North facade of the Imperial Solar Mansion
The windplant and three solar trackers are visible 300 metres away on the right.
Chris and Barbara's Starbase " Augustus Caesar "
.
Regional Headquarters, 1st Australian Heavy Solar Division .
Geraldton, Western Australia. Latitude 30 degrees South.
Commissoned December 2001. A stunning solar mansion in the Romanesque style, nestled in a dune flanked valley near the beach. Radiation levels here are intense during Summer, so the outer hull of the starbase is formed of reflective white sandstone block.
A large atrium / docking bay on the north provides welcome shade in Summer, and becomes a trap for low angle Winter Sun. High cielings and doors, and wind catchers channel the sea breeze.
Barbara decreed that no expense be spared to provide renewable energy for the de-luxe
European style kitchen, which has a full complement of electric appliances, including fan forced oven and gorilla. The cook top however is gas, as it is more responsive. ( Thank Apollo for small
mercies ) There is also a de-luxe laundry, complete with electric clothes dryer, so the washing
is rendered nice and soft and fluffy !
Supply of H20 presented another problem in this dry, arid, Martian style landscape that was
shunned for centuries by early humanoid explorers. Most of the H20 is underground, and has to
be de-salinated by a reverse osmosis filter, driven by a 1500 watt ( 2 H.P ) 3 phase pump.
A 2500 watt ( 3 H.P ) 3 phase bore pump, and several other smaller single phase pumps are used for transfer purposes within the elaborate water storage and processing system of the starbase.
Starbase engineering facility and plant room at the base of the "dune of enlightenment".
The ocean is 1000 metres away, and visible from the top of the dune. The 2.5 Kw windplant atop it's 18 metre tower has become a landmark for mariners
Power System.
- Hybrid solar / wind energy system without fossil fuel or mains backup of any kind. Chris and
Barbara are widely travelled, and have witnessed the fate of civilisations in other sphere's,
addicted to the use of hydro-carbon fuels. Awareness = concience = action ! And, as they are both alien citizen's, were unable to obtain the 55% Australian government R.A.P.S rebate. They had to pay the entire cost of the installation themselves ! Shame on you Earthlings....shame !
- 36 x UNI-SOLAR Advanced, thin film, triple junction,photo-voltaic panels ( 2304 peak watts )
mounted on 3 x gravity / gas driven, solar tracking frames. Nett daily energy production
( after system losses ) is 15,000 watt-hours in Summer, and 10,000 watt-hours Winter.
- 3 x PLASMATRONIC PL-20 Solar charge regulator's. One to control the output of each
tracker.
- 1 x WESTWIND 2.5 KW Wind driven generator, atop an 18 metre tower. Net daily energy
production averages between 5000 and 12000 watt-hours .
24 x EXIDE 2 Volt, 1350 Amp-hr deep cycle battery cells. These are connected in series, yielding 64,800 watt-hours @ c100.
- 3 x SOLAR ENERGY AUSTRALIA SEAP-48-3K8 True sinewave inverters, in a 3 phase
configuration. 11,400 watts continuous, 13,200 watts for 0.5 hours, 31,500 watts for 10 seconds.
- 1 x SOLAR WONDERLAND MK 007 Energy management controller. Activates a shutdown of
electrical circuits and appliances, by way of switching relays in the main A.C distribution
board. Load circuits are allocated as priority 1, 2, or 3 depending on importance,
corresponding to 30%, 50% and 80% battery discharge levels. This automatic "load shedding" greatly extends the life of the main energy storage battery, and guarantees power to the essential life support systems of the Star Base.