|
|
“The elders were wise. They knew that man’s heart,
away from nature, becomes hard; they knew that lack of respect for
growing, living things, soon led to lack of respect for humans too.”
- - - Chief Luther Standing Bear, Lakota Sioux
|
We are here to help power your remote or utility-tied
home, provide back-up
electricity for emergencies, grid-tie
power equipment, UPS systems, solar
water pumping, or just keep your RV
or boat’s batteries
fully charged. We offer complete
systems to fit your project’s needs. If you want to do something
to make your home ‘greener’ give us a call. We also offer a line of efficient
electric and gas appliances
to help keep a lid on your electric bill. For those of you who aren’t
“on line”, or are beginning your project, we have an extremely
informative Product Catalog and design information for ten dollars ($18
out of country)—essential for your energy library! Products, system
sizing, pricing, components, energy efficient and LP appliances, battery
care, and wind turbines are just some of the topics covered. If you are
on-line, you can see example systems (costs, components and power
output) at www.oasismontana.com/systems.html
To assist your information input, we’ve tried to develop as much
on-line information as we can. For information on solar water pumping,
see www.PVsolarpumps.com
for utility-tied photovoltaic systems, with and without batteries, see www.grid-tie.com
for efficient AC appliances, DC ’fridges, coolers and freezers see www.eco-fridge.com
for natural and propane gas appliances, check out www.LPappliances.com
. Our main index page is www.oasismontana.com.
We have a great deal of information on our web sites—please feel free
to visit and stay a while!
|
Strawhouse Market
– A solar-powered straw bale natural food store is coming soon to
Helena, Montana….a truly ‘green’ building!
|
In early 2004 we began working with Dirk Ellis
of Western Skys, Ltd., to design a grid-tie solar system for his new
natural food store & coffee roaster in Helena, MT. As you can see
from the artist’s rendition above, this isn’t your run-of-the-mill
building. Its construction is post & beam, but infilled with baled
straw utilizing a three-coat cement-based plaster on the interior and
exterior wall surfaces to provide superior thermal & noise
insulation, as well as an exceptional fire shield versus standard “stick”
wall construction. The front of the building faces true south in a
passive solar setup which allows the sun in during the winter months to
reduce the heating and lighting load. Properly designed overhangs keep
the hot summer sun out while still providing indirect sunlight for
lighting purposes. Dirk has also incorporated a rainwater collection
system into the overall design which will collect runoff from the
building’s roof and parking lot and store it in a large buried tank to
be used later for the site’s landscaping needs.
The building’s most noticeable feature is a 12.7kW grid-tie
photovoltaic system (NOTE: Oasis Montana originally stated that this project was partially funded by a grant from Northwestern Energy; but, there are no such project monies forthcoming at this time . Oasis Montana regrets the error.)
that, during certain times of the year,
should supply over half of the building’s energy needs. This
batteryless PV system features 76 Kyocera KC167G (167W) solar modules
wired through five SMA Sunny Boy grid-tie inverters and then on to the
building’s main AC distribution panel. From there the solar power is
either used directly by the AC loads that are on at the time or it is
sold back to NWE (turning Strawhouse Market’s kilowatt-hour meter
backwards) if the solar array is producing an excess of power. This type
of batteryless system is more efficient and less expensive than a
battery based setup, but for safety reasons it will shut down during a
utility outage so it cannot supply any backup power. All five SMA Sunny
Boy inverters will be connected to a single control/monitor unit that
will display the system’s instantaneous power and cumulative energy
production on a separate monitor just inside the building’s front
entrance.
Construction of the building is currently underway and installation of
the PV system should begin sometime in January (a fun time of year to be
working outdoors in Helena, MT!). If all goes well, Dirk’s new
Strawhouse Market should be solar powered and open for business by late
spring. Visit their web site www.strawhousemarket.com
or give us a call for more information on this exciting project. While
this building does have a higher up-front cost than one using standard
construction, its advanced features and energy efficient systems will
definitely pay for themselves in the long run. We hope many legislators
in our state capital will take notice of this innovative project and
make it easier for others to follow in Dirk’s footsteps.
|
|
|
