Solar electricity generator

What is the most cost effective way of generating electricity from solar
energy to be used in an Australian suburban house?

 

[arcane.warlock@gmail.com]

I think that if you will generate electricity from solar for ONE house
you have only one way: solar panel.

 

[John Tserkezis]

xyz wrote:

What is the most cost effective way of generating electricity from solar
energy to be used in an Australian suburban house?

Not to use it at all. In suburbia, you're looking at 15-20 years before some
kind of payback. And at about that time, you're looking at replacing panels
due to end-of-life (or the substancial efficiency reduction due to age).

Solar power for home consumption has its uses, but in suburbia is not one of
them.

--
Linux Registered User # 302622 <http://counter.li.org>

 

[Dingo]

On a side note, if you live in a windy area (but not too windy ) then you
could checl out the new windmills Oatley sell.

http://www.oatleyelectronics.com/


<xyz> wrote in message news:41dcb8f5$0$3436$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...

What is the most cost effective way of generating electricity from solar
energy to be used in an Australian suburban house?

 

[T.T.]

<xyz> wrote in message news:41dcb8f5$0$3436$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...

What is the most cost effective way of generating electricity from solar
energy to be used in an Australian suburban house?

It's not cost effective yet, and more to the point, no solar panel ever

generates as much energy as went into its manufacture. The clean energy from
the solar panel is at the expense of the (dirty?) energy used to make it,
and comes at a loss. Alternative energy is popular and trendy, and
governments subsidise alternative energy installations because it makes them
look good.
There are thousands of applications where solar power is ideal, but a
suburban roof is not one of them.

 

[Terry Collins]

xyz wrote:

What is the most cost effective way of generating electricity from solar
energy to be used in an Australian suburban house?

Mains power driven by solar power trapped in coal.

 

[Terry Collins]

"T.T." wrote:

It's not cost effective yet, and more to the point, no solar panel ever
generates as much energy as went into its manufacture.

Do you have a reference for this?
I vaguely remember reading a refutation of this statement, being
basically that it is ancient history as modern production methods are so
much more efficent.

 

[T.T.]

"Terry Collins" <terryc@woa.com.au> wrote in message
news:41DCD897.38BAEEC0@woa.com.au...

"T.T." wrote:

It's not cost effective yet, and more to the point, no solar panel ever
generates as much energy as went into its manufacture.

Do you have a reference for this?
I vaguely remember reading a refutation of this statement, being
basically that it is ancient history as modern production methods are so
much more efficent.
A fairly recent Scientific American. I don't know where it is, but I'll find

it and give you the month.

 

[Phil Allison]

<xyz> wrote in message

What is the most cost effective way of generating electricity from solar
energy to be used in an Australian suburban house?

** Coal and oil are concentrated solar energy - so the answer is a
fossil fuel fired power station.

The energy get to the suburban house via electricity - which then does
all sorts of neat things.




............ Phil

 

[David L. Jones]

T.T. wrote:

xyz> wrote in message
news:41dcb8f5$0$3436$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
What is the most cost effective way of generating electricity from
solar
energy to be used in an Australian suburban house?

It's not cost effective yet, and more to the point, no solar panel
ever
generates as much energy as went into its manufacture. The clean
energy from
the solar panel is at the expense of the (dirty?) energy used to make
it,
and comes at a loss.

Not nessecarily true. Depends on the time frame. Remember, if you are
talking say a 20 year life you gain the benefit of not producing any
pollution over those 20 years. That's a significant amount of energy
being saved. This has to be subtracted from the initial "dirty" energy
used to produce the cell.
There are a whole host of other factors to consider too, like if you
hook back into the grid you are giving back energy when you aren't
using it.

Alternative energy is popular and trendy, and
governments subsidise alternative energy installations because it
makes them
look good.
There are thousands of applications where solar power is ideal, but a
suburban roof is not one of them.

Only if you care about the financial cost, and not every does. In this
case solar ceels on suburban roofs are ideal. Just like not everyone
cares about how much they spend on a new car, some are happy to buy a
Ferrari to drive to the shop. A cheap compact car does the same thing
for 1/10th the cost. At least with solar cells you will eventually get
a pay back period :->

National solar house day is worth the time to visit next time it comes
around, it's most interesting to see how and why people go for
alternative energy.

But yes, solar energy for suburban homes has a financial payback period
of a decade or more. For your average Joe there is little incentive.
Dave

 

[Mikegw]

<xyz> wrote in message news:41dcb8f5$0$3436$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...

What is the most cost effective way of generating electricity from solar
energy to be used in an Australian suburban house?

Mike's guide to saving the planet....

1) Reduce your load. Before going out to buy solar electric panels look at
the current load in your house. Do you have compact florescent lights?
Roof insulation, roof ventilation? If you are building a house even better
as passive designs will reduce energy demands (thus pollution) that what you
could expect to get with a solar panel.

2) Solar thermal, if you use electricity to heat your water, get a solar hot
water heater.

3) Buried Contact Solar Cell (BCSC) cells are one of the best solar electric
panel you can get today. Mobs such as BP/solarex sell them as their
monocrystalline cells (these ones look like a blue/grey cell),
pollycrystalline cells (look like many crystals on a cell) are not as good,
but still miles better than amorphous (look like a smokey grey glass sheet).
A BCSC cells will take about 3 months to 'pay' back their energy in
production and 10-20 years to pay back the money when you compare it to
mains power (Numbers got from my applied photovoltaic course at uni a few
years back, numbers may have changed since then).

There are a few good resources around such as www.pv.unsw.edu.au and
www.greenhouse.gov.au

Hope this helps

Mike

 

[Trevor Wilson]

"T.T." <tonyt92@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:984Dd.106049$K7.82934@news-server.bigpond.net.au...

xyz> wrote in message
news:41dcb8f5$0$3436$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
What is the most cost effective way of generating electricity from solar
energy to be used in an Australian suburban house?

