I've been thinking about solar power.

[cornermouse]

Anyone know anything about it? Which companies are solid and respectable?

[fascisthunter]

1. Not Sure... But A Friend of Mine is Investing in Wind

so far, she has done well.

[cornermouse]

17. If I still lived in Kansas I would look at wind power.

When I was a kid the owner had a working windmill on the property. We don't seem to have quite as much wind here.

[itsrobert]

2. Something to do with the Sun

n/t

[fenriswolf]

3. here is a great idea to use 100% of the power of the sun

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyson_sphere

[cornermouse]

5. I'd sort of like something a little less, ummmm, comprehensive

than that. :eyes: (I love the eyes icon)

[fenriswolf]

7. hehe sorry im a sci fi nut

[cornermouse]

8. I like sci fi too.

Although the sci fi that I typically watch is probably much tamer than yours. :)

[Greyhound]

4. Most of the real innovation seems to be coming out of South Africa

and manufacturing in Germany. The US companies are still banking on the over-priced and under-performing panels that only serve to ensure the continuation of our current master-slave model.

Maybe someone has the link handy, there is a company in Germany that has just begun large-scale production of the next generation of the thin film solar electric sheets that were developed in SA a couple of years ago.

[cornermouse]

6. Thank you.

I'll try to do a search.

[Greyhound]

15. It will not be easy, you have to wade through a zillion sites touting

their so-called thin film panels. There is a dearth of innovation here (a by-product of corporate control) as it is actively suppressed and the European players are looking to Africa and the sub-Asian continent as their primary markets.

[cornermouse]

18. Yeah. I'm finding that out.

But I've been thinking about this for a while now.

[Quakerfriend]

9. Hey, cornermouse

:hi:

You will need to have someone come out with a SolarPathfinder to evaluate whether or not your house is good for solar panels. Most want $250-500 just to come out and do this and an energy audit- which shows you were your house loses heat etc. They use an infrared camera to do this.

If you have a lot of trees and/or no southern exposure it won't be possible.

We've looked into pretty thoroughly and we have learned that we would do best with a geothermal system but, right now it is all way to expensive, 60-80K for us.

[cornermouse]

10. Thank you. I have lots of space.

The trees near the house are not tall so it might work, I hope. I'm ready to figure out a way to come up with money to cut my electric bill.

[itsrobert]

11. Evergreen Solar looks like they are making good inroads

with their patented String Ribbon technology. Looks like an up and comer, US solar company.

[Greyhound]

13. Is this company owned/associated with Evergreen power?

One of the companies that bankrupt California in 2000?

[itsrobert]

28. Doesn't appeared to be

I'll keep checking.

[cornermouse]

29. Thank you.

Bookmarking for future reference.

[jaybeat]

12. Here's one company that does residential solar

http://www.recsolar.com

I don't know anything about them and I'm not endorsing them, but they seem to have their act together.

I think I read that Germany has a big incentive program to put panels up on houses that are connected to the grid; any surplus power is sold back to the utility. A great idea, since residences are often empty (and not using as much electricity) during the day, when the sun is out, and which is also "peak" time for overall usage. So they make power when the homes don't need it, but everybody else does, and the homes can then use "off peak" power when they need it, for much less cost, because they sold surplus power during the day.

[taterguy]

14. When I was in the biz all the companies were local

So unless you tell us all where you live the info you get here might not be too helpful.

Of course, I stopped doing that work when Raygun ended the federal tax credits for home solar systems.

[cornermouse]

16. I'm in Missouri

[gravity]

19. Solar is going to be big in the next 5 years

Right now, the industry supply is constrained by demand from countries like Germany and Spain who offer large tax credits for solar. The good news is that companies are investing a lot of money into solar, and it will get a lot cheaper in the future.

There is to main technologies for solar right now: Thin film and silicon

Thin film is cheaper to produce, but it generates about half the power and degrades slowly over time. This technology is new, so there could be more improvements in the future.

Silicon based solar cells generate twice the power for the area, but costs more money than thin film on a per watt basis. Another advantage is that the cells don't degrade over time.

If financial considerations are a big concern, I would wait 5 years for the industry to mature some and prices go down. Solar is really close to becoming mainstream and price competetive with other methods of electricity generation.

[cornermouse]

27. I'm a little concerned that if I wait till it goes mainstream

that I'll be on a very very long list of people waiting for installation from a company without enough installation technicians.

[Zorro]

20. Just had solar panels installed

waiting for the electrician to install the inverter and complete the grid hookup. My wife and I thought it was the green thing to do, and the thought of never receiving another electric bill was enticing. Whether it works for you also naturally depends on your southern exposure, obstructions, etc.

Financially I think it doesn't ever really pencil out, if one considers the initial investment cost and loss of interest on that sum over time vs. electric rates over that same period. However, state rebates and the federal tax credit (currently $2K through the end of 2008, may be $4k if the energy bill up for debate gets passed) help reduce the financial impact.

Solar installation companies are pretty much local operations, and you should consider the number of installations they've done, recommendations from customers, who their customers are (major corporations, etc.) to determine who to get bids from; we got 3 quotes, and all were within $1k of each other.

Solar panel manufacturers that seem to be favorably reviewed include Sunpower, Sanyo, Sharp, Evergreen, and BP. Some are monocrystalline, others are multicrystalline designs. There's been a lot of press about Nanosolar and their thin-film flex design that supposedly will reduce the cost per watt significantly, but I haven't heard of any installations that have been reviewed yet.

[cornermouse]

23. Thank you. I'll check them out.

[roody]

21. I have had a grid-tie system for 7 years.

My bills zero out; I have a big negative balance from summer that I spend in the winter. Check out www.homepower.com

[cornermouse]

24. Thank you. I'll definitely take a look.

[supernova]

22. What does everyone think about solar roof tiles?

I might consider these in the near future, because it's time for me to replace my roof and might as well kill two birds with one stone.

Here is one company that sells them:

http://www.atlantisenergy.org/sunslates2.html

[Subdivisions]

25. I'm the manager of a top online solar products

website and if I can help answer any of your solar power system questions I am glad to do so. Just PM me here on DU any time :)

[cornermouse]

26. Thank you.

[mitchtv]

30. I am getting a quote tomorrow from

Gen Self then I will try BP Solar through Home Depot. I will need financing too and they do the incentive paperwork.

[cornermouse]

31. Thank you.

[mitchtv]

33. Gen Self uses Sharp, I believe nt

[Wiley50]

32. I have a small system for my sailboat

I have an 85 watt BP panel and a 55 watt Kyocera panel.

The controller is a russian made model I bought from Harbor Freight

The inverter is a 3500 watt from InvertersRUS.com

I have 4 golf cart 6 vt batteries wired up as a 12 v system, but plan to buy at least that many more.

I've only used it for 3 weeks during my trip from Long Island to Virginia in '05

I also wired in the 6 amp alternator output from my Honda outboard.

It worked great! I used my Mr Coffee every morning and microwaved any time I wanted. Didn't (and still don't
have a tv. Did charge my cell phone with it.

I've been here in TN since then doing a complete as I can afford refit on the old boat, a 72 model.
I'm on the grid for now, so I haven't been using it.

But when I finally get to splash this girl again I will be ready.