/biz/ - Business & Finance

>>16879721
Solar guy here.

Unless you buy a battery system with your solar, all solar does is backfeed into the grid, which the utility company measures to offset your utility bill. It doesn't directly power your home (unless you have a battery backup system / off-grid battery system). It's basically a power plant on your roof (or ground) that the utility company uses and then gives you credit towards your monthly bill depending on how much you produce for them.

>>16879816
how efficient are solar panels getting
do you need a government program for it to make sense

>>16879938
I've been designing systems for 7 years. Each panel when I first started was probably an average of 220 watts, they're now averaging 350-400 watts. They're getting a lot more efficient.

For now the government tax credit system is a huge incentive which is driving the industry, but I see a future in which it won't be needed since utility companies are jacking up their rates over time while solar is getting more and more efficient and cheap. If you live somewhere with a lot of sun it makes even more sense.

>>16880078
Is this something you can install on a mercedes sprinter?

>>16880078
have you ever looked into geothermal
would you be able to get a small geothermal powerplant going for a couple million somewhere in usa?
would it be possible to start an off the grid community of 30-50 people and have a system that mines cones with the excess

>>16880089
Yes, you can install a couple panels on an RV or a van, you'd need some small specialty equipment to do so though. It depends on how much shit you want to run off of it though.

>>16880110
I don't know anything about geo-thermal, but my guess is getting a permit for that would be nightmarish, if not impossible in 99.9999% of situations

>>16880110
Also out of all the renewable energy sources, solar is the most flexible and practical in most situations. You can just put them on existing roofs instead of dedicating unused land towards it. It's literally free real estate.

You can put an array on the ground as well if that's what you want, but geothermal sounds like a complete waste when solar can do the job just fine.

What does solar panels have to do with Air conditioning? It’s going to be more popular anyways as all new residential constructions in California legally require them as of the code change this year

how long do the panels really last these days?

>>16880078
Whats the best company related to this? Sounds like a good investment.

>>16879721
Solar panels are only practical in desert areas. Everywhere else, it's just a gimmick.

>>16880345
My advice on that is to find a small contractor in your area that has great reviews online. Don't go with a huge company like Solar City.

If you mean companies that make solar equipment, LG / SunPower / Panasonic make good panels, and SolarEdge / Enphase make the best inverters.

>>16880368
Wrong, especially as the systems get cheaper and more efficient.

>>16879816
depends where you live. the program in ontario canada paid a rate per kwh and the customer received a check monthly. the pv array dumped power into the grid and the customer received their normal service which was not primarily the power that they generated. the rates paid to customers adjusted over time to match the cost of installation. the entire program was a bullshit initiative to promote green energy and create jobs. there was absolutely zero need for additional energy in the province of ontario. customers with good exposure and a large flat roof could install up to 10k watts and could generate significant income above the cost of their household usage. the program was cancelled but the contracts have a 20 year lifespan which can not be violated or removed from that residence. the residence can convert to a battery pack system after the contract expires and generate power for their household. people that put up large profitable arrays made great money off this scam and the government fleeced the tax payers once again. irresponsible government at work.

>t. solar leaf that worked in the industry

>>16880078
if you had the means and the dough, it seems perdy good to have both offgrid system + for the gubberment rebates, can you do both?

>>16880333
Roughly 25 years til they start producing half of what they did when first installed. At that point you can replace them if you want with brand new panels for just a portion of what you originally paid, or who knows what the fuck is going to exist in 25 years, they may have 1000 watt panels by then or some shit and you'd only need half or less of the panels you once had.

>>16880311
alternating current units

>>16880417
even 300-400 watt per hour seems good enough, how much watt per house does the average north american use? like 5k? fridge is probably 1k per hour, desktop comps 1k, microwave is 1k per minute, so just have like 8 pannel + battery should b moar than sufice?

>>16879721
>Do solar panels render traditional AC electrical units useless?
no, why would they. your house will still get hot as fuck no matter jow many panels you have on your roof and the electricity bill for AC probably goes up with black panels all over your roof.
>Wouldn’t the demand for electricians decrease if solar panels gained more traction in the construction of production homes?
no, why would it? demand would go up because instead of running a single wire from the power pole to your house you would still have that line + a fuckton of wiring from the panels & related equipment.
you have to be 18+ to use this board anon

>>16880408
If you're not backfeeding the system into the grid, you won't get the tax credit to my understanding. I'm just a system designer though so I'm not fully educated on all the tax incentives though.

One thing that's pretty cool that came out in the last few years is the Tesla Powerwall, it's a battery system that you can program to draw power out of the grid during off peak hours when it's cheaper, to use during peak hours when it's most expensive. You don't even need solar for one but most people buy it as an add-on to their solar. You can backup your critical loads on it and on top of making your electricity bill cheaper overall, if the grid goes out you're good.

>>16880417
no that's not true. they degrade by about 1% per year and most warranties are approximately 80% power generation after 20 years of use.

>>16879816
How much silver is necessary for these

>>16880459
AC = Alternating Current, faggot.

>>16880110
geothetmal only works on a few spots on the earth where you have an intense heat source under ground. people get confused by the retarded architects and marketing that label ground-source-heat-pumps as 'geothermal'

>>16880458
I'm not sure, it varies a lot, you'd have to do a little bit of mental math for your own situation but you're on the right track. You'd likely need a few more than 8 though.

If you're in the Northern hemisphere, you'd need a shade-free roof area which preferably faces south, or at least East or West SW/SE. If you only have room on the North, you'd have to use tilt kits to tilt your shit up to face south which can be a further pain to install, permit and pay for and make your house look like shit.

>>16880485
touche faggot

>>16880470
I haven't really looked it up lately but that's about what it was back when I started. It also varies depending on the quality of the manufacturer.