Comments on: If Only Arizona Was Power Hungry http://www.digmann.com/2007/05/30/if-only-arizona-was-power-hungry.html a little about life, and the news and events which make it memorable Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:30:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Dustin http://www.digmann.com/2007/05/30/if-only-arizona-was-power-hungry.html/comment-page-1#comment-1365 Dustin Fri, 01 Jun 2007 20:35:32 +0000 http://www.digmann.com/2007/05/30/if-only-arizona-was-power-hungry.html#comment-1365 It was a guess and not the important number of the article. Also there was an article on Engadget a few months ago saying 50% was achieved. It was a guess and not the important number of the article. Also there was an article on Engadget a few months ago saying 50% was achieved.

]]> By: Brandon http://www.digmann.com/2007/05/30/if-only-arizona-was-power-hungry.html/comment-page-1#comment-1364 Brandon Fri, 01 Jun 2007 20:32:56 +0000 http://www.digmann.com/2007/05/30/if-only-arizona-was-power-hungry.html#comment-1364 Solar cells aren't actually very efficient. Only recently... ie today... was an article published where they passed 40%... http://digg.com/environment/Solar_cells_that_surpass_the_40_efficiency_milestone So your 60% figure is off by a bit, and I agree with James. Solar cells aren’t actually very efficient. Only recently… ie today… was an article published where they passed 40%… http://digg.com/environment/Solar_cells_that_surpass_the_40_efficiency_milestone

So your 60% figure is off by a bit, and I agree with James.

]]> By: Dustin http://www.digmann.com/2007/05/30/if-only-arizona-was-power-hungry.html/comment-page-1#comment-1356 Dustin Fri, 01 Jun 2007 04:00:26 +0000 http://www.digmann.com/2007/05/30/if-only-arizona-was-power-hungry.html#comment-1356 Thank you James, that was quite informative. Thank you James, that was quite informative.

]]> By: James http://www.digmann.com/2007/05/30/if-only-arizona-was-power-hungry.html/comment-page-1#comment-1355 James Fri, 01 Jun 2007 01:44:34 +0000 http://www.digmann.com/2007/05/30/if-only-arizona-was-power-hungry.html#comment-1355 I've looked this issue over before. Arizona happens to be one of the few places where solar panels could potentially pay off over the life of the system, helped both by copious sunlight and higher energy prices. Actually, So Cal is far better because electricity costs about twice as much there. Solar panels currently cost roughly $5-6 per watt of capacity. So a typical 2 kW (peak), grid-tied system is about $10,000, not counting installation and inverters. If you want to go completely off the grid, figure close to twice that much to add in a battery system. It's not a trivial investment. Most people, however, stay on the grid and net-meter with the power company...ie, you buy power from them when you need more than your panels are producing and sell it back to them when producing more than you need (minus administrative costs). I crunched some mildly generous sample numbers and came up with 24 year payback...about the rated life of a solar panel. For perspective, a 2 kW system measures about 10 feet by 20 feet. The large burner on a normal kitchen stove is about 1 kW. A desktop computer and monitor typically draws about 0.3 kW. The 2 kW rating is peak. Typical daytime output is about half that. By the way, typical efficiency is about 8%. Higher efficiency cells cost dis-proportionately more. I’ve looked this issue over before. Arizona happens to be one of the few places where solar panels could potentially pay off over the life of the system, helped both by copious sunlight and higher energy prices. Actually, So Cal is far better because electricity costs about twice as much there.

Solar panels currently cost roughly $5-6 per watt of capacity. So a typical 2 kW (peak), grid-tied system is about $10,000, not counting installation and inverters. If you want to go completely off the grid, figure close to twice that much to add in a battery system. It’s not a trivial investment. Most people, however, stay on the grid and net-meter with the power company…ie, you buy power from them when you need more than your panels are producing and sell it back to them when producing more than you need (minus administrative costs). I crunched some mildly generous sample numbers and came up with 24 year payback…about the rated life of a solar panel.

For perspective, a 2 kW system measures about 10 feet by 20 feet. The large burner on a normal kitchen stove is about 1 kW. A desktop computer and monitor typically draws about 0.3 kW. The 2 kW rating is peak. Typical daytime output is about half that.

By the way, typical efficiency is about 8%. Higher efficiency cells cost dis-proportionately more.

]]> By: Jeff http://www.digmann.com/2007/05/30/if-only-arizona-was-power-hungry.html/comment-page-1#comment-1343 Jeff Thu, 31 May 2007 15:34:28 +0000 http://www.digmann.com/2007/05/30/if-only-arizona-was-power-hungry.html#comment-1343 Now, if you wanted to be a *real* journalist you would track down a NW resident who has installed a solar panel to find out how much it actually saves them on their bill. Or you could call a solar panel vendor and get their version of the savings. I wouldn't mind having a solar panel on my own house, but something tells me the price point is probably high and the return isn't. Now, if you wanted to be a *real* journalist you would track down a NW resident who has installed a solar panel to find out how much it actually saves them on their bill. Or you could call a solar panel vendor and get their version of the savings.

I wouldn’t mind having a solar panel on my own house, but something tells me the price point is probably high and the return isn’t.

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