What do real people really want from solar?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by michael maldonado on April 7, 2009 at 4:43pm

DAVE,

Unfortanatly, Solar power has come to that "COST". Investers have now figured out that SOLAR is the next big thing. If the money is going to shift from "big oil" and the utilitie companies over to Solar power then were all back to square one. If investers are going to want the same return from solar as big oil then the price of solar is going to have to be screaming high.

That's going to leave the majority of us out. Oil companies and the big utility companies win again. I talked to three solar sales men and all three said it has been tough to find a sale. What few sales they have gotten have been to big companies "going green" and the super rich that can afford it. Two salesmen said everyones home is upside down now and nobody can take out a 2nd mortgage for solar power.

What a shame, I'll bet there are stacks of solar panels in warehouses waiting to be installed but nobody can afford them.

I agree Dave, big oil got smart and lowerd the price of fuel over the last few months. So, who wants to spend $30,000 for a new solar system.

Well, these are "real people" issues. and I'm a real person and I still don't have solar panels on my roof.

MIKE.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Paul on April 8, 2009 at 9:19am

If inventories were growing at the rate you suggest, prices would be plunging... You'd be seeing 'clearance sales' ... anything to keep the cash flowing.

Fact is, production cost for PV is still too high, and yes lack of cash is making it hard for guys to close deals.

The Light is Green!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by michael maldonado on April 8, 2009 at 11:12am

ummmm! I just got my tax cut Apri 1st and Obama is the first green president in History. You get a middle class tax cut also. Why should I join a tea party?

I hope you dont want a repeat of the last 8 years?

You keep protecting big oil and I'll try to figure out how to put Solar panels on my roof. Solar is a great idea we all just can't afford it. To bad.

MIKE.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by michael maldonado on April 8, 2009 at 3:46pm

Oh my god, I'm tired of getting all the junk mail by the Rush Limbaugh ditto heads with the you-tube videos. If I didn't know any better rush convinced you that the last 8 years didn't even happen. Anyway, whatever floats your boat.

I got a tax cut and am now getting more money in my pocket. We all noticed it on todays check. You got a tax cut also

I guess Rush told you to continue calling the Democrat (President Obama) a tax & Spend Liberal. Well, that boat dont float no more but Like I said, whatever floats your boat. Have your tea party but also enjoy the more pay in your pocket with the middle class tax cut. It's about time.

OH! and tell Rush to come up with some new ideas. Rather than throwing out all those you-tube videos that everyone delete's anyway.

BACK TO THE SUBJECT MATTER:


I have just been talking about how Solar power is way out of reach from "REAL PEOPLE" like you and me. Nobody can afford it.


Take a deep breath and stop calling people idiot's

MIKE

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dave baragona on April 8, 2009 at 10:48am

I've come to realize that Americans are not interested in anything that has an ROI of 5 years or more.

Americans want a payback of a few months or less.

They can't see beyond next month's expenses....

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dave baragona on April 9, 2009 at 10:50am

The only way I can think of to break this attitude is to lead by example.

If some of us invest in green technology with an expected ROI, a few people may take notice and follow suit.

If that happens maybe we can build up some momentum.....

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Rene Norton on April 16, 2009 at 12:44pm

THINK SMALLRural living -
I just want to pump water _ when the lights go out, I still want a shower....
come up with an entry system that I can buy at Sears, or Walmart.

Net meetering would be cool.
It would also be nice if this entry system could be expandable to back up refrigeration..
Here in the south we can do without hot water heaters...
We still NEED RUNNING WATER!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Rene Norton on April 16, 2009 at 12:40pm

Rural living -
I just want to pump water _ when the lights go out, I still want a shower....
come up with an entry system that I can buy at Sears, or Walmart.

Net meetering would be cool.
It would also be nice if this entry system could be expandable to back up refrigeration..
Here in the south we can do without hot water heaters...
We still NEED RUNNING WATER!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jeff Tomlinson on May 6, 2009 at 5:45pm

I am new to the industry.
Firstly, there's a huge difference between the performance of (and claimed performance of) the different types of solar collectors out there in the market. Everybody knows that tubes are better that flat plates and Kingspan's THERMOMAX are the Worlds Highest performaning solar collectors tubes available today.
Very high performing systems, correctly designed and installed make a massive difference to peoples energy bills and WILL pay for themselves in just a few yeras (and I'm not just talking of those with pools) as well as reducing carbon which is one of the reasons why we should be installing it...right? and yet it still appears to me that too much emphasis is put on payback periods instead of moral duty and care for the environment. Does anyone ask, 'what is the payback of my car?' No they don't, because they know that a car gets them from A to B and thats what's neaded.
Solar.....it's a 'no brainer surely?.
see www.kingspansolar.com

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Paul on May 7, 2009 at 8:40am

Hi Jeff,

Interesting... moral duty? If that was the case I'd be selling residential units like hot-cakes. I have yet to talk to a single person who was ready to but because it is the morally correct thing to do. {sorry dude}

Payback has been, and will continue to be, the primary motivator for 99% of the purchases of renewable energy. Of the 1% of the folks that are out there with more $$$ than common sense -- meaning they could fund the development and purchase the systems with pocket change -- I've yet to find a single one that allows his/her moral compass to influence the decision based on payback. Sad but true.

