The solar photovoltaic panel installation at Medicine Hat College is complete! You can see on the panels mounted on the roof of a new residence building as you drive into the college. The panels are south facing with no obstructions and will have maximum sun exposure. Each panel provides 250W of electrical energy and, when connected to the grid, this system will provide 5 kW of electricity to the college.  Come check them out!

On the left, Marcus Campbell of Terralta Inc. is screwing in the bracket that mounts the panel to the frame. This needs to be done for all 24 panels. On the right, Joe Grove, an electrical instructor at Medicine Hat College, is connecting the Enphase microinverter to the panel.

Marcus Campbell describes the Enphase microinverter connection for the solar photovoltaic system installed at Medicine Hat College. One inverter will be installed for every panel. The inverters will convert direct current (DC) from the solar panels to alternating current (AC) and will form part of the college's electrical supply.

On the left, one of the installers is adjusting the frame that the solar photovoltaic panels will be mounted on. He is ensuring they are straight and that all holes drilled for the frame's feet are completely sealed. On the right, the installers are securing the cables and installing the Enphase microinverter. For a full description check out the video in the next post!

Now that the system is complete the real-time data is being track and analyzed. You can see this real-time data by going to the Real-Time Data page above or by clicking here: http://solarprojectmhc.weebly.com/real-time-data.html

Bhavin is installing the solar thermal tubing which will complete the entire system.

Bhavin and the team are celebrating a successful day as the last tube is installed!

The installation of the system is now complete and has been tested with water to check for leaks. Now it is time to put the 50% water, 50% glycol solution into the system. The solution will be circulated by the pump through the entire system.

Because of the low temperatures that Medicine Hat encounters throughout the winter glycol must be added to the solution in order to prevent feezing.

The pipes in the photo on the left run from inside the plumbing lab up to the roof. Bhavin is insulating these pipes and will then connect them to the solar thermal panel. These pipes will be supported by the steel support rods that Bhavin has previously made.

In the photo on the right Bhavin and Danny are harnessed to the roof for safety. Bhavin is stabilizing Danny's ladder as he brazes the pipe to the top corner of the panel with the incoming glycol solution pipeline.

On the left, Bhavin is simulating the software with the help of MHC instructor Ron Linowski which will be used for the data logger.

On the right, Bhavin is installing and wiring the data logger to the weather station equipment.

Having the data logger set up to take data from the weather station that includes installed pyranometer, which records the intensity of the sunlight in the area, will allow Bhavin to calculate the efficiency of the thermal system depending on the intensity. 

The photo on the left shows you what the solar thermal area looked a few days after start up. The photo on the right shows you what the area looks like now, 3 weeks later.
 
The temperature differential controller that will control the pump based on the temperature difference from the collector and the storage tank temperature has been installed.

The second-priority heat exchanger, which is the copper tubing wrapped around the piping has been installed. The third-priority heat dump with radiant fins has been installed for the "dumping" of extra heat.

There is still more work to be done in the area including the installation of the expansion tanks.