The ugly side of solar panels.

[Learjet]

Do you want to go "green" and feel all warm and fuzzy that you are saving the planet by using solar panels? Think again...

"New research shows, albeit unintentional, that generating electricity with solar panels can also be a very bad idea. In some cases, producing electricity by solar panels releases more greenhouse gases than producing electricity by gas or even coal."

[Joey]

Do you want to go "green" and feel all warm and fuzzy that you are saving the planet by using solar panels? Think again...

"New research shows, albeit unintentional, that generating electricity with solar panels can also be a very bad idea. In some cases, producing electricity by solar panels releases more greenhouse gases than producing electricity by gas or even coal."

Don't you just love these stories ,, anyone stupid enough to believe having solar is going to have any positive effect on the climate needs medication!
The very last thing on my mind when going solar was that it was good for the climate phffft , the only green involved in my decision was the money I handed over to purchase them.

It wouldn't bother me a bit if Solar panel produced 75 tons of CO per day!

Some twits will jump on the solar panels are bad for the planet bandwagon , but they will all be people to stingy to install them.

[Learjet]

I agree. I think the main two reasons to have them are for saving in $$$ off grid power and the other is to have power off grid in case of power outages or where grid power is not available. But save the planet... no.

[skozzy]

How much power produced at a power station goes to waste ?. If it's not used right now where does the excess go ?. Some top secret government underground base full of batteries.. LOL.. I recon more power is wasted (produced by coal or not) then every home solar system combined. Having home solar is only saving the owner a few bucks, not doing a lot for the planet. Although the theory is good.

[goodchris]

I agree. I think the main two reasons to have them are for saving in $$$ off grid power and the other is to have power off grid in case of power outages or where grid power is not available. But save the planet... no.

I don't believe you can have power off grid on a standard install? Most generally switch off the solar panels when no power is detected...

[Bluedog]

Hi Goodchris, you are right, there is no power when the grid is off for a Very good reason.
When the dc-ac converter senses there is no mains to synchronise to it shuts off. This is to prevent your system trying to energise your area and go into overload, also it prevents electricians working on poles and lines getting killed by someones home solar setup energising lines that are surposed to be offline.

If you want offline power then go offgrid and buy batteries and an inverter to suppliment your solar array.
We havent paid an electricity bill in 11 years and never have blackouts.
cheers from the bush

[Learjet]

I don't believe you can have power off grid on a standard install?

That's right, not on a standard install.

Joey in one of his earlier posts in another thread mentions of one particular inverter and battery bank system that when the batteries are fully charged, the excess from the solar panels then goes back into the grid. So you can have your cake and eat it too. But... I don't think hybrid systems like this qualify for any subsidy. You have to fund it yourself.

My install is a "hobby install" where I have grid power but also Solar and battery banks which mainly run 12V stuff like lights, radios, misc electronic gear, laptops or whatever else I can find to run off 12V. Everything except high power usage items like stoves, heaters and air conditioners.

Not to mention that they tend to increase their awareness of power consumption and change their habits to reduce use overall.

We sure do, especially on a run of dark cloudy days. But then I have the option to "cheat" by going back to grid power, unlike Bluedog.

[Joey]

That's right, not on a standard install.

Joey in one of his earlier posts in another thread mentions of one particular inverter and battery bank system that when the batteries are fully charged, the excess from the solar panels then goes back into the grid. So you can have your cake and eat it too. But... I don't think hybrid systems like this qualify for any subsidy. You have to fund it yourself.

My install is a "hobby install" where I have grid power but also Solar and battery banks which mainly run 12V stuff like lights, radios, misc electronic gear, laptops or whatever else I can find to run off 12V. Everything except high power usage items like stoves, heaters and air conditioners.



We sure do, especially on a run of dark cloudy days. But then I have the option to "cheat" by going back to grid power, unlike Bluedog.

Yeah that's right we still have normal power when the grid goes down ,I get an email from the system when there is a blackout otherwise it's undetectable ( unless the neighbors suddenly appear ) , the Solar part of the system is still covered as normal by the subsidy but the entire backup system is self funded.
It would cost as much to setup this backup system as self funding a new 5KW system.

What Learjet has makes a lot more sense for most people than a full blown backup system.

I think Bluedog will have a generator in the system for long term outages , cloudy days etc , Gensets are a standalone users grid .

[allover]

Off topic, if i had a bank of batteries could i power my house of 2 adults and 2 teenagers, and what life span could i expect and could i continue a life style as we do off the grid

[gordon_s1942]

Power Stations dont generate XXX million watts per hour 24/7 but reduce their output by taking both the generator and boiler off line at times of low useage.
When I was on nightshift about a mile from the Power Stations at Wallerawang you could hear after 2 am or so the boilers starting to come on line getting ready for the morning Peak load in Sydney and by noon they began to 'run down' as evening peak back then wasnt as heavy as the AM peak I was told.
No doubt they had Resistor Banks to dump any sudden overload production but the operators told me that was a big No-No as they were expected to avoid that by controlling the system.

[beer4life]

Power Stations dont generate XXX million watts per hour 24/7 but reduce their output by taking both the generator and boiler off line at times of low useage.
When I was on nightshift about a mile from the Power Stations at Wallerawang you could hear after 2 am or so the boilers starting to come on line getting ready for the morning Peak load in Sydney and by noon they began to 'run down' as evening peak back then wasnt as heavy as the AM peak I was told.
No doubt they had Resistor Banks to dump any sudden overload production but the operators told me that was a big No-No as they were expected to avoid that by controlling the system.

G'Day Cobber,
Yes that is part of the answer.
Pump Storage is one of the primary features of the Snowy Hydro.
Any excess power on the grid is absorbed by pumping water to a higher level Dam, and is then available for use under peak load conditions to augment extra capacity.
It's like a huge AC Storage Battery.
Forgive the over simplification, but I thought it easier to explain this way.
If you really want to go into the nuts and bolts of this, there is a myriad of information available on the WEB.

Kindest Regards, " The Druid ".

[sulrich]

[COLOR=Blue]G'Day Cobber,
Forgive the over simplification, but I thought it easier to explain this way.
If you really want to go into the nuts and bolts of this, there is a myriad of information available on the WEB.

Very nicely explained sir. Thank you. Goes to show how much forward thinking the project was all those years ago.

[dogsbreath]

The money people tie into their solar panels won't be used for buying plasma TV's and the like which I would expect would have a far greater carbon footprint in manufacture and use. Not to mention that they tend to increase their awareness of power consumption and change their habits to reduce use overall.