Sperryville solar install

We recently had the opportunity to add more sustainable energy to the world, so of course we said "yes please!"  Our friends Kathy and Bob were interested in putting solar panels on their new house in Virginia.  John and Bob did a great job with the design and permitting, and we were all excited to gather for a long weekend of "friends installing solar together"

Welcome to Sperryville!

Tug even got involved with the material transport from Maryland to Virginia:

Our first evening in Sperryville and the first of many excellent meals together:

The garage will have the main set of panels, with an additional 7 on the roof of the house:

Solar Team, assemble!

Bob putting his architecture (or at least attention to detail) skills to good use:

Splicing rails together:

Hi guys!  John is always happy spending several days on a roof.  Bob seemed pretty pleased about it too.

Putting finishing touches on the feet that the rails will attach to:

Taking a break for hot chocolate at the local coffee shop.  The guys went back to work while Kathy and I had a lovely 4-mile walk around town.  It was part of a charity event and we got to meet some of townspeople.

Back at the ranch - and a bit of clowning around:

All in a day's work:

Bring on the solar panels!

Bob will practically be an expert by the end of this:

Screwing everything down tight:

Sometimes it requires patience to wait and watch John as he makes sure everything is lined up just exactly right:

Nice photo by Kathy:

Sunday morning yoga, yay!

A bit of fall color - we loved all the fresh vegetables and apples that Kathy and I found at various local farms:

More local solar plus free EV car charging at "Off The Grid" cafe down the road, excellent!

Preparing a junction box for the electrical wiring:

Important items of protection:

Studying the inverter - looks good to me!

Kathy found another fun activity for us, the annual open house at the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper (part of the Library of Congress).  They house and restore old film, and we looked forward to seeing some behind-the-scenes action.

One of the many, many vaults holding nitrate films:

The tour was super informative and interesting, detailing how they collect and maintain old movies.

Checking out some stills from the original Wizard of Oz - this particular set isn't part of the released movie, but some early filming that had to get redone after a month of various issues including needing to recast the role of the Tin Man.  Neat to see the actual originals!

Rootbeer floats for the hard workers back at the house!

The somewhat-challenging-to-dig trench to run wires between the house and garage:

Pounding in the grounding rod:

Making great progress!

Running wire:

Rigged up for safety on the steeper roof:

Et voila!!

Nicely done, John and Bob!  Ready to harness the power of the sun!

4 extra panels, Howie-bound!

I love this reminder from Kath:

Thank you for a super fun and productive weekend, Kathy and Bob!