RePete
Well-Known Member
I wanted to install solar panels last year. But, we have some big trees. A guy came out, put up his light meter, and said "don't bother". It was a dissappointment. I may get another opinion.
when do we get electric trucks that dont like a ****ing mars rover?
I mean seriously. WTF
As a guy who just retired from 40 years in the oilfields I assure you there will always be petroleum based fuels, but it will not always be affordable. Somebody will maintain a small niche refinery for those people who refuse to give up their stinky, nasty internal combustion powered vehicles. But the cost will be enormous. When it will happen I can't know, but it will.fossil fuel is a made up name. They've been telling us for around 50yrs now that its non sustainable and we're gonna run out. funny how we've never run out! even with increased usage in those last 50 or so years.
I'm referring to the efficiency of power produced by the panel in relation to typical home application. I'm aware there are PV cells that are capable of double the best monocrystalline cells on the market for use in aerospace. However a panel that loses 0.8 efficancy per annum is banking on power rates to rise significantly over the next decade+. As I stated earlier, unfortunatley for my home due to position and surrounding trees my ROI would be well into 15 years even with the exorbitant rates I'm currently paying. Granted if they keep rising as they have been, solar + battery bank is going to start looking really good soon.What sort or spectrum of efficiency are you citing?
Efficiency of the panel does factor. If you buy a low efficiency panel to begin with, the ability of that panel to produce energy in 10-15 years will be a fair amount more impacted than a higher quality panel, but there is the tradeoff of upfront costThe efficiency of the panels isn't really a factor, only the cost per watt. Who cares if they have to put on an extra panel if it's cheap?
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I'm referring to the efficiency of power produced by the panel in relation to typical home application. I'm aware there are PV cells that are capable of double the best monocrystalline cells on the market for use in aerospace. However a panel that loses 0.8 efficancy per annum is banking on power rates to rise significantly over the next decade+.
So I started this reply on my home PC awhile ago and our local utility shut the power down to 200k people in rolling blackouts across Northern California. Since its dusk, solar would not have helped unless we had a way to store power. 20kw gen may might be ordered soon
Maybe some wind turbines would have helped?
Tempted to see how long I can run 2 refrigerators on an 8kw Prius battery.I've also heard that electric car batteries that are no longer road-worthy can find new life as home power storage.
Tempted to see how long I can run 2 refrigerators on an 8kw Prius battery.
If only there was the slightest breeze right now.
Tempted to see how long I can run 2 refrigerators on an 8kw Prius battery.
Zombie apocalypse.. no problem.
I'm certainly no expert in solar panels, but my understanding is if you start off with a panel that has a higher efficiency you'll have less degradation over time. This website does a much better job of explaining losses. Basic gist of it is, in 20-25 years, a 5kW system will only produce 20% of it's original capacity...so 4kW. This is assuming your doing annual maintenance on your panels like washing, checking for damage etc. Still....4kW is better than nothing. After taking a look around at panel efficiency and losses again..it appears many of the numbers look better than they did a few years ago. It was assumed most panels lost about 1% a year. Now it's closer to 0.5-0.8% for many manufacturers. Sweet! Might be time to look at the numbers again.Huh? I'm neither an electrician nor an engineer. I'm afraid I need it dumbed down a bit further.
Thats one hell of a system Bilsch. I think the LiFePo4 banks in that range are an extra $12-14k. Montana is no stranger to inclement weather. How does your system fair in the winter time?Just to give you an idea what is possible, my fridge draws an average of 1.6 kwh/day and the chest freezer an additional 0.6 and I have a 12 kwh LiFePo4 battery bank installed. So these appliances could run about 5.4 days before the batteries need some juice. But with a solar charge controller installed, I only need to make it to the next sunny day. Zombie apocalypse.. no problem.
