Re: Profitable Solar Power - A suggestion

In article <7l2Qe.1250$Re1.987@trndny04>, Elmo_409@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(Elmo) says...

> It would be a bit more useful if someone could come up with a number that
> represents the ratio of watt-hours needed to produce the cell to the
> watt-hours it can produce over its useful life. Then we can argue about
> whether that number should include the energy needed to mine the limestone,
> heat it while converting to portland cement, transport it to the ready-mix
> plant, transport the concrete to the job site, pour the foundation for
> the building that is going to be the fabrication facility for the solar
> cells.

It's easier to just price the solar cells, price the money needed to buy
them, and price the power that would be produced. Payback for most
domestic solar hot water installations averages 12 years. Photovoltaic
installations average several times that, and under most conditions will
not repay the installation mortgage.

The sensible thing to do is use the cheapest possible energy source, and
save money by conserving. My house had a forced air electric furnace
and no insulation when I bought it in 1994. Now it has a heat pump, new
windows, doors and beaucoup insulation, plus compact fluorescents in
every fixture and lamp, and a water system converted from 120v to 240v.
We use 1/3 the electricity we used 10 years ago, have added comfort from
air conditioning on hot days, no cold spots in the house, the upgrades
are paying for themselves with every month's electric bill, and will pay
for themselves again when we eventually sell this place.

At this point, a dollar will produce several times as much energy in
conservation as it produces in generation. Even with conventional power
plants, it is three times as expensive to build new capacity as it is to
build conservation measures. If you have any conservation measures to
implement, you are just pissing your money away to spend it on PV cells.
If you run your personal numbers, the responsible course of action will
become unmistakable.

--
http://home.teleport.com/~larryc
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Profitable Solar Power - A suggestion
    ... Not a passive way to harvest electricity. ... > It's easier to just price the solar cells, price the money needed to buy ... > domestic solar hot water installations averages 12 years. ... > conservation as it produces in generation. ...
    (misc.rural)
  • Re: The evolution of histones and other small parts
    ... I was actually a bit lazy though, I admit. ... It seems that histones for a particular ... Right a high rate of what most scientists call conservation, ... first eukaryote cells, ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Electrification: Bad Idea?
    ... cells, fuelled by hydrogen (by product water) and refills in the ... And if you have cheap and plentiful electricity, other storage methods, ...
    (uk.railway)
  • Re: energy need to produce one litre of hydrogen?
    ... The conservation is far from perfect. ... very poor way just to "save" petrol. ... And when you say the electricity is free just remember the generator I ... The maths says hybrids do what they say on the tin. ...
    (sci.energy.hydrogen)
  • Re: California Wants to Control Your TStat
    ... the belief that everyone should conserve energy-- electricity, NG, fuel ... We kind of pay lip service to conservation and feel good about ... It's only when the peak load stresses the system to maximum capacity ... the transmission bottlenecks and add additional generation capacity. ...
    (alt.home.repair)