your thoughts on solar power?



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I've got solar power setup on a mountain home I got up near big bear, california. I also have a solar power suitcase type deal for batteries for some rifle optics I use for when shtf. Down here in palm springs alot of businesses have there roofs or even sides of the businesses blasted with these panels. Looks rather expensive, lol. A few of my neighboors have the same setup on their homes. From what I understand tho germany is leading the way in solar panel setups per person 10fold compared to other countries.
 
PV panels are still way too expensive for them to be contenders for serious power production. They fill a niche well but aren't suitable for grid power.

Concentrating solar power, on the other hand, is already competitive with fossil fuels. And that's without subsidies. Some of the early CSP systems weren't very efficient and costs were too high, especially the Rankine cycle systems that need lots of water for their turbines. But current systems like the Stirling Energy Systems unit work well. The basic 25kW unit uses about the same materials and manufacturing technology as that to produce a mid-size car. In volume it should cost about $1 per watt to produce. And after that there are no externalities since there are no consumables and no emissions.

Those aren't home units. They are for small neighborhoods and when installed in farms can provide grid power.
 
I think that, if we concentrate our efforts on the sun, for, the energy, that we can gain, from the solar power, if we attain it, then, we should generate it into, our, solar power, storage facilities. My 2 cents.
 
Yeah, I'd be down with solar power if the panels justified the cost over a shorter period of time. I can find other ways to help the environment that is more effective and efficient.
 
geomark said:
PV panels are still way too expensive for them to be contenders for serious power production. They fill a niche well but aren't suitable for grid power.

Concentrating solar power, on the other hand, is already competitive with fossil fuels. And that's without subsidies. Some of the early CSP systems weren't very efficient and costs were too high, especially the Rankine cycle systems that need lots of water for their turbines. But current systems like the Stirling Energy Systems unit work well. The basic 25kW unit uses about the same materials and manufacturing technology as that to produce a mid-size car. In volume it should cost about $1 per watt to produce. And after that there are no externalities since there are no consumables and no emissions.

Those aren't home units. They are for small neighborhoods and when installed in farms can provide grid power.
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yes I was looking into this today and spain has some crazy CSP systems was thinking it would make a nice investment long term.
 
Home and office.
I have covered all the building (~10K Euro panels + setup). The latest panels have a better productivity and longer life.
The ROI is quite positive:
1) No more power bill
2) I produce more power than I need and sell the surplus to a private grid power provider (our home power systems are enabled since 2002)
3) I use electric power for everything now (heating, cooling, water,....)

Why haven't I done this before?
 
Check out a system called Isomax. I am a small partner in a green energy startup in Philly and we bought the rights to that system to bring it to the US. The main basis of the system is geo-thermal power, but when implemented in homes, we can make it virtually a zero energy home. All they really have to pay for is about $50 a year to run ventilators to help filter out the stale air internally.
 
I have always liked the idea of solar and have been looking at portable units more then perm units like this here:

The Solar Stik

I like it for travel mainly ( see the boat ) and for a few other reasons, but mainly being able to take my power with me where ever I go.
 
My family is in the electrician business and they were thinking about going to classes for installing solar panels but rumor has it a lot of people are staying away from it. From what I heard they only last around 15-20 years before you need to replace them, so your not really saving any money. I also heard the states aren't giving rebates out anymore so you would have to pay for the whole thing.

But on the other hand my neighbor wanted solar panels and the guy he called said it would cost either 50k or 100k (I forget which) and wanted around 20k up front and they wouldn't be able to get to him for a year, lol.
 
^^ the 15-20 year thing is pretty much true, but mostly on things like panels and such and not the whole system ( although other smaller things may need replacing ). This is another reason I wanted something small and portable and not perm.

however, anyone quoting 100k ( so I am sure it was 50k, which still sounds high ) should be shot
 
eliquid said:
^^ the 15-20 year thing is pretty much true, but mostly on things like panels and such and not the whole system ( although other smaller things may need replacing ). This is another reason I wanted something small and portable and not perm.

however, anyone quoting 100k ( so I am sure it was 50k, which still sounds high ) should be shot
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Yeah maybe it was lower I forget, it was around 2-3 years ago. I just remember they wanted a bunch of money upfront and they wouldn't be able to get to him in a year. Maybe he wanted a lot done or something. I do remember him asking if we could put a windmill in his backyard for electric in his house, lol.
 
i don't have at home.
my teacher say that solar power efficiency is max 20% and so expensive.
need about 8 years so you can get the money back from capital cost
and solar power just can use about 10-15 years
 
bamscap said:
i don't have at home.
my teacher say that solar power efficiency is max 20% and so expensive.
need about 8 years so you can get the money back from capital cost
and solar power just can use about 10-15 years
Click to expand...

PV is under 20% efficiency. CSP can be 30% or higher and is cheaper to manufacture.
 
Anything other than CSP will never repay the system before it need replaced. There are a few websites out there that have investigated the Spanish/German subsidized PV sites and they are no longer producing any sort of power due to lack of maintenance.

The easiest way for a home to utilize CSP would be to use solar trough collectors and have it run into a radiant heating system. Likely won't replace a conventional heating system, but will work pretty decently.

Also , the PS10 CSP power plant in Spain that everyone loves to talk about is producing WHOLESALE power at .36c per KWH in Spain. In my state of Ohio, electricity costs 4.5c wholesale. So, the best 'commercial' CSP collector that people love to talk about is producing power that is 8 times more expensive than traditional power. If solar had to compete with traditional energy sources and sell power at non-subsidized prices, the PS10 would have a repay period of 44 years instead of the 8 years that's being thrown around by major media outlets supporting renewables.
 
In my city, ~ 70% of the population have replaced Electric Water heaters (Electric geysers) with Solar Water heaters. Other than that, it's rare to see anyone using it for any other purpose.
 
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