My father used to work for a large SoCal power company as a transmission lineman. In fact many high tension power lines that cross the 5 fwy in southern california as well as palm springs and the high desert area were put up by him and his crews. That said..I grew up around that industry and worked in it myself for awhile but have little knowledge of wind farms in general. I'd be curious for a more detailed explanation from someone in the industry as well. I do know that geography and altitude play an important part in where wind farms are set up and how their outputs are calculated. Often times if the wind is blowing hard and you see the turbines not moving, it's a protection mechanism to keep them from spinning apart. Other times it's to try and balance out the demand on the grid. Too much electricity produced is almost as bad as not enough.I think it gets windier as altitude increases. Turbines are puzzling to someone like me who hasn't studied how exactly they work. Back when I lived near some wind farms (over a decade ago) I've been out running errands, noticed a serious lack of breeze, but on the way back I'd drive by a turbine and it was moving at a good pace. I've also noticed that they sometimes didn't run at all when it was very windy. It's something I'd like to discuss with someone who works on turbines.
Thats one hell of a system Bilsch. I think the LiFePo4 banks in that range are an extra $12-14k. Montana is no stranger to inclement weather. How does your system fair in the winter time?
Agreed. Very nice looking car. Most the start-up ev companies are producing nice looking cars and trucks- Rivian, Tesla, Bollinger etc. It’s as if they’re not hampered by previous models and since they are producing a whole new vehicle, they can be more creative.https://www.caranddriver.com/news/amp33564444/lucid-air-517-mile-range-ev/
Was unaware of this company. Thats a good looking vehicle though. 500 miles is roughly Sacramento to northern San Diego. That would be impressive.
Agreed. Very nice looking car. Most the start-up ev companies are producing nice looking cars and trucks- Rivian, Tesla, Bollinger etc. It’s as if they’re not hampered by previous models and since they are producing a whole new vehicle, they can be more creative.
Non-Compete's aren't enforceable in California. Nearly every EV company has recruited Tesla engineers.Kind of weird, that Lucid link says that it was started by a former Tesla engineer. You'd think Elon would've made him sign a non-compete.
Ran across an article from a month ago about tesla filing a lawsuit against Rivian for stealing “talent and trade secrets“.Kind of weird, that Lucid link says that it was started by a former Tesla engineer. You'd think Elon would've made him sign a non-compete.
They can't do anything about the talent, but it sounds like they have proof that some of those leaving copied big chucks of their data right before they left. That's theft. If they can prove that Rivian requested it, that's the same as doing the theft themselves.Ran across an article from a month ago about tesla filing a lawsuit against Rivian for stealing “talent and trade secrets“.
Anyone else think the front end of the Rivian looks like it was designed to be picked up with a forklift? I think its the fog lights,
Imagine the off-road potential that truck has! There’s quite a few Jeep owners who have dumped a lot more money modifying their rigs than what a Rivian will cost.Yea it does have an odd look to the front end but who cares when you can do Tank Turns!
Imagine the off-road potential that truck has! There’s quite a few Jeep owners who have dumped a lot more money modifying their rigs than what a Rivian will cost.
Under $5K, 50 mile range.Hopefully this will be a friendly amendment to the op’s original question.
For those of us who have not purchased an ev, under what conditions will you make the plunge?
seriously? Sarcasm is often lost...Under $5K, 50 mile range.
No sarcasm. It doesn't have to be pretty, just get me to work on time. I actually tend to prefer a little ugly. People aren't as likely to make car slam on their brakes if it has a few dents already. I don't like car payments so I only buy what I can afford to pay cash for. Most I have ever paid was $3,250 so far. That car has lasted me 11 years so far so I consider it a good buy, but far from my best.seriously? Sarcasm is often lost...
look at used Nissan Leafs. Maybe just north of 5k but the range is more than 50 miles. Won't win any beauty contests though.Under $5K, 50 mile range.
I've actually been considering this Leaf but there are a lot of reports online that batteries from that year are failing - some are down to 20-30 mile range. I'm probably stuck waiting at least 5 years before the ones with better batteries are in my price range.look at used Nissan Leafs. Maybe just north of 5k but the range is more than 50 miles. Won't win any beauty contests though.