So, ... I'm beginning to think of solar energy roofing panels for my home.

[Bullwinkle925]

Does anyone here have a favorite "reputable" BLUE energy business that you would like to recommend?

[ziggy_luv]

1. maybe...

The local electricians union is getting into that, my brother in law was telling me. Maybe you can go that way. He is in Detroit local. They are getting into residential here.

[K8-EEE]

2. Go to Ed Begley Jr.'s site....

You know, the actor? He is my parents' neighbor (in Studio City CA) and he's had his entire house totally energy independent for a long time, has upgraded several times & is really into the subject and my friend who is remodeling and looking into the same thing was shocked when he emailed her back the same day with tons of info, advice & refs....I want to do the same thing some day but my freaking sewer like just ended up costing a grand total of $14,000 so it'll be awhile!!

[Gregorian]

3. Home Power magazine.

http://www.homepower.com/

I'm dying to get out of my present house so I can do solar. But a standard home is around $30k to set up properly.

[Bullwinkle925]

6. are you currently in a homeowners association that won't let you

upgrade?

[Gregorian]

10. No. It's more complicated than that.

I've got quite a spread. It's just that, well, I can't stay. I have a stunning property that is surrounded. By republicans. That sounds lame. But it's true. I really can't stand it. I never knew how lucky I was to grow up in a progressive town.

My place has been for sale for a half a year. I decided to sell it almost immediately after I arrived. It's the logging. More specific, it's the logging at night that makes it impossible to sleep. I never in my wildest dreams thought there's be a problem with something like it. OK, more than you asked for. But it's a big deal to me.

I will likely buy bare land next time I buy. If I am so lucky. And if I can find anything that's left. It's pretty bad out there in the last few years.

The last bare land I bought, I brought 5/8ths of a mile of power from the grid. It was quite cheap at the time. But this next time I want to be independent. We weren't aware of global warming back then.



Oh yeah, I should mention that my super high estimate would be for a completely independent system with all of the bells and whistles. Also, as I saw in another post, I forgot about the credits. There are some big credits in California.

Hey, good luck!

[tsuki]

4. I am waiting for the Pretoria panels to get to market. nt

[Bullwinkle925]

5. tell me more about those if you would?

haven't heard of them - will surf the web as well.
thanks

[tsuki]

14. This is one article.

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=143&art_id=vn20060211110132138C184427

And it's Johannesburg, not Pretoria.:blush:

/snip
The new, highly efficient and cheap alloy solar panel is much more efficient than the costly old silicone solar panels.

International experts have admitted that nothing else comes close to the effectiveness of the South African invention.

The South African solar panels consist of a thin layer of a unique metal alloy that converts light into energy. The photo-responsive alloy can operate on virtually all flexible surfaces, which means it could in future find a host of other applications.

Alberts said the new panels are approximately five microns thick (a human hair is 20 microns thick) while the older silicon panels are 350 microns thick. the cost of the South African technology is a fraction of the less effective silicone solar panels. /snip

It looks especially interesting. In another article that I read, efficiency is doubled from 20% to 40% more than doubling the output. (Can't find the article, sorry.)

Here's another article: http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2004/november/energy.htm


/snip
Despite the excitement around CIGS, significant cost savings compared to silicon were not achieved, despite 20 years of research. However, a new development has made the picture considerably brighter.

Cost-saving CIGS solar panels

Prof Vivian Alberts of the Department of Physics at the Rand Afrikaans University in South Africa and team have developed and patented a novel manufacturing technique that finally makes it possible to construct CIGS solar panels at a very low cost. The method is easily upscalable to industrial output levels, while remaining much cheaper to produce than conventional silicon solar panels.

Work done over the last two years indicates that panels can be produced in commercial volumes at a cost of about R 500 for a 50 Watt panel. This is much cheaper than existing solar panels available on the market. CIGS is a remarkably stable material and conversion efficiencies should be sustainable for 15-20 years in any given panel.

RAU physicists are currently collaborating with physicists from the University of Port Elizabeth and the University of Pretoria to make 20 Watt CIGS panels, thanks to an award by the Innovation Fund in the national Department of Science and Technology during 2003. The award, in the amount of R 13,2 million, has been used to construct a pilot assembly facility on the RAU campus (with more than R 2 million of top-up funds added by RAU management). /snip

[skids]

13. They already are...

There are many companies that make CIGS, Pretoria's technology is not new.

...However only tens of megawatts per year are made, and since they are the only high-power-density flexible cells available, they usually get put into portable units and sold at a price premium:



http://www.affordable-solar.com/sunlinq-12-watt-portable-flexible-solar-panel.htm

Waiting on PV tech is a good thing at this juncture, if you haven't done solar hot water and geothermal yet you should do those first -- but what's worth waiting for isn't CIGS -- those will take years to scale up. It's concentrator panels, which are starting to hit the market now from a few sellers and are due out this year and next from several others:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/3/7/114711/9242

[roody]

7. I did it three years ago for 15,000,

then got over 5,000 back in rebate from electricity provider and California income tax credits. I did a grid intertie. It is cheaper and more efficient. I rack up credit when it is sunny then use them when it rains. I have come out even using about 6 kw per day.

[wakeme2008]

8. That is what I am wanting to do....

I spend a lot of time away from my home and with the grid intertie method I would be lowering the cost of my electric bill.

[roody]

9. Oops, reading more carefully I see you are

putting up roofing panels. Are these the shingles that actually serve as solar collectors? Mine are just regular solar panels. They do not have to be mounted on a roof.

[xmas74]

11. Buy the newest issue of Mother Earth.

It's the Homes issue-lots of different kind of alternative houses and various alternative energy sources w/ the companies that they recommend listed in the magazine.

(FWIW-I really want to build that straw bale house in there!)

[Kolesar]

12. High efficiency will get you more bang for the buck

...if the ultimate goal is to reduce green house gasses and reduce the need for electrical generation.

Be sure all your lighting is fluorescent or compact fluorescent. There are some refrigerator models out there with much higher efficiency. Air conditioning can be incrementally more efficient. Front loading, high efficency washing machines are a good idea. An LCD monitor will draw a lot less juice.

You can eliminate some electricity usage by putting TVs with stand-by power supplies onto a switchable power strip. Same thing with those wall transformers for battery chargers, etc. Don't plug your answering machine into one, though. We lost two weeks of messages when we were on vacation (!)

Then there is conservation. Listen to the radio instead of watching tv. My TV draws 190 Watts.

You can actually reduce loads down to a point where they match the PV panels output. I have heard that there is great demand for PV panels right now. You might be waiting months.

Check out this integrator's site: www.repowersolutions.com