Is anyone here who is actually using solar panels in the home?

[Sam101]

Hi Guys, how many here are using/plan to use solar panels (either for water heating or photovoltaic) in their homes?
I have used the former, but never the latter (that convert solar energy to electricity), I am told it is not very economical unless the state subsidizes it, what do you think?

[sunsettommy]

Never will use Solar panels,not worth the cost and feeble returns on power.

I have with my new home installed some outdoor window shades to block almost all of the solar light from ENTERING the rooms.It has made a BIG difference! The room stays much cooler now.

Will soon install a SWAMP cooler to replace the use of a heat pump,that will be used only when the outside humidity is much higher,which is rare since I live in a hot dry summer region of Eastern Washington.

It is easy to reduce power consumption with simple adjustments made to the home.Spend far less money in the process.

[Sam101]

Pardon me, but what is a SWAMP cooler?
(BTW the sun shines pretty bright and it seems such a waste if we cannot utilize at least a fraction of a percentage of it for our homes HVAC )

[sunsettommy]

Pardon me, but what is a SWAMP cooler?
(BTW the sun shines pretty bright and it seems such a waste if we cannot utilize at least a fraction of a percentage of it for our homes HVAC )

Here is a link to Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swamp_cooler

Maybe the word evaporative cooler would be better? It is commonly called swamp cooler in my region.It works great in hot dry climates!

HVAC use a lot of power to cool a home.Simple Solar collectors on a home roof would never provide enough to make it work.Plus it cost a lot of money to install it.

If homes were designed for the purpose of avoiding the use of HVAC,then the power consumption would radically decrease.Unfortunately American home building designs are not configured to take advantage of the many well known principles of low energy consumption to provide a comfortable home environment.

A swamp cooler will cost me around $150 and dirt cheap to operate and maintain.Just chose a window to install it in,add a waterline,plug it in and cooler days are ahead.

[livingwill]

One of the big problems of solar energy it never pays itself back if even minimal interest rate is used.

[sunsettommy]

They CAN use solar energy with NO additional cost,by incorporating it into building designs.

I have been in such homes,that does NOT have any solar panels,but uses solar heating in other ways.

They work but some reason those environmentalists are not pushing the far cheaper and better PASSIVE solar heated home designs.

[livingwill]

True, you can design buildings so they retain more heat.

[sunsettommy]

True, you can design buildings so they retain more heat.

So what is preventing them from doing it?

Surely the "expert" environmentalists can show us the way.

 :

[w.e.n.]

I know some people with solar panels to help heat their home, and they also use a photovoltaic panel to power a fan. The problem with photovoltaic cells is that they will need to be replaced and are expensive. Prices may go down in the future, China's probably going to be on the top of that market.

[LarryOldtimer]

China is producing almost all of the solar cells (larger sizes) as of now.  Producing them requires lots of water, and pollutes the water with toxic metals (what the silicon is "doped" with, lots of which are washed off in the process.  Some lakes in China are really toxic as a result.

[Richard S Courtney]

Friends:

Everybody uses some passive solar for heating because the Sun heats the Earth.  And everybody who has windows uses passive solar for lighting. 

At issue is how passive solar can be used effectively for maximum benefit and minimum cost.  For example, thick walls can absorb heat in the day and release it at night so reducing costs of a building's day-time cooling and night-time heating requirements.  And houses in the Mediterranean area are traditionally painted white because that reduces their ability to absorb solar energy on hot days with resulting reduction to costs of air conditioning.  Also, choosing to have glass windows facing or not facing Sunwards can affect heating/cooling costs of a building.  etc.

But active solar (e.g. for electricity generation) is inefficient and expensive.

None of this is 'rocket science'.

Richard