[Greenbuilding] [BULK] Re: [BULK] Re: FW: Cheap Solar Cells are Here

[Lawrence Lile]

Not really talking about a real Uninterruptible Power Supply(UPS).  Just
figuring that a local solar panel on my roof and an inverter in my
garage would help ride through the periodic power outages due to ice
storms or high winds in my area.  If I've got 1-2 days storage that
ought to do the trick.  Just unplugging my most critical loads from the
power company would save money and Carbon, and provide me with a
reliability boost.  

I'm not expecting this stuff to be cheap, or have a reasonable payback
period.  What is the payback period on leather car seats or an extra
minivan?  For less than the price of a spare car I could cover half my
roof with solar collectors.  

I'm not too keen on generators, even biodiesel ones, because of the
noise.  Propane refrigeration is an option, although it doesn't help
with the zero carbon goal.  What I'd really like to do is just go off
the grid altogether, or sell juice back to those robbers.  

--Lawrence


-----Original Message-----
From: Jefro [mailto:jefro at jefro.net] 
Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2006 5:37 PM
To: Lawrence Lile
Cc: geoedb at idiom.com; Greenbuilder list
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] [BULK] Re: [BULK] Re: FW: Cheap Solar Cells
are Here

We are in line behind Lawrence, although we have a year to think about
it first.  We are planning a grid intertie with a generator as backup (I
work from home full-time).

If you are talking about an actual battery-based uninterruptible power
supply (UPS), I would suggest researching systems before committing.  A
good UPS that can run your computer for 1/2 hour will cost in the
neighborhood of $80.  These are built to give you time to shut down your
computer safely and leave it shut down until the power flow starts back
up.  They are *not* a viable solution for backup power.  You definitely
want one, but not for backup power, whether you feed it with solar
panels or grid power.

Also... a UPS (or battery bank) capable of powering a freezer for any
length of time will cost many thousands of bucks.  If you are off-grid
you would be much better served by buying a propane freezer, or a diesel
generator running biodiesel.

Lawrence---An intertie is by far the best system to add panels
piecemeal.  If you are "growing into" a grid intertie, what are you
doing for power in the meantime? 

One more note for Californians and anyone else planning a system in a
state that offers rebates---you usually only get the rebate on the first
set of panels, which makes it economically much more valuable to save up
and buy a bunch of panels at once.

Lawrence Lile wrote:
> George,
>
> When you decide on a brand of solar panel, let us know.  I am right in

> line behind you. Don't know much about brands, efficiencies, life
> expectancy and so on.   I'm thinking about adding panels one by one as
I
> can pay cash for them, until I have a substantial system.  
>
> Goal 1 might be an uninterruptible power supply for computers, 
> freezer, and a couple of lighting circuits.  Goal 2 would be to grow 
> into a grid-tie system probably.
>
> --Lawrence
>
>   
>