solar panels

i think solar panels would be a good way to not polute to get energy, but are solar panels good or bad? is there any bad chemicals in them or some whaco process to make them? and can you store the power to use it at night? i dont know man.. i dont want to sound harsh about solar panels but i was wondering if there good like i hear

 

Peek electricity demand is the same time as peek solar production, in the middle of the day. A few panels on the roof does no environmental harm.


http://www.homepower.com

 

Presumably you are talking about photo-voltaic panels (PV panels) as opposed to solar hot water panels. (Some people don't know the difference).
Well it does take a great deal of energy to makle a PV solar panel.I would say you would be doing very little to save the planet by buying any.I thought of buying one to keep my car batteries charged up as I do not drive my car every day.

 

I hear conflicting views over preferable forms of clean energy. In any possible way(s), is one form of clean energy better than another? (I ask since my dad's a BIG wind power supporter, and a good friend of mine is an equally big solar power supporter. Each claims "their" respective preference is better.)

 

NAMASTE

This is true that it takes more to make PC panels but in the long run you are saving.That out ways all in my view.So many things now to save energy take energy to make.But not buying them and useing them we are still useing more energy.Better to save andy day than to use.

 

their both drawing power from the same souce, just from different means. i'd like to think a combination of both solar and wind power would be the best...hehe, and if we could find ways of attracting lightning bolts to one source it would reduce damage and porvide a bit of power.

the problem with solar panels is that it takes a lot of plastic to make, and plastics can't be made without oil.

 

PV's are expensive to buy and have limited lifespans. In fact it is my understanding that they steadily degrade over a short time and produce less and less electric as they degrade. I've read that the lifespan of a PV is only about 20 years.


I'd be more of a wind generator proponent.

 

Been living off grid using alternative energy sources for most of 18 years. A combination of sources is the way to go.

In regards to the lifespan of PV panels versus wind generators, wind generators have moving parts and will most likely will wear out before the 20 year mark.

 

For sure a combination of sources would make sense. I would think that small PV's are especially useful for remote point-of-use applications, like low voltage lights at the end of a long driveway for instance.

Also, I would fully expect a wind generator to require periodic maintenance, as well as wear part replacement. I guess that's why I prefer that, because parts would be replaceable, unlike a PV which is a single expensive unit.

I have a buddy who spent 20K on I think it's six arrays and a bunch of batteries and a power inverter. I don't see where he's ever going to save that from not using the public utility. Of course, after the last hurricane when I was living for a week with the drone of my gasoline generator, he was living as though nothing had changed.

FreeinAlaska tell us about your alternative energy. You should be an expert after 18 years.

 

Our original alternative energy system, when we were broke and pregnant, consisted of two deep cycle batteries that were rotated in and out of the pickup truck to be charged while driving to work.

Starting with little we kept our energy needs low and still require little electricity to live. Currently we have an 8 PV panel array with a battery bank with 1800 AHs of storage, a 2500 Watt inverter and a gas generator back up. I have no wind generator since we live in a valley that really has not much wind during the winter months when we need it. At our old property we had PV panels, a wind generator and a pelton wheel to generate power with water.

Here in interior Alaska, during the summer months with 22 hours of sun per day, we have so much solar energy we can't use it all. The dark winters are the real challenge so we end up running a generator a couple of hours a day to keep the battery bank charged.

I think the trick is to pattern life with low energy needs and use other alternatives. We use a root cellar for most of our refrigeration needs, using an LP refrigerator only about 2 months a year. I built my house to utilize as much passive solar as possible for light and heat. Six months of the year our water is heated by the sun as well.

 

Solar panels are generally quite environmentally friendly in construction, they're largely silicon, readily available from sand. They are traditionally made from very similar materials to transistors. Indeed a PV can be thought of as an LED in reverse, this is a simplification but not a massive one. In an LED a hole and a electorn recombine to give off a bit of light, in a PV cell light creates a hold and an electron, this produces a small current. However while silicon PV cells are quite environmentally friendly, containing nothing worse than a phosphorous dopant. They are inefficient and the other construction methods are less forgiving to the environment GaAs (Gallium Arsenide) is another popular semi-conductor, this is quite nasty stuff during its processing. Also Organic semiconductors are another area of current research but like all organic chemicals they are ultimately dependant on oil.

Silicon PV cells are also quite inefficient between 15 and 25% efficiency. This represents the largest technical challenge, to improve efficiency. Semiconductors need to be found that will create electron-hole pairs from a large range of wavelengths. There are many problems to be overcome suhc as the intrinsicly high internal impedance of a semiconductor and the relatively narrow band of energies that most semi-conductors will absorb.

 

Hmm...I don't think I'd be down with solar panels because they're probably not biodegradable.
I think the best way to use the sun's energy is to just use it naturally.

 

Current ones aren't, but silicon isnt bad for the environment, its basically just sand. For the most part they could recycled in much the same way as glass I guess. May be a little more difficult but I don't think theres too much in the way of bad py-products to come out, current silicons ones at least.

 

I think I'll just let the sun do it's own thing on it's own

 

Tamee,

What do you mean by "natural"? What "natural" source of electricity powers your computer?

Consider: Both humans and beavers make dams. Both dams are built for the benifit of the builders. Both dams have a severe impact on the local eco-system. What is the difference?

My point is that humans are a part of nature and that everything we do is natural. The question should not be "Is it natural?" but rather "Is wise?".

 

Yeah, I understand that humans are a part of nature and that everything we do is natural. Actually, I think about that a lot, especially when trying to compare things which are "natural" or "un-natural". I guess what I mean by "natural" is "wise".

 

okay...but your computer is running off powr generated by coal fired power plants, and nuclear power plants which generate far more pollution than a solar panel would after 20 years of use...how can you justify that?

 

I think in the scheme of things given that all power (except nuclear) derives from our sun. Nuclear derives from someone elses sun many billions of years ago.

 

ill finish that so it makes sense. I guess that makes solar power wise, given that all power comes from solar there are far more harmful things than solar panels.

 

I can't.