Solar 2008
- Thread starter sparky76
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DanZ
Senior Member
Has anyone here had any experience recently with solar power? I'm just curious about how well it works now, and I've heard some odd things that don't seem like the norm.
MarkWhite
Member
- Location
- Puget Sound Washington
DanZ said:
Be aware that many "Alternative Energy" components may not be listed.
There are many "snake oil salesmen" working the Alternative energy circuit nowadays.
Here in WA we have had some wind turbines and tracking motors for solar panels installed without being listed by an accredited testing laboratory.
mikeames
Senior Member
- Location
- Germantown MD
- Occupation
- Teacher - Master Electrician - 2017 NEC
It looks as though the thin film technology will take over. SI based cells are out.
DanZ said:
We built a small solar powered house last year. $51k for panels, $10k for grid interactive inverters, $6k for battery inverters all in additional to normal AC wiring. If you can sell it to somebody with deep pockets there's money to be made, but if you run a cost anaylsis (if you're on the buying end) you'd have to be in a pretty remote location to make it worth anything. Solar power does solve some of the transmission issues the utilities are facing with wind power though.
rexowner
Senior Member
- Location
- San Jose, CA
- Occupation
- Electrician
jdsmith said:
I've never worked with wind, so don't know what
the transmission issues are you're referring to. Are they
because the wind power is using induction generators?
I believe some wind generators are rectified and inverted,
so I would think it would be the same transmission issues.
I went to the trade show in SD.
Dan and JD,
Solar pays in a couple circumstances. One is if you are off grid and it's cheaper than bringing power in another way. The other is if you are in an area with expensive power, government incentives, and a lot of sunshine.
Mikeames,
At some point SI cells may be out, but at present the crystaline module producers are selling out and there are lots of factories being built to crank out more.
Dan and JD,
Solar pays in a couple circumstances. One is if you are off grid and it's cheaper than bringing power in another way. The other is if you are in an area with expensive power, government incentives, and a lot of sunshine.
Mikeames,
At some point SI cells may be out, but at present the crystaline module producers are selling out and there are lots of factories being built to crank out more.
Nope, I just went through the exhibit hall. I am a solar startup though. Incorporated last October. Are you in SD? I'm in the LA area.
I don't read this forum a ton, so if you want you can email me at jay@newenergyconstruction.com.
I don't read this forum a ton, so if you want you can email me at jay@newenergyconstruction.com.
I thought Solar was dead in the water out in CA. Yes you got government incentives but then the utility would jack up your KWhr rate. am I wrong? I am sure there is more to it than what I am hearing.
What do you guys know about Stirling engines such as the ones used at www.stirlingenergy.com It's pretty wild stuff.
What do you guys know about Stirling engines such as the ones used at www.stirlingenergy.com It's pretty wild stuff.
khixx,
A rule changed at the beginning of 2008 (I think that's when it was) that forced public utility customers to switch from a simple plan to a time of use plan. In some cases this helped people and in some cases it hurt depending on how much power they used and when they used it. In all cases it made the sale a lot more complicated and it's already a complicated sale.
Because of this, there were a few months where residential sales were totally killed. Then they changed the rule so that people didn't have to switch their rate plans and residential sales are recovering.
re: those solar stirling systems
There are a lot of interesting options, but I think in the long run photovoltaics will be the winner. The prices have not dropped lately because demand is huge, but more capacity is being added all the time. Because of the demand I don't expect prices to drop in the very near future, but there is a ton of room for prices to drop. If you look at a PV module I think it's pretty clear that what now costs $1000 will cost substantially less in the not too distant future. And that's without new technology.
A rule changed at the beginning of 2008 (I think that's when it was) that forced public utility customers to switch from a simple plan to a time of use plan. In some cases this helped people and in some cases it hurt depending on how much power they used and when they used it. In all cases it made the sale a lot more complicated and it's already a complicated sale.
Because of this, there were a few months where residential sales were totally killed. Then they changed the rule so that people didn't have to switch their rate plans and residential sales are recovering.
re: those solar stirling systems
There are a lot of interesting options, but I think in the long run photovoltaics will be the winner. The prices have not dropped lately because demand is huge, but more capacity is being added all the time. Because of the demand I don't expect prices to drop in the very near future, but there is a ton of room for prices to drop. If you look at a PV module I think it's pretty clear that what now costs $1000 will cost substantially less in the not too distant future. And that's without new technology.
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