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Requirements to Stewarding a Solar Server
At the present moment we do not have the capacity to support the onboarding of new servers as we are a very small team, but if you want to learn more about this, please see this guide on general requirements to host a solar server and feel free to reach out if you have specific questions or ideas about stewardship.
What do you need to install a small-scale solar system? A server takes care, routine maintenance, and committed stewardship, together with specific physical conditions and network connectivity.
What sort of site do you need for a small scale solar system?
- To install a system you will need a safe and accessible outdoor area that is exposed to direct sunlight for at least 4 hours per day (this means a spot that is free from obstructions/shadows and ideally facing the equator).
- The solar panel needs to be safely secured to a wall, pole or weighted down onto a rooftop so it doesn't blow away during storms or get tempered with, damaged or stolen.
I have a site that could work, how should the solar panel be positioned?
The ideal module tilt for averaging PV production over the year is generally at the angle of latitude facing the equator. The ideal orientation for the PV module in the northern hemisphere is facing South.
For example, NYC is at 41 degrees north so an optimal tilt will be at 41 degrees facing south. The ideal orientation in the southern hemisphere will be northern facing at latitude tilt.
- Above 23 degrees north the sun will always be to the south and below 23 degrees south the sun will always be to the north.
- In the tropics, between 23 degrees north and 23 degrees south, the sun will travel on both the north and south sides of the installation, so shading from both directions must be taken into consideration.
- Avoid obstructions that will shade the module particularly between 9am and 3pm.
Vertical mounting, i.e. 90 degree tilt, or flat mounting, i.e. 0 degree tilt, is acceptable if necessary, but may cause decreased efficiency depending on the latitude.
Of course it is still possible to install a module even if you don't have the ideal way of tilting and orientating it. Your system will just produce a bit less energy if the orientation is not ideal.
What sort of connectivity do you need to run a server?
- The server needs to connect to the Internet either through ethernet cable or wifi access (minimum network speeds of 25mb/s up & 25mb/s down are recommended).
- You need to have admin access to your Internet router in order to set up port forwarding access on both port 80 (HTTP) and port 22 (SSH) with your Internet Service Provider, in order to serve the Solar Protocol network publically.
- It is often the case with community-owned networks or other Internet infrastructures that these ports are not available, opening different ports might be required or other workarounds necessary and we unfortunately are not able to develop ad-hoc implementations at this time due to our lack of time and resources but if you are motivated and have the capacity and know-how to, we welcome your ideas and contribution!
Through the past few months of working on this project, we quickly realized it takes a village!
- As mentioned above, the server requires routine care. It is much easier to address issues, maintenance and further project development when it is a collective effort and the responsibility doesn’t solely fall on one individual.
- Having access to folks with different levels of technical expertise can also be hugely beneficial, as not all the resources needed to troubleshoot and/or deploy projects on the Solar Protocol platform have yet been developed.
- Situating the server in context of a community with shared interests around environmental justice, sustainability, media and art creation (and beyond) is highly beneficial so that the server can serve as a public resource and experimental platform to augment already existing community programs and activities.
- Bottom line, communal care and a shared mission can really help spread the responsibility of stewarding this piece of infrastructure!
We love to keep in touch! So please make sure you are ready for:
- Answering occasional email communications.
- Receiving some Solar Protocol news, updates, call for contributions, opportunities for collaborations and/or funding opportunities.
- Reporting issues and participating in collective maintenance and upkeep.
- Sharing your thoughts and work with the rest of the Stewards community!