laundry (4.2 kWh)

Current Weather Conditions

powered by Ambient Weather

Saturday (19-October-2019) — New Jersey

DR Power Lawn and Leaf Vacuum.

Some assembly required. Recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera for a four minute time-lapse video.

Daily Electric Energy Used (72.0 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (37.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More sun than yesterday, but getting colder. Overall a net deficit of 34.1 kWh. Geothermal HVAC to heat the house (6.2 kWh), Laundry (4.7 kWh), Hydroponics (22.5 kWh), Computers and Servers (20.7 kWh), Kitchen (2.7 kWh).

Current Weather Conditions

powered by Ambient Weather

Friday (18-October-2019) — New Jersey

Indoor Hydroponic AeroGarden Farm XL. Setup and Planting.

The three new Farms were assembled yesterday. Today I set them up with deionized water (~10 L/tray) and plant food (16 mL/tray). I then planted Bok Choi, Edible Flowers, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Swiss Chard, Kale, Hot Peppers, eight varieties of Basil, and Arugula. Each of the trays was programed for the type of plants, and the LED lights lowered to just above the tray for the germination process. All recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera for a time-lapse video.

Daily Electric Energy Used (58.5 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (33.8 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. A bit more sun than yesterday, but getting colder. Overall a net deficit of 24.7 kWh. Closing the windows, and switching the Geothermal HVAC on to heat the house.

Current Weather Conditions

powered by Ambient Weather

Wednesday (16-October-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Autumn Nature in New Jersey

Before it started raining, I used the DR Field and Brush mower to clear more of the wildflower meadows and sections next to the house. I left the section with the Marigold flowers and Lemon Mint flowers as there are still bees and bumblebees working the flowers. Also the deer ignore these plants. Later in the afternoon, it started raining followed by heavy winds.

Daily Electric Energy Used (54.1 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (7.6 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Heavy clouds and rain, not much solar power.  Overall a net deficit of 46.6 kWh.

Current Weather Conditions

powered by Ambient Weather