Iraq unravels!

[djv8ga]

Originally Posted by BeamOn

This is a solar system to power a pump to pump ground water into a tank? How do you store the power you generate or is it connected to the grid?
Just a curious engineer.

No battery storage. The pump is wired direct to the panels. Because of this, you need to have a tank to store the water you pump during the day.
The pump itself runs on 30 - 300 volts DC, but is most efficient over 100 volts.
The variable voltage eliminates the need for batteries & trackers.

[Oerets]

Really!!

He has the nerve to comment.

He must think nobody remembers their handling of Iraq!



Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney Join Attack On Obama For 'Abandonment Of Iraq'

""so wrong about so much at the expense of so many."" .... Maybe a Freudian Slip???

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5505619.html






Barney

[merrylander]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_energy_storage

Anyone trying this for storage?

[whell]

Originally Posted by bobabode

I'll read more but it seems that they are dialing back subsidies and that is a natural thing to do, diminishing returns applies here. Your comment implies a failure which couldn't be further from the truth.

From the Slate article:

Subsidizing green technology is affordable only if it is done in tiny, tokenistic amounts. Using the government’s generous subsidies, Germans installed 7.5 gigawatts of photovoltaic capacity last year, more than double what the government had deemed “acceptable.” It is estimated that this increase alone will lead to a $260 hike in the average consumer’s annual power bill.

Unfortunately, Germany—like most of the world—is not as sunny as the Sahara. And, while sunlight is free, panels and installation are not. Solar power is at least four times more costly than energy produced by fossil fuels. It also has the distinct disadvantage of not working at night, when much electricity is consumed.

In the words of the German Association of Physicists, “solar energy cannot replace any additional power plants.” On short, overcast winter days, Germany’s 1.1 million solar-power systems can generate no electricity at all. The country is then forced to import considerable amounts of electricity from nuclear power plants in France and the Czech Republic.

So they went overboard on subsidizing solar installation, only to find out that all the money they spend got them a seasonal supplementary supply of electricity. They could have spent that subsidy on building additional capacity based on conventional or nuke generation. Instead, they need to rely on electricity imports from neighboring countries.

[djv8ga]

Originally Posted by whell

From the Slate article:

It also has the distinct disadvantage of not working at night, when much electricity is consumed.

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.

[whell]

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.

[djv8ga]

Originally Posted by whell

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.

Yes, and everyone on both sides need to be educated on the subject. The Rightys are living in the stone ages & the Leftys have no idea where the real waste is & want to force alternative energy down our throats. The political BS is preventing us from moving forward with a legitimate/practical energy plan that encourages our people to switch to renewable energy on their own - not through some damn government policy that will only increase cronyism and/or try to prevent real advancements because of special interests.

This applies to agriculture as well, but that's another thread...

[piece-itpete]

If only it wasn't for those evil righties, Obama wouldn't be having trouble with Syrian terrorists and we'd all be generating free sustainable energy with our flatulence.

Pete

[bobabode]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

If only it wasn't for those evil righties, Obama wouldn't be having trouble with Syrian terrorists and we'd all be generating free sustainable energy with our flatulence.

Pete

Try Beano Pete.

[bobabode]

Now we have Dick Cheney weighing in? Good god, of all people, Dick friggin' Cheney? This is a sick joke.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/dick-...ine-1403046522

Gotta luv his lame assed attempt to sound like Winston Churchill.