Solar-powered hot tub step toward grid parity

This summer I collaborated with three friends on the design and installation of a grid-tied, battery-backed 5.6KW, 24 panel photovoltaic array on a 260-acre ranch near Bailey, Colorado. Despite the challenges of a relatively large-scale renewable energy project, it was an incredible pleasure beginning to end, given the stunning beauty of the location and contagious energy of the tireless individuals who were as eager to dig a 75-foot trench as they were to learn hands-on about electrical wiring.

Two dozen four-foot-deep holes filled with concrete provide the foundation for six aluminum frames that hold four panels each. We rewired three electrical…