Solar Energy

[Spoonman]

I installed solar on my house about 3 years ago. It's something I had always wanted to do, had researched a lot and really ran the numbers. So after 3 years I have to say I'm even a bigger fan of it seeing the results. I installed a 10k system, which is the largest residential system you can recieve full credits for. My annual demand in an all electric house is about 7.5 KW a year. I've been producing on average about 12 KW a year. I added some more efficient fixtures and insulation. The goal was to be net zero, and ii've well surpassed that. the system will pay itself off during this year.

I just don't understand why solar doesn't get more support in the US. It's running strong in europe. There is no doubt it works and the technology is only getting better. Not to mention the fact that the USA is missing out on a huge growth manufacturing market. The chinese now own the panel production, the germans the technology and inverters. We are really missing the boat.

I have no more utilitiy bills. in fact i'm selling excess back to the grid.

 

[IanC]

when the germans started buying back solar power at an inflated price they found to their shock that some of the power was coming in at.....night! hahahaha it was so profitable to run a fuel generator back into the grid that a few dunces couldnt resist getting a little extra in.

 

[Spoonman]

when the germans started buying back solar power at an inflated price they found to their shock that some of the power was coming in at.....night! hahahaha it was so profitable to run a fuel generator back into the grid that a few dunces couldnt resist getting a little extra in.

how much was your last utility bill? mine was a $78 credit

 

[Old Rocks]

All that prevents the renewables from becoming a primary grid source is grid scale energy storage. And that may have been solved already;

Fifteen Grid Scale Energy Storage Solutions to Watch

Bill Gates-backed Liquid Metal Battery is now . . . Ambri ? Tech News and Analysis

However, at this time, for the individual household, the grid parallel solar system is the best answer, with the grid acting as your battery system. And, yes, install more than you need. The reap the benefits as Spoonman has.

 

[waltky]

Solar paint - Your Walls Can Turn Heat Into Electricity...

With This Revolutionary Paint, Your Walls Can Turn Heat Into Electricity
Researchers have developed a thermoelectric paint that produces an energy output of 4 mW/cm2 by harnessing the waste heat from hot surfaces. Along with innovations like solar windows and solar roof shingles, the paint could be used to power homes without relying on environmentally damaging fossil fuels.

Thermoelectric Paint

Home owners of the future may be able to save on electricity costs by simply buying a can of paint thanks to a new study by researchers from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) and the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI). Paints that can produce electricity have been an area of study for a while now. One type, photovoltaic paint, can take the sun’s light and turn it into electricity, essentially giving people the ability to create “painted-on solar panels.” This new paint, on the other hand, is thermoelectric and produces electricity by harnessing the waste heat from hot surfaces. It combines bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) with molecular sintering aids and can be applied with a brush to flat or curved surfaces, making it applicable to almost anything.

The results of the team’s study showed that their paint could produce an output of 4 mW/cm2 with an energy conversion efficiency of zT values up to 0.67 for n-type and 1.21 for p-type particles. The paper compares it with other thermoelectric paints, saying it bested conventional bismuth telluride paints (ZT≈0.8–1.0) and is close to the performance of newer nanostructured thermoelectric materials (ZT≈1.1–1.9).

Thermo Paint
(a) A conventional planar-structured TE device. (b) Scheme of power generation of the conventional TE generator and the painted TE generator on a curved heat source. Credit: Nature​

Waste Not

In the future, this paint could be used to recover wasted heat energy from everything from refrigerators to engines. Jae Sung Son, a co-author of the study, told Phys.org, “I expect that the thermoelectric painting technique can be applied to waste heat recovery from large-scale heat source surfaces, such as buildings, cars, and ship vessels.”

He added that it could also be applied to homes: “[The] temperature of a building’s roof and walls increases to more than 50°C [122°F] in the summer. If we apply thermoelectric paint on the walls, we can convert huge amounts of waste heat into electrical energy.” Combine this with other innovations like solar windows and solar roof shingles, and people in the future will have many options if they want to live off-grid, away from power plants running on fossil fuels. Thanks to this special paint, you may not only be able to save on your electric bill, you may also help save the environment.

With This Revolutionary Paint, Your Walls Can Turn Heat Into Electricity

 

[Crick]

when the germans started buying back solar power at an inflated price they found to their shock that some of the power was coming in at.....night! hahahaha it was so profitable to run a fuel generator back into the grid that a few dunces couldnt resist getting a little extra in.

how much was your last utility bill? mine was a $78 credit

If you don't mind my asking, how many bedrooms does your house have and, roughly, what was the total investment required for your solar system? Could you also characterize your location: ie, do you run a lot of cooling or a lot of heating?

 

[ding]

I installed solar on my house about 3 years ago. It's something I had always wanted to do, had researched a lot and really ran the numbers. So after 3 years I have to say I'm even a bigger fan of it seeing the results. I installed a 10k system, which is the largest residential system you can recieve full credits for. My annual demand in an all electric house is about 7.5 KW a year. I've been producing on average about 12 KW a year. I added some more efficient fixtures and insulation. The goal was to be net zero, and ii've well surpassed that. the system will pay itself off during this year.

