We were fortunate to reconnect with childhood friends, Myles and Lisa Carter in Hay River, NT in September 2018 just after they had shut down their Fishing Lodge for the season. We were discussing the trials and struggles of operating a World Class Fishing Adventure Lodge in such a remote location and noted that one of the biggest expenses was fuel for the Generators and the freight cost involved in flying it in.
I knew that we could help them reduce this huge expense while at the same time, drastically shrink their environmental footprint. Over the winter, Myles and I had many conversations on this and came up with a game plan to fly in the Solar Modules, Batteries, Inverter and related components to construct a 2.2 kW Solar Array and a 600 amp/hr Battery Bank. I acquired a Xantrex TR1524 Inverter (while being quite small, it gave us a starting point). I built a Combiner Panel utilizing Morningstar Sun Saver Charge Controllers. This allowed us to isolate individual sections of the system for servicing and repairs, if necessary, and also keep components serviceable for a layman.
We energized the System on July 12, 2019 and have been able to operate the lights and Refrigerators in the Camp for over 12 hours daily. This equates to a 50% reduction in fuel consumption and a huge savings in freight cost over the span of the season.
This is only Phase one of this project. Next season we will expand the Array to 4.4 kW and increase our Battery Bank to 1000 amp/hrs, while also doubling our Inverter capacity. We will also build a separate System for the Shower Building to operate the Water Supply Pump. We will be converting the pump from a single phase motor to a 3 phase and control it with a Teco L510 120V VFD. This VFD will allow us to “Soft Start” the motor, reducing the peak demand on the Inverter.
Lots is happening up at Nonacho.com this year and we are very pleased and proud to help our friends up there out and look forward to next year’s expansion and adventure.