Solar home panels

I don't know much, but I know that unless you have a lot of technical knowledge of the electrician's art and a certain amount of contractor-type skills -- plus specific knowledge of Things Photovoltaic -- then you'd best let a professional do the job.  In NY state there is a whole certification course (or two?) required before you can go out and do this  sort of thing.

Viva -- Sager 

This is prudent and wise if you are talking about educating already trained, professional tradesmen who are negotiating a maze of commercial and residential codes and marrying a variety of equipment, especially if you are looking at an integrated system that feeds into your normal house power to reduce grid dependence or even generate offsetting income,...then yes, stick to the professionals by all means!

If however, you are looking at a much simplified "emergency system" that spends most of its days charging a few car batteries that normally run a couple of night security lights and power a small camp refrigerator chilling a 12-pack, but which in an emergency could help you chill some meat and milk, give you a few hours of night-time light and radio, and basically fend of a bit of the fall of civilization,...its not a project that is too far beyond most DIY/handyman homeowners, just keep your hands outta the breaker boxes and be content with what you can handle and pay a professional for their training, experience and skills in what you can't handle.

I have to agree with Sager - if you don't have the necessary experience it's best to work with a professional who has excellent references.

If you have construction, electrical or engineering background it's a pretty straight-forward proposition once you have ascertained the specs for your system. 

Big things to think about: siting (is any part of your roof/property able to get enough unobstructed sunlight), weight (is your roof assembly strong enough to take the added weight of panels and mounting hardware), and wiring (are you going to wire your solar outlets separately or try to slave the power from the invertor into your existing wiring -- and do you have enough access to do this without gutting all your walls, etc).

I also find that cleaning and adjusting angles as the season progresses and the angle of the sun changes in the sky help to maximize output, so putting them on the ground is easier to maintain and get the angles right. If your house isn't perfectly situated and you still mount flat to the roof, you can quickly make a 210W panel into a 50W panel. Might as well get all the watts you are paying for, and a 2x4 structure at ground level is very inexpensive to construct.

If you do some research and have any kind of skills with your hands, you would be better long term to do it yourself and learn the ins and outs so you can maintain or even expand your system when resources are scarce. In my mind, it is just another skill to aquire, no different from gardening. Seems to me gardening is harder than installing PV arrays, but I'm a technical guy.

Bottom line - learn the science or have someone in your community who knows this stuff and barter with them.

Best,

Rog

Also, if you're reasonably confident in your DIY skills but a little iffy on your electrical know-how, there are several pre-packaged systems that include the panels, cabling, regulators, inverters, batteries, etc... they're usually a pretty good deal and a good "starter project" for alternative power.

What's the real scoop on solar?  I've heard bad things for 20 years...that they aren't worth it.  I'm sure that's BS, but I don't know how to find the real truth.

If you live in the northwest, i.e. cloud/rain most of the year, is it a total waste to try solar?  Do you need to live in the sunbelt or is a half-and-half place like the midwest ok?   

Do the homemade setups work?  What about the setups using a fresnel lens to superheat water into steam to power a generator?

 

Lots of questions...where's the definitive source on this?  And wind power too?  There's all sorts of homemade wind turbine things out there, but my guess is they don't replace the need for grid power. 

Strabes,

check this place out :-

Centre For Alternative Energy

http://www.cat.org.uk/information/aboutcatx.tmpl?init=2&subdir=information

You'll find books and links galore, plus they are happy to talk with you by phone or email about system designs and they're absolutely free.

A hot water system design can also be found here, with an array of information that covers A through Z about sustainable living...

Best,

Paul

Currently solar is not going to beat coal, natural gas, nuclear, or hydro on a large scale. They are much more efficient and the technology is currently better. In large scale electricity, solar and wind can not compete, there would need to be massive subsidizing by governments, most of which couldn't afford it (not that they would let that stop them!)

On a home scale, over a 20 years or so they should pay for themselves. Even sooner if electricity prices go up, which is likely in my opinion. They also can get you off the grid, which is a good thing in my opinion. And, if you believe that carbon is a pollutant you will be CO2 free... :)

Now, assuming there is a large scale collapse, or even a slow decline with brown outs and black outs, having an off grid house, or at least enough electricity to power lights at night will make a would of difference to your family.

You should be able to do it in almost anywhere in the US, depending on how many things are blocking the sky. It will not likely replace grid power unless you invest quite a bit of money.

Solar is better than wind unless you are in a very windy area with little sunlight.

Shell just got out of both wind and solar because it currently isn't profitable.

Solar (and wind, to a lesser extent) not only do not make sense financially, but they do not make sense in terms of ERoEI. If you look at the massive amounts of oil that go into a single PV panel, it takes over 20 years in most climates to make that energy consumption back.

If you are buying solar and wind right now, it's not to save money or oil. It's because you are concerned that in the future you may have a vastly reduced ability to buy them, or perhaps even are on your own to produce energy.

Solar is one source of many that need to come into play to replace the grid in the average home. If you are not concerned about grid failure, I wouldn't buy. If you are, look closely at everything you can do to produce (or more importantly save) volts and amps.

Solar, in some form, will most likely fit into every home that is leaning toward self reliance. Good news is that once the initial purchase is behind you, save theft or a tree falling on them, they will last 30+ years and serve you well every day there are captuable photons.

Not sure, just get a couple and do net-metering (assuming you live in the US

 

Rog

Thanks for the info.  I can't believe we haven't made more progress...I remember as a kid 30 years ago seeing a neighbor put panels on his house and he took them down a couple years later after he realized they were a waste of money.  Sounds like we've made little improvement.  That's too bad considering how much solar energy smacks us in the face everyday.