I just don't understand why solar doesn't get more support in the US. It's running strong in europe. There is no doubt it works and the technology is only getting better. Not to mention the fact that the USA is missing out on a huge growth manufacturing market. The chinese now own the panel production, the germans the technology and inverters. We are really missing the boat.

I have no more utilitiy bills. in fact i'm selling excess back to the grid.

What was the all inclusive cost of the system?

 

[there4eyeM]

'Investment', not 'cost'.

 

[ding]

'Investment', not 'cost'.

Capital cost not investment.

 

[Crick]

Since he's currently making a net positive return off of it, I'd say "investment" is the proper term.

 

[ding]

Since he's currently making a net positive return off of it, I'd say "investment" is the proper term.

Really? What is his rate of return on his investment? To calculate that we would need to know what his capital costs are, right? There are two types of costs; capital and operating. There are many different types of investments.

 

[Crick]

Give it a fucking rest dude.

 

[ding]

Give it a fucking rest dude.

So it was Ok for you to ask him what his cost was but not me? I'm not the one who started quibbling over words. THERE4EYEM started it and then you piled on, and you are blaming me for this?

 

[leftwinger]

Ding, you are correct to question. If it costs $20K it will take a while to payback. And you get the bonus of illegal immigrants putting nail holes in your roof.

It may be good in desert southwest but in Wisc? Maybe not? When it is good the market would jump on it w/o govt "help".

No one knows how long they can hold a house the last 9 years of unemployments, crashes etc.

 

[ding]

Ding, you are correct to question. If it costs $20K it will take a while to payback. And you get the bonus of illegal immigrants putting nail holes in your roof.

It may be good in desert southwest but in Wisc? Maybe not? When it is good the market would jump on it w/o govt "help".

No one knows how long they can hold a house the last 9 years of unemployments, crashes etc.

Correct, the other components which should be factored in are the operating costs (i.e. repair costs), equipment life and replacement cost. It might be like buying a boat where the happiest day of your life is when you buy the boat and the 2nd happiest day of your life is when you sell the boat. Only time will tell.

 

[jon_berzerk]

solar energy has its uses

 

[Spoonman]

I installed solar on my house about 3 years ago. It's something I had always wanted to do, had researched a lot and really ran the numbers. So after 3 years I have to say I'm even a bigger fan of it seeing the results. I installed a 10k system, which is the largest residential system you can recieve full credits for. My annual demand in an all electric house is about 7.5 KW a year. I've been producing on average about 12 KW a year. I added some more efficient fixtures and insulation. The goal was to be net zero, and ii've well surpassed that. the system will pay itself off during this year.

I just don't understand why solar doesn't get more support in the US. It's running strong in europe. There is no doubt it works and the technology is only getting better. Not to mention the fact that the USA is missing out on a huge growth manufacturing market. The chinese now own the panel production, the germans the technology and inverters. We are really missing the boat.

I have no more utilitiy bills. in fact i'm selling excess back to the grid.

What was the all inclusive cost of the system?

$58K including reinforcing the roof. 30% federal rebate, 10% state rebate. when we installed the system Srec's were trading between $500 - $600 ea. They had a down period for awhile but are back in the $300 range again

 

[ding]

I installed solar on my house about 3 years ago. It's something I had always wanted to do, had researched a lot and really ran the numbers. So after 3 years I have to say I'm even a bigger fan of it seeing the results. I installed a 10k system, which is the largest residential system you can recieve full credits for. My annual demand in an all electric house is about 7.5 KW a year. I've been producing on average about 12 KW a year. I added some more efficient fixtures and insulation. The goal was to be net zero, and ii've well surpassed that. the system will pay itself off during this year.

I just don't understand why solar doesn't get more support in the US. It's running strong in europe. There is no doubt it works and the technology is only getting better. Not to mention the fact that the USA is missing out on a huge growth manufacturing market. The chinese now own the panel production, the germans the technology and inverters. We are really missing the boat.

I have no more utilitiy bills. in fact i'm selling excess back to the grid.

What was the all inclusive cost of the system?

$58K including reinforcing the roof. 30% federal rebate, 10% state rebate. when we installed the system Srec's were trading between $500 - $600 ea. They had a down period for awhile but are back in the $300 range again

You are selling back energy for 30 cents per kwh? That's a good deal. How can they afford to do that?

What kind of batteries did you install? Do you only sell back when batteries are fully charged? Is that how it works?

Are the rebates like a tax credit? Can you get a rebate in excess of what you paid in taxes? If not can the remainder roll over to the next year's taxes?

 

[ScienceRocks]

And this is why Solar is now crossing 30GW this year. Kicking ass. Our second most installed source of energy after natural gas.

 

[ding]

when the germans started buying back solar power at an inflated price they found to their shock that some of the power was coming in at.....night! hahahaha it was so profitable to run a fuel generator back into the grid that a few dunces couldnt resist getting a little extra in.

how much was your last utility bill? mine was a $78 credit

What was your electric bill prior to installing solar?