Today my PV solar panels must have been working extra hard. They produced 14.7kWhrs that is the absolute maximum they are supposed to be able to produce in my region based on the average latitude angle. When I scoped out the system I had been thinking about a 5 hour peak sunlight day. We are really much more like 7.2 peak hours of sunlight a day (this time of year). This chart might help. You can see the loss of solar insulation outside of the southwest.
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5 comments:
I'm not sure how tongue in cheek the last sentence was but even here in the sun starved northeast I know plenty of people who run their entire homes or businesses exclusively on solar power. Of course there are always some lifestyle changes involved and the capital outlay for panels can be higher but it's certainly still a great option.
I agree buying PV panels and putting them in a place with as sunshine as Seattle is still better than using grid power today.
However, if conditions were reasonable for wind or microhydro that would be a more appropriate energy to use. Even a diesel generator burning WVO would be a improvement over grid power.
I encourage everyone to spend whatever they have gain control of their water, food, and energy.
Really too bad for that last sentence. I work in the renewable energy sector and if you ask anyone doing similar, you'd learn in short order that the benefits of procuring a solar system are multi-dimensional, from strong/successful ROI from an install ANYwhere in the US, to prevention of larger coal burning power stations being built on a local level, to strengthening the PV manufacturing market to lower PV technology production costs, making it (continually) cheaper and more accessible to more people/business nationwide. You just successfully reinforced one of the most common misconceptions about solar: its inaccessibility (now via boing boing also). Well done.
You have the wrong map! This is the one you want:
http://www.nrel.gov/gis/images/us_pv_annual_may2004.jpg
The map you used is for concentrating solar technologies, those that mirrors to focus the light rays directly from the sun. Flat-plate PV panels can use reflected and scattered light as well.
You are right that concentrators are much less effective outside of the southwest, but PV is much more uniformly effective. That's the good news for the rest of us.
BSB - I would like to hear more from you about PV's strong ROI and accesibility. I choose to install solar panels because I believe the cost of electricity will rise to at least $0.50 a kwh in the US over the next few years.
Here is why I think solar panels (today) might as well be made out of "unobtainium".
- back ordered panels
- rising costs of copper/lead
- battery transport costs
- limited grid option in southwest
- limited amount of installers
- high total system cost $50k plus for standard US power usage (mine was $30k due to limited power needs and self installed)
- complexity of install (too much for standard electricians and home owners)
- cost of energy from power company ($0.11 kWh) no break even for 20+ years
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