BalkonSolar mass upcycling event

This past Saturday I participated in a mass-upcycling event. The goal: empower local residents to install solar panels on their balconies.

The event was organized by the local club BalkonSolar with two generous donations: over 200 used solar panels, and 100 brand new Hoymiles micro-inverters to make home installations basically free of cost.

In addition to those two key pieces of equipment, cabling and tools were supplied by BalkonSolar, with volunteers showing how to prepare cabling and perform electrical testing. People were encouraged to participate in the process since ultimately they'd have to take it and install it themselves at home.

Each registrant got two used solar panels which don't pack as much punch as newer models, but they still haven't outlived their usefulness. The inverter and cables were included as well. The panels needed to be washed, have their voltage tested to ensure they still function, and have their cables checked. Some cables needed to have their MC3 connector replaced with MC4 in order to connect to the inverter. Finally, we had an AC outlet on-site with a digital meter connected, in order to test the output wattage of the two panels. Luckily we had sun most of the morning to test!

I spent part of my morning mounting a panel on a bracket as an example for everyone to see the finished product. Various companies were there to provide mounting solutions; since balconies' formats can vary so much, you have to pick the thing that works for your situation.

Then I moved on to help people prepare their panels. My first group was slow-going and took quite a bit of time, but by the end of the day I'd helped two more groups much more quickly. It felt good to meet so many people excited by the idea of generating their own power at home, and to be able to help them meet their goal!

There were so many people involved in so many ways, and it was really cool to see the group come together and organize. Not only technical work but planning, setup, breakdown, marketing, managing registrations, and publicity on the day of, as local TV stations turned up to run a piece about the event. Special thanks also to Hoymiles for the donation of inverters, which went a long way in making the upcycling offer worthwhile.