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Originally Posted by djv8ga
I'm not going to speak for Germany, but that statement does not apply to the western USA.
Solar is not the solution to everything, but is a fantastic source for many applications if you plan for it - not retrofit it. Having 12KW of DC volts and converting all of it to AC is insane. This is what most solar studies are based on. If you run a combination of AC & DC, with as much DC as possible, that 12 KW can go a long way. Using the proper appliances such as Sunfrost http://www.sunfrost.com/refrigerator_models.html refrigerators that run on 24 volts DC will save huge amounts of power.
Well pumps are the best example. A typical deep well pump runs on 220 volt AC. Compare that to my pump which will operate from 30 - 300 volts DC. with 100 volts + being best. This is huge! I know people who spent hundreds of dollars a month using these 220 AC pumps during the drought! I spend nothing and don't worry about power failures or brownouts. The best part is the highest water use is during the day. Also, my pump will also run on 90 - 240 AC if I need a lot of water to fight a fire at night or some other situation.
The solution is NOT to go grid tie for everything & take advantage of DC . Trust me, there are a lot of power companies who are lying to you. |
I'm sure all of this is probably true. Solar probably does make sense if you can afford the initial investment and if you live in an area with plentiful sunshine each day. For individuals, it can likely be made to work in the right circumstances. Unfortunately where I live, it makes no sense at all other than a source of supplemental electricity to reduce reliance on the grid and only for about 1/2 the year.
Technology over time might bring solar into reach for more people, and even expand applications in climates like mine. There's a local company that's working on making solar cells that generate significant energy from diffuse light. Its still prohibitively expensive and not really ready for prime time.