On Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:37:12 -0700, "Stu Fields"
wrote:


"Sunworshipper" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:11:56 -0700, "Stu Fields"
wrote:


"chaniarts" wrote in message
...
Stu Fields wrote:
Having welding, machining, and ceramic equipment, our power bill was
getting out of hand. ( than $200/mo) We recently installed 30- 230w
solar panels and now have watched our power meter go backwards at
rates up to 6sec/rev. In just a few days our panels generated more
than 200kwh and one of those days had cloud cover. Oh and we used
the solar installation to also create a car port. It may take a few
years to recover the cost, but just watching that meter go backwards
was worth quite a bit.

in may i put in a 7.5kw solar installation, just in time for the main
summer a/c season. last month's bill was $40, whereas same month last
year
was $200.

the rebates covered 80%, payback is estimated at 4.5 years. panels are
guaranteed for 25 years. converter is guaranteed for 10 years.

you'll want to rinse them off occasionally. i do so about ever 3-4
weeks,
as the dust builds up. cleaning will get me a 3-5% gain.

regards,
charlie
phx, az

Charlie:
Thanks for the info. We'll be watching closely the panel production and
checking for dust. Usually, we get an evening wind that will probably
keep
it pretty clean. At least the wind brings most of the loose dust around
and
in my garage door.

Stu


Question for both of you. If you had the option of putting those on a
tracker and having that in your yard and getting 40% more energy or
leave them static on the roof so that they are out of sight?

Looks like some states are coming around. Back when I was into solar
they charged you $5,000 for the phase synchro and paid you back $ 0.01
per KWH and charged you $0.12 and much more interested in wheeling and
dealing power across state lines, hmmm maybe Enron was a good thing.

BTW cooling them will make them more efficient and last longer. They
don't like to be over 100 F, good luck with that, I shudder, must get
up to 160F.

Someone was saying something about where the best areas are. Look
under isolation and radiation charts. Best in the US is Daget Ca. Part
of the reason I went to vegas was to do experiments, but found out it
is political not technological. I wouldn't believe a chart that says
it won't pay off in that location, too many factors involved.

SW

Would have to analyze the tracker. We get a lot of dirt blowing that would
raise hell with gear drives. There is obviously a trade off between
increased production and increased system cost. The tracker will cost more
in maintenance??? Right now we have no moving parts.


And your marketing research seems to be a thumbs sideways, my salesman
will be banging on your door any second, just kidding. Sand has been
in the design factor all along, no problem. The tracker cost way less
per watt than what the panels cost per watt to add more statically.
Not sure about maintenance for sure yet, maybe grease it once a year.
That and wash the guidance system while cleaning what ever is on the
platform. Thanks for the input.

SW