On Solar Energy Sources

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ranchersswiss

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I have been interested in renewable energy specifically solar energy sources since it is very promising nowadays. I have read a few case studies and testimonials both indicating advantages and disadvantages. I would want to ask if there is anyone out here who have used solar energy as their main or supplemental energy sources whether at home or ranch or even work place. How is the cost and consumption? Is it reliable comparable to the regular sources we have?
 
I think you'd be more able to answer that than us.. I just read an article in the paper saying germany is 30% (or was it 50%?) solar powered.

I can't imagine that being right.

We have also hashed out the cost of solar panels and batteries per KWh and it always is more expensive... A modest setup is $10,000, which is about the cost of 10 years worth of commercial electricity for us, and we can run welders, 4 freezers, cook, and have good light for that, which would be absolutely impossible with the $10,000 setup.
I put a lot more value in hydro power... far more compact systems that generate far more power, and much more reliably than solar.
 
Looking at the latest battery technology, just for the power storage, I'm going to take the Lithium Ion 18V Makita cordless drill battery, which costs about $100
I've found the average life of them to be about 100 charges.

So working it out to KWh, it's 18V x 3AH * 100 charges = 5.4KWh, or about $.50 worth of electricity.. so just storing the power is costing 200x more than buying it..
A 100W solar panel generates less than $.01 electricity per hour of GOOD sunlight.. they cost about $100, so it takes 10,000 hours of sunlight to pay for that. (about 10 or 20 years)
Now comes a good inverter for $500.

Meanwhile for $20,000 and a bunch of work, you can set up a 20KW generator on a creek (you gotta find that) that runs 24 hours a day all year, so at $.10/kwh it's still generating $2 per hour, or $16,000/year..
 
I rely completely on solar power, mainly because it would cost me over $100,000 to get the power brought in to me. I have a modest system about 3.5 kw of panels charging 6x800 ah batteries plus a wind turbine helping the charge but needs a lot of wind to get some decent current going but often when it is overcast the wind blows well. I have a diesel generator for back up power.
Most visitors would not know that things were any different to being on grid but then they use the power as if it is on the grid which is OK most of the time. It is just when you live with it you are more aware of things, you subconsciously know when you have had a bad day for charging the batteries and you modify your behaviour a bit like not use the microwave every 5 minutes or you put the kettle on the stove instead of the electric jug and you might put the bread under the griller instead of the toaster. On good days which is most of the time I will use the microwave and toaster etc and it is no problem, you just become more aware.
If you think you can run a house with reverse cycle aircon and such then forget it. I can weld using an inverter style welder but welding is usually only in short bursts and is not a big power consumer.
I also have a solar hot water service which I have only just recently installed, I picked it up at a clearing sale for $50 and it works great, it had never been installed before.
If your idea is saving emissions for the environment then when you start burning wood for heating you are going to give back your carbon credits real fast. Overall I enjoy being independant, if the lights go out your first thought is the bluddy power company and then you remember hey, that's my problem so you go and fix it, not that you have many problems. I wouldn't hesitate to build a house somewhere remote these days as these sort of power systems are very reliable and easy to live with.
Most components are available on ebay at a small fraction of the cost of what you will pay someone to professionally install a system. Just depends how comfortable you are with DIY. Batteries are the biggest expense but some good second hand ones can be found, retired early by the Telco companies, they usually have been well maintained.
If you need more info PM me.
Ken
 
I can see it being reasonable for places where it's not feasible to bring power in, but at the current costs, it wouldn't be a worth while investment to try and disconnect from the grid.

We also have a Yanmar 5.5kw diesel genset for if the power goes out for any amount of time.
 
Solar hot water has promise. Hot water is rated as third biggest usage of electricity.

I don't feel technology has advanced far enough for electricity yet.
 
My uncle had hot water coils on the top of his house and a wood burning boiler and central heating room behind his house. This worked really well in summer and winter. I would like to be totally off the grid myself but we have a ways to go I'm afraid. Guy down the road worked for a power company and he put panels on his home but the tax man taxed him so much for them he just took them down because it wasn't worth the inconvenience or the money.
 
It's really inspiring when someone says that they're completely energy independent. I was a little bit nervous about having them installed and then facing rainy and cloudy days and of course, night time. But I read about Ecoult and I think they're storage system is great. I'm going to try being at least partially energy independent. I hope everything works out just fine.
 
ranchersswiss":1wy4ac37 said:
I have been interested in renewable energy specifically solar energy sources since it is very promising nowadays. I have read a few case studies and testimonials both indicating advantages and disadvantages. I would want to ask if there is anyone out here who have used solar energy as their main or supplemental energy sources whether at home or ranch or even work place. How is the cost and consumption? Is it reliable comparable to the regular sources we have?

I would like to invest with solar panels also because I believe that it helps to stop global warming which threatens the survival of human society, as well as the survival of other species here in our planet. It's dependable the rising and setting of the sun is extremely consistent. We know exactly when it will rise and set every day of the year.

However, the disadvantage is that the sun doesn't shine 24 hours a day. When the sun goes down or is heavily shaded, solar PV panels stop producing electricity. If we need electricity at that time, we have to get it from some other source. In other words, we couldn't be 100% powered by solar panels. At the very least, we need batteries to store electricity produced by solar panels for use sometime later.

