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Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2007

Rough waters on Wednesday for the Aggie team. During the process of moving the HVAC GroWall from Texas to D.C., the 24 VAC transformer that provides power to the thermostat was damaged, which resulted in a system failure Wednesday morning during the initial tests. Several phone calls to the GE engineer in Louisville, KY, identified the problem, and tests were performed to verify the problem. A new transformer is being Fed Expressed for Thursday morning delivery to be installed to final testing can be completed just in time for the mandatory completion of the construction on Thursday evening and Grand Opening on Friday when the general public gets their first look at our house. Then judging and testing begins on Sunday, October 13, and continues through Friday October 19 when the winner is announced.

Testing of the other appliances is under way. Other minor adjustments were needed on Wednesday as well, including repriming the pump for the solar collector loop, since an air bubble was causing the pump to cavitate and lose its water circulation. The construction on the ramp is almost finished. Most of the decking is in place and rails are being installed. The bench that covers the batteries has been framed and the top of the bench completed, leaving only the sides to be finished.

Work on the interior is almost finished. All appliances are all in place and connected and the final touch-up of the cabinets is being completd. Furniture will be placed on Thursday after all protective covering is removed from the flooring (including the leather entryway) and appliances.

Work continues on mounting the building integrated photovoltaic panels (BIPV). Once these are mounted they will be connected to the charge controllers, which completes the PV installation.

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