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Solar Panels how to is it worth it?

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posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 04:49 PM
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a reply to: jrod

I don't think you are ignorant. Anyone who can put together their own solar system has to be pretty smart. I have worked in the energy industry for decades and have conducted research on all of the of the renewables currently in market and many that are still on the drawing boards. I am intimately familiar with the financials of these technologies from small scale implementations to solar fields (passive, reflective) and wind farms.The fact that you have built your own system is not reflective of the true costs to the average consumer to acquire solar, or wind for that matter. They are not now nor will they be viable for individual resident energy generation for the foreseeable future. Germany as you have brought up is in a generation crunch since they shut down their nukes, and renewables are not sufficient to meet growing demand. They are quietly re-powering with conventional generation (Natural Gas). I have no quarrel with anyone who wants to live off the grid and fend for themselves. I just can't abide by the continuing falsehoods that are repeated by TPTB that have a vested financial interest in fostering a false promise, and others who don't fully grasp all the variables.



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 05:01 PM
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I have a degree in industrial electronics and think i will just start small with a 4 250 watt panels $1000 on ebay. 10 car batteries 300 at walmart, and a 2000 watt inverter off ebay for 130.00, and some ul list 12 gauge house wire $100. First i will attempt to run my water heater consitently and moniter its useage then place refridgerator on it. As i see how it works i will slowly add additional appliances and accomadate with additional solar panels, batteries ect. After i see these items consistenly run without much downtime i will check with power company on getting switched over to go completely off the grid if feasible.


So a starter set up for 1530 and i can expand from there



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 05:06 PM
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a reply to: Shaiker

Thanks we are lucky you are here.



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 05:10 PM
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a reply to: bbracken677

That is not true. Many are already on decent solar/controller/battery/inverter system for much less than the price the $40,000 you pulled from the air. I am not saying that solar does not have limitations, but to say that going solar is too pricey to be practical is completely false information.

Many are already doing it. The price of solar is dropping......
edit on 31-7-2014 by jrod because: abc



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 06:13 PM
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a reply to: jrod

Ok, fine. You say I pulled it from the air, but that is an outright lie. When you get a full and working, safe system let me know how much you spent. As I stated that was paying a professional who installs such systems for a living, not a shade tree electrician.



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 06:32 PM
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a reply to: bbracken677

Can you provide us with a reference on that? I have read typically it cost about 6.21 per installed watt. So an install with 4000 watts would be around 24k. The average house hold consumes approximately 14k a day and with 7 hours daylight working at half efficiency the house would have enough power easily.

2000 watts x 7 hrs = 14000 watts

So if you had it proffesionally done with realistic expectations i would say 24k + or - 5k.

Far cheaper if done by shade tree or self doers.



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 06:34 PM
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a reply to: bbracken677
Your stated costs are about right for a system that will support an average home's energy usage requirement. You have to keep in mind we're dealing with wanna be preppers on this site. If you want to slap together a system to run your TV and a beer cooler for your deer stand you can do it for a lot less. While the cost of solar has come down, the cost curve is flattening and I repeat, it will never replace central station generation as a cost effective means of supplying the national grid. For individuals dedicated to going their own way regardless of cost, well PT Barum said it best. There's a sucker...



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 06:42 PM
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a reply to: bladerunner44

Lol at the wannabe preppers comment. It was funny but I am not sure of what you really meant by it.

It can be done cost effectively, it just depends on one's comfort level. Several on this site have done it.



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 06:44 PM
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My friend who has solar panels finds it quite worth it, although she admits that it will still be a couple of years before they are actually paid off. The trick is to get as many government rebates as you can for the installation, and bank as much credit as you can during the sunny summer months to get you through the winter. Batteries and going off the grid are not really a viable option, but with continually rising electrical costs, the credit for the electricity that you feed back into the grid really drops your electrical bill to nearly zero.

If you want to try and get completely off the grid, I have always thought that a solar/windmill set up might work well, but rather than store your electricity in batteries, store it in low-friction flywheels and heated underground water tanks. My thought is to try and determine exactly what you want to use the energy for, and find ways to minimize it in other areas.



