Solar power

[PM-Junkie]

Hi folks -

Thinking of spending some of my hard earned cash to install solar panels and or a wind turbine (nothing to do with saving the planet - more to do with having power when the power cuts start happeing).

Anyone done the same or have any words of wisdom/advice?

[AtW]

Wait until next year at least.

[Diver]

I have a 7 kVA Generator (with loads of fuel) rigged up. so no problem

[MPwannadecentincome]

Do your maths?!

e.g. Solar panels are a 'waste of money', says Rics http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/mon...cle4681919.ece

the good news is at
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle4641300.ece

where apparently you can get paid for all the electricity you USE (yes USE) if you have solar panels!

[AtW]

e.g. Solar panels are a 'waste of money', says Rics http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/mon...cle4681919.ece

They are such a "waste" of money that factories that pump out solar cells from silicon are filled up with orders - same goes for wind turbines, I think Siemens is booked up many years ahead until like 2012-14.

Solar power in this country might not be too good at current efficiency rates, which are growing pretty fast - that's why I suggest to wait a bit.

[Stan.goodvibes]

Its all to easy...

Get your panels - say, 1Kw worth (12 x 80w for example), mount them somewhere facing magnetic north (consider Wattsuns solar tracker for extra efficiency but weigh up cost of tracker vs cost of more panels), get an MPPT charge controller for the panels, say an Outback MX60, then run that into a grid-tie inverter and run the inverter into your meter box.

You *should* be able to negotiate a rate from your electricity supplier for the power you are feeding into the grid, and then all you need is a small battery bank connected to the inverter so when the power DOES go down due to the utility company paying all the profits out in dividends and bonus's instead of maintaining their equipment, you can run your house off the battery bank.

Of course this whole arrangement requires one key ingredient to make it work - sun. So, totally pointless doing it in the UK then.

;-)

[VectraMan]

the good news is at
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle4641300.ece

His turbine provides power for his house and for underfloor heating in his garage, where he has a small fleet of sports cars.

Best reason yet to go green. Can't have your cars getting cold now.

[Diver]

I have a solar powered calculator, and solar powered garden lights, can I claim money for them?

[moorfield]

Hi folks -

Thinking of spending some of my hard earned cash to install solar panels and or a wind turbine (nothing to do with saving the planet - more to do with having power when the power cuts start happeing).

Anyone done the same or have any words of wisdom/advice?

Don't believe the hype. Complete waste of money.

[TimberWolf]

Hi folks -

Thinking of spending some of my hard earned cash to install solar panels and or a wind turbine (nothing to do with saving the planet - more to do with having power when the power cuts start happeing).

Anyone done the same or have any words of wisdom/advice?

Because of our latitude, cloud cover and the inefficiency of photovoltaics, don't expect to get a great deal of electricity out of photovoltaic cells in the UK. All you can expect is around 20 Watts per square metre on average over the course of a day, which translates to around 2 kWh per day for 4 metres square of roof. (2kWh is enough to run a two-bar electric fire for an hour). This assuming 20% efficiency and 100W average solar radiation - cheaper panels are only about half (10%) as efficient. It might be worth waiting for prices drop, at which point they could start looking good. Solar thermal is a big improvement over photovoltaics since they are about a quarter of the cost but twice as efficient at trapping energy - but don't generate electricity. Probably somewhere in between these two are wind turbines, but you really need good wind conditions and power will be more intermittent. More cost effective still is to reduce energy consumption, for example with insulation, using South facing windows to trap light effectively, wearing a jumper, etc - and maybe buying a generator too