So are you ready to boggle my mind and become part of the 1%???

The Light is Green!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Gregory L. Smith on May 23, 2009 at 1:15pm

First of all, the public wants more education on solar capabilities. What can it do, and what can't it do? I know, but most people do not. If people want to be free from losing their power during brown-outs or storms, shouldn't that be a major consideration on how that can be achieved? Where are we really with batteries and back up generators? Is there still a possibility that they could cause islanding effects? How do we get what we want, while still paying for the system to last 30 years, when places like Oklahoma have such high humidity, that systems can fail in as little as 8 years! It isn't the heat, but the water under the glass that denegrates the solar cells and clouds them until they are nearly useless. Shouldn't there be some way to study the effects on panels in Oklahoma without waiting for some company to create a study program? Where are the Universities in studying solar? That is why solar isn't big in Oklahoma. Instead Gas companies like OneOK and ONG and other gas producers like Duke Energy are still stiffling any use of solar power, by controlling the legislature and the rules within the Corporation Commission. What we want from Solar is what we want out of every fuel system. Those are reliability, low maintenance, fair costs per Kwh, and long service of components, with checkups at least every five years. If modernization occurs, then the system should be offered upgrades at a significant savings. If the system fails at no fault of the homeowner, shouldn't the installer provide replacement costs, based on the warranties of the component systems, without the homeowner having to foot any part of the bill, excluding some new additions to enhance new changes? Finally, the system should look good and work like it was promised. Otherwise the sales will fall and people will be stuck with inventories they can't sell. These are the drawbacks for solar. But the advantages of having power in a storm period are more than just convenient, they can save lives if a tornado is spotted, but power is out. Most people do not own a battery powered radio for weather and TV shows more information when the power is still on! That is what Oklahomans want anyway... Costs up front? Yeah, they hurt some, but if the financing is good, it can work out fairly easily. Now, just get some jobs that can sustain such efforts and the state will be ready for full-effort marketing. Without clear expectations and safety issues resolved, Solar will lag the nation when it should be King in Oklahoma and Arizona. Both states need to establish legal issues of Installation and Technology certifications.
Without them they are not eligible for tax refunds and reductions.
Gregor Smith gregors@att.net

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by neil cox on May 23, 2009 at 9:06pm

I'm not in the industry, never was. I'm long retired from electronics and science, but I have an active interest. My home is not suitable for wind or solar because of the shade from many tall trees. In theory, I could produce methane from leaves and twigs, and I suppose my neighbors would donate some garbage and clippings. Does any one know where I can get a tiny sample cheap of an organism that makes the methane? Will Ridex for septic tanks work?
If I was building a house and was brave enough to be my own contractor, I would build the south side of the house about 23 feet tall and 50 feet wide, transparent, except the bottom 3 feet. The innerwall is also transparent except the bottom 2 feet. In between instead of insulation would be water, with algae and nutrients, such as potassium, nitrogen and phosphorous. Carbon dioxide would bubble in at the bottom = the flue gas from my wood stove. A fan would return the gases to the bottom for several trips though the algae. Hopefully this would keep the algae at about 100 degrees f, when it is cold outside during the long winter nights.
Since I live in Florida, the algae will get too hot most afternoons, so I need wide eves to shade the algae at 1pm daily, late spring and early summer.. This reduces algae oil production, but it would be much too costly to use a heat pump to keep the algae at about 100 degrees f. Does anyone know how Valcent and Sapphire keep their algae from over heating spring and summer afternoons?
An hour before I add fuel to my diesel car, I use coffee filters to separate some of the algae from the water. I return the water to the system as it contains the nutrents. I crush the algae between rollers, or possibly use a food chopper. Both may be best. I put the crushed algae in a tall container that is transparent near the top, and wait until the algae oil rises to the top. I drain off the oil though coffee filters into my vehicle fuel tank. Since it rarely cools below 30 degrees f where I live, I likely do not need to add methanol which might damage my vehicle engine. Would ethanol thin the oil and prevent solidifying on the rare cold nights?
I suppose I need an outside wood stove to produce carbon dioxide in the late spring and summer when I would not want to run my inside wood stove, not even some winter afternoons. This outside wood stove could preheat my hot water for the house as I want the flue gas to be cool when the algae is already at about 100 degrees f. Unfortunately the heat exchanger will plug with tar and goo from the wood stove, especially if I burn pine, peat, or soft coal instead of hard wood. Any suggestions? Neil

▶ Reply to This

• First
• Previous
• Next
• Last