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 06:48 PM
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a reply to: Shaiker
Look we can argue this forever. Your math is all wrong. I don't want to get into the esoteric details of the calculations. Just go ahead and spend the money on a solar system to do everything your power company supplies today at a fraction of the cost and see how that works out for you.



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 06:54 PM
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How long do solar panels function? I saw your planned on 5 years, I read they work for 7 to 15 years.

The longevity of the panels makes all of the difference between a profit and a loss.

Solar is kind of like buying into a mutual fund for retirement. It pays off later.

Also, the more appliances that can be converted to direct current the less solar electricity will be wasted converting into AC.



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 06:56 PM
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a reply to: bladerunner44

You work for the power company?

Im not having it done proffesionally by my math i can spend about 6 to 7 thousand minus the battery plus the sell power back and be off the grid. I am thinking it will pay for itself in 3 to 5 years.



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 06:58 PM
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a reply to: Semicollegiate

I hadnt thought of converting the appliances, but your right it would increase efficiency drastically.



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 07:02 PM
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a reply to: Shaiker

Maybe only 20%, but possibly like 50%, all variables maxed out.

I think most appliances run on DC inside their components anyway. So everything on AC is wasting energy transducing to DC currently



edit on 31-7-2014 by Semicollegiate because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 07:04 PM
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a reply to: bladerunner44

It seems like you have issues against solar. We have the technology to produce our own power at home. There will still always be the need for the grid, the common person does not have the time/know how to maintain their own power supply.

I am surprised there are not PV panels and wind generators all along the high power lines. Plenty of area for it and the power companies may even save money buy burning less fuel. This way the energy companies are still able to generate power and sell it to the masses.



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 07:09 PM
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a reply to: jrod

yes, they could put panels all up one side of a tower, mount them on a shaft and turn them in concert with the arc of the sun.

economy of scale.


edit on 31-7-2014 by Semicollegiate because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 07:14 PM
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originally posted by: jrod
a reply to: bladerunner44

Lol at the wannabe preppers comment. It was funny but I am not sure of what you really meant by it.



why am i not surprised
edit on 31-7-2014 by bladerunner44 because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 07:27 PM
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a reply to: Semicollegiate

There is no need to have a motor for the panels to track the sun, it could work however many small panels would be sufficient. Also having turbines on top of the towers could be another way of harnessing energy. The high power lines all have many tall towers that is more than sufficient for mounting turbines.

This also would enable the power plants to burn less fuel. We still need the traditional oil/coal/NG power plants, the ultimate goal would be to phase out aging power plants instead of replacing them.



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 07:43 PM
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a reply to: jrod

Wow you just don't get it. I have nothing against solar. what I am against is the deluded thinking that renewables = salvation and energy independence. Solar, wind will always have their uses. They are just not cost effective and will never be for supplying power to the average home owner and meeting large scale demand on the grid. As for your idea of paving the world with photovoltaics, who do you think is building the large scale solar farms? It's the power companies because they have the capital. Why are they doing it? because it's profitable. Why is it profitable? because your tax dollars are subsidizing it. Take away the subsidies and see how fast they abandon renewable energy. The long and short of it is, at the current level of technology renewable energy is not cost effective. I truly wish it were otherwise. How do I know this? I worked for a very large company that developed, built and operates renewable assets. They are costing you the rate payers and tax payers money. They save you NOTHING. It's the dirty little secret they don't want the average consumer to know. Truth be told it's the nukes that are keeping rates relatively stable. In the 50's most people believed we would be getting around in flying cars by now, but you're still getting around on 4 wheels with steering wheel in your hand just like Henry Ford built them. Some things are practical and some are not no matter how neat they seem..



posted on Jul, 31 2014 @ 07:49 PM
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a reply to: Shaiker

You have a degree in industrial electronics yet you want to use 10 Wal-Mart car batteries for house power?

They only good thing about Wal-Mart batteries is you can often cycle through WM's exchange policy before they go bad.




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