Air quality solar power failures at remote monitoring stations create compliance gaps that cannot be retroactively filled. If the regulator requires continuous hourly PM2.5 data and the system goes down at 6 AM those hours are gone. I was called to troubleshoot a recurring data gap problem at a PM2.5 monitoring station on a mine […]
Weather station solar failures in Ontario happen quietly. The station keeps transmitting data but the numbers are wrong. You do not find out until it matters most, during the worst storm of the winter. I was asked to review the power system for an agricultural weather station on a grain farm near Listowel in Perth
The Meteorology Standard: Weather Station Solar for Ontario Farms and Municipal Networks Read More »
Remote sensor solar power systems fail field researchers in a way that is almost impossible to diagnose without a spectrum analyser. I was asked to review a persistent data quality problem at a water quality monitoring station on the Grand River near Elora in Wellington County. The station used a Campbell Scientific CR1000 datalogger connected
Radio repeater solar failures in northern Ontario have a specific failure signature. The repeater does not go silent all at once. I was called to diagnose a solar power failure at a VHF emergency services repeater on a ridge site above Chapleau in the Sudbury District. This site served as the primary link for OPP
Fish hatchery solar failures do not announce themselves before the stock dies. I was called to review the power system at a brook trout nursery near Thessalon in the Algoma District operated by a conservation authority that had experienced a catastrophic stock loss the previous August. The facility ran 12 fibreglass rearing tanks with a
The Spawn Standard: Fish Hatchery Solar for Ontario Conservation and Aquaculture Read More »
Weather buoy solar failures on the Great Lakes do not happen because the equipment is wrong. They happen because the energy budget was calculated for dry land. I was brought in to review the power system specification for a Lake Huron nearshore monitoring buoy deployed by a freshwater research group out of Owen Sound. The
The Marine Standard: Weather Buoy Solar for Great Lakes Research and Monitoring Read More »
Trail camera solar failures in Ontario are invisible. I was asked to troubleshoot a trail camera setup for a deer hunter near Perth in Lanark County. The Moultrie Edge Pro cellular camera had been running on its internal AA lithium pack with a 6W solar panel since October. In late January the hunter found 847
The Stealth Standard: Trail Camera Solar for Ontario Hunters and Property Owners Read More »
Solar security gate failures happen at the worst possible moment. The first hard freeze of November can turn a reliable system into a locked-out nightmare. I was called to troubleshoot a locked-out gate at a hobby farm near Fergus in Wellington County in early November. The property owner had installed a 20W panel and a
The Access Standard: Solar Security Gate for Ontario Rural Properties Read More »
Mobile solar trailer projects start with a generator bill that surprises every project manager. I was brought in to review the power setup at a residential subdivision site near Cambridge in Waterloo Region. The site super was spending $1,140 per month on diesel for a 10kVA Generac running 24 hours a day. The overnight load
The Tool Standard: Mobile Solar Trailer for Ontario Construction Sites Read More »
Remote radio station solar power failures do not always sound like static. (1) I was called to troubleshoot an audio quality problem at a volunteer community FM station near Haliburton that had switched to off-grid solar the previous summer. The station ran a 50W Inovonics transmitter, a small mixing console, and a computer playback system.
The Voice Standard: Remote Radio Station Solar for Ontario Broadcasters Read More »