It's not cost effective yet, and more to the point, no solar panel ever
generates as much energy as went into its manufacture.

**Bullshit. Please provide a cite.

The clean energy from

the solar panel is at the expense of the (dirty?) energy used to make it,
and comes at a loss.

**More bullshit. ALL non-renewable energy forms are artificially low cost.
After you factor in the cost of manufacturing (say) coal, it is a
no-contest. We are presently using coal and oil reserves at a rate which is
about a million times faster than the time taken to make the stuff.
Manufacturing Uranium is simply beyond any rational value system.

Alternative energy is popular and trendy, and

governments subsidise alternative energy installations because it makes
them
look good.

**Pretty much correct. There's also an evironmental upside too.

There are thousands of applications where solar power is ideal, but a
suburban roof is not one of them.

**Not yet. That's mainly because BP Solar has the market by the balls. When
the market opens up, prices will fall and every roof in every developed
nation will sport solar cells.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au

 

[Terry Collins]

"T.T." wrote:

A fairly recent Scientific American. I don't know where it is, but I'll find
it and give you the month.

It would be good to receive that information.
Sci Am must be trying to keep it secret because a search on their site
(http://www.sciam.com) yields nothing relevant.

 

[Phil Allison]

"Trevor Wilson"
"T.T."

It's not cost effective yet, and more to the point, no solar panel ever
generates as much energy as went into its manufacture.

**Bullshit. Please provide a cite.

** Errrr - like Trevor Wilson, aka the biggest fucking LIAR on usenet
ever does ???

The clean energy from
the solar panel is at the expense of the (dirty?) energy used to make it,
and comes at a loss.

**More bullshit.

** Errr - like as if Trevor Wilson ever worries about or has ANY fucking
idea what a fact is !!!!

ALL non-renewable energy forms are artificially low cost.

** Errrr - it is what gets used up to make fucking Solar Cells !!!!!!

There are thousands of applications where solar power is ideal, but a
suburban roof is not one of them.

**Not yet. That's mainly because BP Solar has the market by the balls.
When the market opens up, prices will fall and every roof in every
developed nation will sport solar cells.

** Psychotic Green Party Crap PLUS Conspiracy Theory Fucking SHITE.



Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au


** Ring this utter stinking arsehole - tell him he is wrong to his face
!!!

Any time !!




.................. Phil

 

[Mikegw]

"Mikegw" <mikegw20@spam.com.spam.hotmail> wrote in message
news:crivnd$3p5$1@tomahawk.unsw.edu.au...

xyz> wrote in message
news:41dcb8f5$0$3436$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
What is the most cost effective way of generating electricity from solar
energy to be used in an Australian suburban house?

Small correction, according to the NERL (solar 2000 conference) the payback
time is closer to 3 years. Sorry the course was a while back.

http://www.nrel.gov/ncpv/thin_film/pdfs/ssi_energy_payback_study_2000_knapp_jester.pdf

the penulatmate slide is the best to read.


Mike

 

[Trevor Wilson]

"Terry Collins" <terryc@woa.com.au> wrote in message
news:41DD29BA.FBDE6B23@woa.com.au...

"T.T." wrote:

A fairly recent Scientific American. I don't know where it is, but I'll
find
it and give you the month.

It would be good to receive that information.
Sci Am must be trying to keep it secret because a search on their site
(http://www.sciam.com) yields nothing relevant.

**It never will. T.T. is parroting an old wive's tale, or is basing his
information on two decades old data. Whilst solar cells are still far too
expensive, their cost is falling and their efficiency is rising.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au

 

[John Tserkezis]

Mikegw wrote:

Small correction, according to the NERL (solar 2000 conference) the payback
time is closer to 3 years. Sorry the course was a while back.

http://www.nrel.gov/ncpv/thin_film/pdfs/ssi_energy_payback_study_2000_knapp_jester.pdf

the penulatmate slide is the best to read.

Thanks for that, my original statement was based on my failing memory of a
Silicon Chip Magazine article on connecting solar to the suburban power grid.
No doubt the numbers would not be so favourable due to the power controller.

Your previous suggestion on changing overall power consumption, I think is
manditory, people in general really don't realise how much for granted they
take cheap suburban power, and 'waste' it as such.

--
Linux Registered User # 302622 <http://counter.li.org>

 

[Terry Collins]

Mikegw wrote:

"Mikegw" <mikegw20@spam.com.spam.hotmail> wrote in message
news:crivnd$3p5$1@tomahawk.unsw.edu.au...

xyz> wrote in message
news:41dcb8f5$0$3436$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
What is the most cost effective way of generating electricity from solar
energy to be used in an Australian suburban house?


Small correction, according to the NERL (solar 2000 conference) the payback
time is closer to 3 years. Sorry the course was a while back.

Any figures on cost? all up?

I had my roof replaced about 5 years ago and it was going to be about
$40K extra for fitting PV tiles.

 

[arcane.warlock@gmail.com]

I had my roof replaced about 5 years ago and it was going to be
about
$40K extra for fitting PV tiles.
It's looks strange because I know that 3kWatt solar panel price near by

$30 000 USD.

 

[budgie]

On 6 Jan 2005 15:53:58 -0800, "arcane.warlock@gmail.com"
<arcane.warlock@gmail.com> wrote:

I had my roof replaced about 5 years ago and it was going to be
about
$40K extra for fitting PV tiles.
It's looks strange because I know that 3kWatt solar panel price near by
$30 000 USD.

That's a tad high. We use a rule of thumb that retail is $A10/W.