Comments on: Can solar power really be cost effective in the near future?

By: roderick_young

roderick_young — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:45:59 +0000

If current trends are followed, a growing number of people will choose to install solar, either as water heating, or electricity.

However barring some disruptive event, I don’t see the majority of people going to solar. There are homes that get so little sun, that solar makes no sense in the first place. That includes the far north in the US, and anyone living in the woods or a deep, narrow hollow. Those are the ones who rationally should not get solar.

But even among the people who have a house ideally suited for solar, it’s just human nature not to go through trouble to make a little change, even though it would be mighty good in the long run. Since the 70’s, we’ve known that just installing $1000 of insulation on many houses would pay for itself many times over. But do people do it? No, they don’t bother.

We put solar on our house in 2006. It’s about break-even as far as cost. But costs have gone down since then, so it must be a better deal today.
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By: james p

james p — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:07:59 +0000

I have to say no, not in a year or two, maybe in 10-15 years.

the reason is most people do not have their homes built for them. they buy new or preexisting homes. these home are not powered by solar energy. the cost of retrofitting them is astronomical. for a 3 bedroom home it would cost about $10,000 to $15,000 to make the home mostly dependent on solar power.
then you have to look at the fact that you we would recieve very little solar power during the rainy days or during times of extended overcast and next to zero solar power during the night. this would be a pain in the butt for those in areas with a lot of rain, or snow.
so in the end, paying 15k plus still needing to use the power company to supplement power during those times, I do not see any savings in the next two years, but if builders start building homes with the solar systems installed already, which will save homeowners a few thousand. plus 10 years from now the solar panels should go down in price. I would guess then, solar power would be cost effective around 2020-2025.
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just my two cents

By: Jesusiree

Jesusiree — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:57:59 +0000

Probably not in the next year or two unless there are government rebates and incentives. There are leading Australian scientists that are working on printing solar cells with an ink jet printer to make low efficiency but very cheap solar cells.
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By: Charlie J

Charlie J — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:39:59 +0000

My elementary school teacher told me that another school’s electricity is supported by solar energy, entirely, and it’s for free.
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By: Roky S

Roky S — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:07:59 +0000

get info ; open the third & sixth link on: http://www.green-living-info.co.cc
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By: Ned

Ned — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 17:52:59 +0000

Difficult to expect given the fact that solar power technologies are based on very expensive materials, and are still not efficient enough…
http://renewableenergyarticles.blogspot.com/2009/11/solar-energy.html
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http://renewableenergyarticles.blogspot.com/

By: sculpin

sculpin — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 17:19:59 +0000

No. The best places to harness solar power (the desert) have no power grid in them. To transmit the captured power we would have to build an entire supplemental power grid and integrate it with the existing one. That’s just one of the problems in developing a solar power system.
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By: Chirag

Chirag — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:30:59 +0000

it has started in some of the areas and sure within some years it will be used
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By: Jeevan

Jeevan — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:58:59 +0000

The answer depends on all the following factors!
1) The setting up off solar power plants is damn costly!
2) Storage of the energy during the day time and utilising it for the night is another problem!
3) Once set-up, there wouldn’t be any expense on em except for yearly maintance.
4) keeping in mind, all of these things, if the government’s provide some subsidies, and encourage such practice’s, it would be grate.
And ya, please refer to "Carbon Trades" on how the govt’s are trying to make it cost effective!
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By: Justin McCrory

Justin McCrory — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:15:59 +0000

Solar energy is definitely an alternative to wasteful and harmful burning of fossil fuels. Now I will admit solar panels used to produce energy is a bit costly but in the long run it pays for itself by cutting your energy bill dowm drastically
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my mind and knowledge