So close!

The hole in the wall is fixed, everything is installed. My understanding is that now I just have to wait for the paperwork to get to Xcel, then I have to start pushing them to install my bi-directional meter. Once that is done, I can start actually using all this equipment I paid so much for.

Woohoo! Solar officiall completely installed!

I have fully inspected and approved solar panels! Assuming they patch the hole in my wall on Monday like they said, I am done with REC Solar. Once all the paperwork is turned in, I start the push to get Xcel to come install the bi-directional meter. I was told "it can take as long as 30 days" up until today when the project manager said "6 weeks, but lately they've been a little faster about it". UGH! So it may be 6 weeks before I get to turn my system on...meanwhile it sits there slowly losing efficiency.

I still can't get Tree Pros to even call me back about taking care of my tree. If they don't contact me today or answer the phone when I call, I'm calling their biggest competitor.

Nearing the end!

The person that is going to install my inverter is supposed to be on the way to my house right now. All he's got to do is install the inverter, hook it up, connect the last connection on the panels and then test to make sure it works. Then tomorrow the inspection is supposed to happen. Assuming that goes well, they are supposed to close up my wall and be finished. Then it's a matter of getting Xcel out to inspect everything and put in the new bi-directional meter and then I'm producing electricity from sun light! If my calculations are right, I should be producing about twice to three times what I use. Especially once I've got my new efficient refrigerator and dishwasher and gone through the house with a power meter and switched out all the vampiric electronics.

At least, that's what I have planned...by the end of all this I'll be pretty close to entirely out of money so we'll see.

Preliminary walk-through / Hot tub installation.

Last week I had the preliminary walk-through with a tech for the solar installation. My house is a bit non-standard so we had to come up with solutions to some problems. One of them is that there isn't really a good place for the inverter in my house, so it's going outside on the west wall where it will be shaded by the elm tree. Thats fine, I'll be attaching some sort of monitor to it at some point, or just plugging a cat5 cable in there and getting the data directly and publishing it on my web page. Other than that everything looked fine with the install and the tech was a nice easy going person. Installation will start after I get back from my trip to LA/Tucson/Phoenix so that should be tons of fun.

Another project I've got going right now is trying to get a hot tub installed. That one is costing me great wadges of money I didn't expect. I'm putting the hot tub in my shed and so I got a structural engineer to come out and make sure it was strong enough (it's built very strong). Turns out it's not, so he drew up some plans and I got them approved by the city. Problem is now the contractor I had come out to take a look hasn't responded with a quote to do the work. I need the quote so that I can get the permit, and I need the work to get done relatively soon as the hot tub may be here any day now. It was supposed to take 4-6 weeks or 6-8 weeks and we're at week 5 since I bought it.

While all that was going on I was trying to come up with a solution for the floor/walls to keep water from rotting the wood and getting into the basement of the shed. When I say shed, what I really mean is a 20'x20' workshop with a full attic and a 4' tall carpeted basement with shelves and lights in it. More of an artists cottage/workshop/whatever. Anyway...I talked with Adam several times about the thing and finally got a friend who is a contractor to come over and take a look and it turns out he's a flooring guy, so this is his specialty. So he's going to tile the entire corner and put waterproof plastic sheets on the walls for me. I've got that quote and agreed to it so now it's just a matter of him getting the time to do it. That has to be done before the hot tub can be delivered, so hopefully that'll work out. Then if it has to, the hot tub can sit there on the tile until the structural part is done. I can't fill the hot tub until the structural support is in. Then once all that is done, I get Donna to come over and hook up the power, the guy from the hot tub store to come over and give me a quick lesson on how it works, and I'm SET!

I just gotta figure out how I'm going to pay for all the incidental stuff. Ugh. Here's hoping my reclassification at work goes through.