It is really expensive but I guess the end result is all worth it.
 
laboredintent":37vqqwcy said:
ranchersswiss":37vqqwcy said:
I have been interested in renewable energy specifically solar energy sources since it is very promising nowadays. I have read a few case studies and testimonials both indicating advantages and disadvantages. I would want to ask if there is anyone out here who have used solar energy as their main or supplemental energy sources whether at home or ranch or even work place. How is the cost and consumption? Is it reliable comparable to the regular sources we have?

I would like to invest with solar panels also because I believe that it helps to stop global warming which threatens the survival of human society, as well as the survival of other species here in our planet. It's dependable the rising and setting of the sun is extremely consistent. We know exactly when it will rise and set every day of the year.

However, the disadvantage is that the sun doesn't shine 24 hours a day. When the sun goes down or is heavily shaded, solar PV panels stop producing electricity. If we need electricity at that time, we have to get it from some other source. In other words, we couldn't be 100% powered by solar panels. At the very least, we need batteries to store electricity produced by solar panels for use sometime later.

It is really expensive but I guess the end result is all worth it.

So laboredintent,

You are one of those who has drank the koolaid and believes the lies put out by the UN.

Before you shake your head - I am a commercial solar power producer - do not use one bit of it - I make it and sell it - all of it. Furthermore - as you stated - it gets dark for half the year and it gets cloudy - so you need batteries - and so far while there are experiments under way there are no commercial batteries that will store power to heat 20,000 homes for 12 hours.

Now .....

There is as much information out there to state global warming is a lie, as there is to say it is true. To deny that would mean you are a lefty and to not deny that would mean you might be a conservative.

To make you realize how the lies have been failing, the big push is on to change those lies into "climate change". So to a certain extent you are behind the times.

If you follow the money you will also find out that once the global liars stopped raking it in they went to climate change. Look at all the big names - including our Suzuki - your Gore

Almost all of Europe has huge solar and wind set ups. However, the economies over there are going broke - one of the reasons is NO ONE CAN AFFORD it! Ontario Canada is going broke - one of the main reasons are the wind and solar plants.

Germany is actually CLOSING DOWN wind and solar due to it helping to wreck the economy. Brits went through a serious cold spell (for them last week) many suffered because electricity is too expensive to buy

In the US of A solar plants are killing birds at hundreds and thousands per day - Google flaming birds. Wind towers are killing hundreds of birds and owls including lately here in Canada two of your bald eagles.

Follow the money before you believe the tripe - see who is getting rich before you talk to me about "global warming"

That green energy is expensive with some dairy farmers in Canada now paying power bills of about $20K per month. The local meat shop is closed - the power bill was $4K per month for a mom and pop operation. Because we in Ontario are FORCED to use this expensive power during the day.

Global warming - follow the money - and see how people are now buying into climate change as the global warmers wrung all the money they could out of the "sky is falling crowd" and could not beat the rest into submission - although an AUSSIE professor now has gone public that he believes "deniers" should face the death penalty. Go figure - nice guy.

It is all a make money scam.

Bez__
 
Solar energy concepts are something I like. Ocean current turbines too. We are simply not there yet. Solar hot water is great. But solar electricity requires battery technology that is not yet developed. I can go out and buy 10 deep cycle batteries and a good inverter to power a barn. A few years from now I have to replace those batteries and pay to have the old ones recycled. Their capacity is not sufficient to provide all my power needs once they are charged.

There is some extensive research of pumping water up to a reservoir with the sun and then using the gravity feed to spin turbines and produce electricity on an as needed basis. The process has merit on a large scale but most of us cannot just go out and buy a reservoir with enough gravity feed to sufficiently spin a turbine etc. Out here on prairies we would have to go to overhead tanks and such. Not cost effective.

I have used camping solar water heaters for taking showers. I found myself having to put ice in the water to cool it down enough to take a shower. I left it in the sun too long apparently. Solar water heating has merit indeed based on my experiences.
 
I used to go stay with an uncle in Charlotte every summer. He had made a home made pool heater by coiling 500 ft of black water hose across his garage roof and hooking a small pump to it to circulate the water out of the pool through it. When the sun was out the water would be hot enough to burn you coming out of it. It worked really good and he did not have much money in it.
 
Some of the ones to benefit the most from the so called "Global warming, climate change" has been the scientific community. These people generally lurk in universities (sheltered workshops) and take on whatever projects they can get some funding for. These days governments are throwing money at them left, right and centre and of course they are coming up with the results that are going to keep their backers happy and keep throwing money their way. From my experience with drug companies showed me how easy it was to get scientific evidence to support their product and another company would also have evidence to refute it and to support their problem. The secret was to just keep throwing money at the researchers.
You would have to naeve to think that our existence did not have any affect on the planet however it is nothing like what is portrayed and the so called solutions are money driven and not cost effective as Bez has said. I think the solution is very simple but the Chinese government is the only one to date that has gone up this path and that is "population control". As cattle producers we all know what to do when things get tough, we destock and reduce the numbers or better still don't overstock in the first place.
Ken
 
Ken, I agree with you, population control is the number one priority. But it's not politically correct on either side of the Isle here in the USA. The more we breed the more we need.
 
highgrit":3rifl2lu said:
Ken, I agree with you, population control is the number one priority. But it's not politically correct on either side of the Isle here in the USA. The more we breed the more we need.
Yes it is the same here, it seems governments seem to like "the economy of scale", the bigger the population the more taxes they get to play with.
Ken
 

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