[Bay Kid]

Originally Posted by Bay Kid

What is the fluid inside these panels? What happens to the fluid at the end of life?

How do you dispose of old fluid/panels?

[Blueblaze]

Sorry, Zendog3, I shouldn't have poked fun at your purchase. You should spend your money on whatever makes you happy. That is the best ROI, regardless of the cost.

And frankly, I've been very interested in solar for a long time, because of my own fears for the future. There is a year's worth of dried food under my bed because I also think we're in for some hard times ahead. I'm just a lot more worried about an economic collapse in my own lifetime than I am about Florida sinking under a foot of water in my grandkids' lifetimes.

Whatever the disaster, it would really ease the pain to be able to supply my own power when the lights go out. It's just that every time I look into solar, I find issues that nobody is addressing.

The batteries alone cost as much as the panels, and neither the panels nor the batteries have a lifespan longer than what I've got left. By the way, wouldn't a wall of lithium batteries containing 15 kilowatts of stored energy be a tremendous fire hazard to keep under your roof? Maybe that's part of the reason most solar systems don't include them. Instead, they back-flow excess power into the grid, effectively using the grid as a battery. But why is that OK? Do we have to wait for a lineman to get killed to worry about that? I'm not allowed to do that with my emergency generator.

The problem with putting the cells on the roof is huge, and I don't understand why nobody is addressing it. It is technically possible to embed photovoltaic circuits into a flexible, non-breakable substrate. So why can't I buy shingles that would literally turn the entire roof into a generating system and last a lifetime? Odd that nobody seems to be working on anything like that. Maybe the battery problem could be solved with a flywheel. But nobody is working on that, either.

If the solar industry was serious, you'd think someone would be solving these issues. But the solar industry seems to be based in China, where they build a coal-fired generation plant every month or so. They seem more interested in selling solar cells to Americans than solving problems, including the global warming crisis, if it's real.

But I guess nothing will be solved without early adopters to spend the first buck. I used to be like that -- I once bought Radio Shack computer, back before Microsoft made them practical, just so I could teach myself to code.

So for doing taking the first step for the rest of us, I salute you, Zendog3!

[tuccillo]

Grid tied solar panels do not send power to the grid during a power outage.

Roof shingles that are solar panels are available.

Battery storage of solar panel energy is expensive. I believe that is the reason why there are not more solar systems with battery storage.

Rotating mass energy storage is available. It is not a consumer product.

Originally Posted by Shadywood

Sorry, Zendog3, I shouldn't have poked fun at your purchase. You should spend your money on whatever makes you happy. That is the best ROI, regardless of the cost.

And frankly, I've been very interested in solar for a long time, because of my own fears for the future. There is a year's worth of dried food under my bed because I also think we're in for some hard times ahead. I'm just a lot more worried about an economic collapse in my own lifetime than I am about Florida sinking under a foot of water in my grandkids' lifetimes.

Whatever the disaster, it would really ease the pain to be able to supply my own power when the lights go out. It's just that every time I look into solar, I find issues that nobody is addressing.

The batteries alone cost as much as the panels, and neither the panels nor the batteries have a lifespan longer than what I've got left. By the way, wouldn't a wall of lithium batteries containing 15 kilowatts of stored energy be a tremendous fire hazard to keep under your roof? Maybe that's part of the reason most solar systems don't include them. Instead, they back-flow excess power into the grid, effectively using the grid as a battery. But why is that OK? Do we have to wait for a lineman to get killed to worry about that? I'm not allowed to do that with my emergency generator.

The problem with putting the cells on the roof is huge, and I don't understand why nobody is addressing it. It is technically possible to embed photovoltaic circuits into a flexible, non-breakable substrate. So why can't I buy shingles that would literally turn the entire roof into a generating system and last a lifetime? Odd that nobody seems to be working on anything like that. Maybe the battery problem could be solved with a flywheel. But nobody is working on that, either.

If the solar industry was serious, you'd think someone would be solving these issues. But the solar industry seems to be based in China, where they build a coal-fired generation plant every month or so. They seem more interested in selling solar cells to Americans than solving problems, including the global warming crisis, if it's real.

But I guess nothing will be solved without early adopters to spend the first buck. I used to be like that -- I once bought Radio Shack computer, back before Microsoft made them practical, just so I could teach myself to code.

So for doing taking the first step for the rest of us, I salute you, Zendog3!