Solar Panels on Every House

[sixone]

Originally posted by: Zaitsev
Can solar panels withstand hail without damage? Would they be covered by home owners insurance in the chance they are damaged by hail?

Those were my questions, as well. We have on average two-three serious hail storms every year, and it's nowhere close to cost effective to replace the units that often.

Premiums for insurance would be downright insane if they covered damage or replacement even just once per year.

 

[PowerEngineer]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
I think the power company should subsidize 50% of it. We would all have solar panels installed and hooked into the power grid effectively making the power company our battery. On sunny days we'd use less power and feed any excess into the power grid. It's similar to how distributed computing work. We're distributing the power generation from one central location to thousands of other locations.

Well, power companies could subsidize 50% of the cost of solar cells. Of course, that has to mean that those costs would be recovered in the electrical rates they charge their customers. Public utility commissions usually back conservation programs instead, as they offer better bang for the buck. There is no such thing as a free lunch!

And speaking of free lunches, power companies aren't batteries either. Aside from a limited amount of pumped storage, power companies have to vary generation in order to match customer loads. Power put back into the grid during periods of high solar generation will reduce generation levels at other generating plants, and you can think of that as storage in fuel that wasn't burned or the water that wasn't released. But on those peak winter days when the clouds roll in and the wind dies down, the power company still has to have enough generating capacity to meet those peak loads.

Developing renewable energy sources is definitely the way to go. Recognize, however, that the overall cost of electricity is going to go up because using today's technology renewables are still more expensive than traditional generating plants. Add to that their inherent nature to produce power only when the sun shines or the wind blows -- rather than when the customer demands it by flipping a light switch -- and you can see that it will not be easy. Doable, but not nearly as easy or cheap as some proponents want you to believe.

:sun:

 

[libs0n]

Originally posted by: yyiiyyii
Solar Panels on Every House would save the country millions in of barrels of oil


They should make it a law or a major tax break or something

Huh, what? No it wouldn't. After the oil shock of the seventies, most industrialized countries phased out electrical production from oil, due to its high costs. Because that's what solar panels produce, electricity. Electricity is now mainly produced from coal, natural gas, nuclear power plants, the occasional windmill, but never in my lifetime has an electric bulb I turn on gotten its electrons from the combustion of oil. Said coal instead of oil, and you would have had me at hello. And in case you have some smart aleck remark about how we could then snap our fingers and there'd be electric cars in the garage, no way those few square meters you have on your roof are going to power the electrical demands of an automobile.

edit: I'll correct myself on a point: heating oil. But my point, that the energy we consume from liquid fuels is not necessarily interchangeable with electrical energy still stands.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: yyiiyyii
Solar Panels on Every House would save the country millions in of barrels of oil


They should make it a law or a major tax break or something

Here's an interesting article for you:

The Zero-Energy Remodel

They took a pre-1930's house and remodeled it so that it actually makes a bit more energy than it uses.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: libs0n

Originally posted by: yyiiyyii
Solar Panels on Every House would save the country millions in of barrels of oil


They should make it a law or a major tax break or something

Huh, what? No it wouldn't. After the oil shock of the seventies, most industrialized countries phased out electrical production from oil, due to its high costs. Because that's what solar panels produce, electricity. Electricity is now mainly produced from coal, natural gas, nuclear power plants, the occasional windmill, but never in my lifetime has an electric bulb I turn on gotten its electrons from the combustion of oil. Said coal instead of oil, and you would have had me at hello. And in case you have some smart aleck remark about how we could then snap our fingers and there'd be electric cars in the garage, no way those few square meters you have on your roof are going to power the electrical demands of an automobile.

From the article I linked above:

With that incentive, Asdal went ahead with an extensive photovoltaic system, installing solar collectors on the southwest-facing roofs of both the cottage and the garage. Thanks to the state rebate, the $50,400 collectors and power generator cost Asdal only $15,120 to buy and install. The two systems, totaling 7.2 kilowatts, are estimated to generate 9,000 kWh each year, about $1,100 worth of energy, and more than enough to fuel the entire property.

Up to a 70% discount! My main concern is weatherproofing - can solar panels stand up to snow, ice, hail, etc.? What if it snows and covers your roof - no power?