Posted on 01/12/2006 7:19:11 PM PST by calcowgirl
Be VERY circumspect about manufacturer claims like that, among other things they are based on an unrealistic and unobtainable high illuminance (1,000 W/m2), while with the solar cells are artificially kept at 25ºC (by water cooling). The 12% value indicated in my table is a real-world value. However, if you have a particular model in mind and if you'd like, just send me the part number and I'll review it for you and let's see what the manufacturer says in the "fine print". (In engineering, we call hiding the bad news, "specsmanship"!)
I think you need to go back to the table and pay particular attention to the caution in note 11 at the bottom.
Keep in mind that ultimately it is YOU who is paying that subsidy to yourself via the utility fund established by your friendly legislature!!! (TANSTAAFL)
My prediction is that by the time you're through paying back the cost of the solar panels, installation costs, panel supports, wiring, inverter, building permits and especially the time value of the capital invested, that your solar cells will be dead from old age.
However, I don't want to rain on your parade (or your solar cells), so if you're hot to trot, go for it. Since I'll being paying part of your subsidy, I expect a cold brew from you, if we ever meet.
That's good thinking and as I prefaced the table I posted, "where your connection to the electric utility grid is either non-existent or problematic, solar cells can offer a practical solution". However, the system you're describing would need battery back up to keep you going at night during the outages and that gets very expensive (3x, easy).
If that new place will be in the mountains ("frequent power outages"), keep in mind about roof orientation, trees and hills and you should be alright.
Almost every one up in the mountains where I live have back up generators of about 3-5 kW capacity. They cost about a buck a watt and many now come with such good silencing systems, that you can barely tell when they're running. Check out Honda's product line, for instance. Anyway, give it a thought, it sure would be cheaper than going solar, especially with batteries. (And besides, you can easily take the generator with you when you move.)
thanks - simply brilliant
I met a couple in 1986 who were off the grid. It was rural Kentucky and prohibitive to pay for an electric hook up. I'm sure off-grid schemes and technology have greatly advanced in 20 years
They had the house wired with 12 volt marine fixtures and bulbs. Had a 12 volt TV. Had a propane refrigerator. Had a generator to run power tools now and then. Had solar-electric cells but I forget how big
Thanks Dennis.
Sounds like an ideal situation for solar.
More energy is consumed in creating a single solar panel than it will ever produce in its useful lifetime.
Only the truly retarded could believe this is an energy solution.
It's an energy NET LOSS.
I would guess $200 would be absolute max.
$200 sounds low?
Everything is already fabricated, all they have to do is unbolt it store it, and bolt it back in place. Shouldn't take 2 men more than a couple of hours each time at the most.
I'm afraid our Governor has gotten himself all wrapped up in the religious mysticism of GovernMental EnvironMentalism and is acting far more like a member of the Green Party that either a Republican, or Damnocrat!!!
Things are getting worse than they were under Gray Davis on an excellerated basis! It's compounding on a parabolic curve one can actually graph!!!
A few years ago, my homeowners association in Montana looked into a backup solution for our well (200 ft with a 3HP pump). Our outages are typically less than a day but longer than two hours, we're the eastern edge of BPA. We spent about three months studying the economics, and the battery/inverter solution won out. Inverters keep getting dramatically better every third year or so (not to mention cheaper), and AGM batteries last about 7-8 years. Given the surge currents involved in starting the pump [85A @ 208V], we were able to go with a 4 kVA inverter instead of a 10kW generator for about a 25% savings. Best part is that the inverter will also kick in a bit if there's a brownout, extending the life of the motor.
We haven't touched it since we installed it three years ago. It just works. No maintenance, no fueling, nobody has to go to the pump shed when it's -30F.
Perhaps you're thinking of alcohol, because I've never seen a study that claimed a negative energy balance for photovoltaics.
Isn't he great? Sure sheds a lot more light than heat on these scenarios, doesn't he?
Glad to see you here! Are you now beginning to see why we're gittin pist at this lame excuse for a Gray Davis replacement?
However, for a rural installation the owner installs himself, it can be a lifesaver. For instance, I designed a system where solar panels/batteries would back up both water (well pump) and enough auxiliary power to run my father oxygen machine should the main power fail. Without that he would not last long. We also have a 5KW generator backup in case of extended periods where the panels would not put out enough power.
Solar has great niche applications.
Good stuff my friend. I am really glad to read this. :-)
Please tell me this is pure humor.
I'm begging you.
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