On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 11:49:57 +0100, "R D S" wrote:

I have been thinking about getting a solar panel to keep a fridge runnning
and keep a battery charged while camping.
Has anyone any experience/opinions?

How many solar panels would you need in addition to the deep cycle
batteries to run it and how much would it cost?

Also with energy prices being the way they are has anyone gone further than
this and installed solar in the home? Likewise with wind, a local electrical
supplier reckoned he could get me a 2kw turbine for approx £1500. At one
point I would have thought alternative power was prohibitively expensive but
now it looks as though it may sense.

Some bloke down south spent an absolute fortune installing a wind
turbine for his house and he doesn't generate enough electricity to
power a shaver.

You would have to calculate where you live, how much wind you're
likely to get (realistically) and whether that would generate enough
electricity to repay the costs of the turbine within a reasonable
timespace.

I read a post from a bloke however who did install a solar thermal
system, where its only used to heat water. He said he noticed a big
drop in his bills, maybe as much as a third. It did cost a heck of a
lot to install though and that's when he still did a lot of the work
himself and got a grant. Plus he will have to stay put for 20 odd
years for it to repay itself and have been worth it.

Have listened to the advice of another bloke regarding a solar
photovoltaic system and he said you may as well just burn £50 notes.

Maybe if energy prices go sky high a solar thermal system may become
an option for a lot of people. But you'd have to hope that the climate
isn't going into a cooling period and we start getting less sunshine,
and that it pays itself back a bit quicker.

If you're staying put for a long time in the same home I'd say to go
for it (solar thermal) if you have the money. In seven to ten years
though we may have more Nuclear power stations and prices will start
to fall again.

My personal opinion is that it's not worth it and the costs are just
too much at the moment for what you'll get back and how long it will
take to recoup the money.

John