Posted on 05/19/2013 4:44:37 PM PDT by george76
When Webster Groves High School purchased solar panels to put on the roof of the school, no one told them they could catch on fire!
The fire department was called on Saturday to put out the flames
...
Plumes of black smoke could be seen coming from the roof at Webster Groves High School Saturday. Firefighters say solar panels caught fire around 2:00pm. Nearby residents noticed the smoke and called the fire department.
The panels are above the new science wing.
(Excerpt) Read more at thegatewaypundit.com ...
I heat my jacuzzi with solar circulating hot water system. I use a low flow pump that is solar powered. Took a bit to get it dialed in but now have it mastered.
At first it was not hot enough. Then it got way too hot. I figured out the system. Now regulated to stay at 105 f.
Totally free system.
One problem with the solar cells is that there’s no way to shut them off if the sun is shining on them. There is high voltage present unless you cover the panels.
Too many big oaks and hickories for solar to work here.
We put in a ground source heat pump when we built new in ‘01. It has four 200 foot wells under the driveway and the main floor is warmed by the same unit.
Not cheap to buy but the payoff is about 4-5 years. Our power bill goes down when we switch the ground source to AC...
In the end, I removed the system and donated the tanks to a local solar installer/maintainer. There was no market for my nice silicon glass window/anodized copper collector panels. Even with the federal subsidy, I lost almost $7,000 on that bit of green stupidity. Three years in service didn't come close to the claimed service life of 20 years. Even at 20 years, the natural gas prices never went high enough to offset the investment.
Something smells here.
Nothing about a solar PV panel is flammable.
All of my panels just have water tight buss boxes.
>> “It was wonderful until the hard water destroyed the holding tank.” <<
.
Very similar to my experience with solar water heating. The freeze valves would stick open first, then later on the tanks went.
Soft water errodes the tanks (dissolves the copper and the steel), and hard water clogs and corrodes them
Panels = old technology. The new versions use vacuum tubes, as pictured, which have glycol inside. The boiling temp is around 685f and they transfer into a copper header via a copper heat pipe inside a glass cylinder. If you have a hail storm, the worst case scenario means you replace a pipe of two, at a cost of $30-60 depending on size. The efficiency is about 150-240% greater than flat panels with the fluted tubes.
In addition, snow does not build on them. BUT, on a Rochester, NY home, with flat panels and 6" of snow overnight, the panels cleared within 45 minutes of sunrise. Snow is just frozen water, and the sunlight is diffused, but it's still hot!
My license plates:
SHOULD READ!!!
...The boiling temp is around 65f and they transfer into a copper header...
Totally free? So how much was it? ;-)
ping
We explored several suggestions for heat/AC with economy as a primary consideration. The whole system cost about $21 K for a 2700 sq. ft two story house. Best Andersen windows, super insulation in the roof and outside walls, caulk all the switch and receptacle boxes; in other words, seal it up tight. We have an energy recovery ventilator in the furnace room that we run when there is a lot of cooking or when we have a few guests.
In 12 years, we've had one service call for a fuse replacement (I keep a spare and can do this myself now...)
Pump was $35 on ebay. It was used but guy said it was good. It was. I got lucky and found a seven person jacuzzi that was used but just barely. Looks new but used. That cost $75. Lots of people willing to give away their Jacuzzi for free though.it does not matter if you get the gas or electric because you will not be using the heat source but better to get a gas heated just in case you want back up heat. I found the solar collectors on Craig’s list used. They were priced $100 each or two for $160. I took both but only use one. That was an exception deal. The solar panel to power the 12 volt pump $100 plus shipping but those prices have come down. I guess with all odds and ends, hoses and fittings I have $500 into it.
You can make your own solar collector and I was going to do that until I found the guy selling them. Making one is just a box, tubes, black paint and glass.
Glad you clarified that! I was beside myself worrying about you and worrying about your neighbors!
No indication in the article of the cause of the fire?
it's only "free" after you've amortized the cost of the equipment vs. the projected conventional cost, right?
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