Solar panels?

mani · Nov 20, 2012

I've just signed up for solar panels.

I have no idea what people around the world are doing solar-wise, so I'm asking:

Do you have or would you consider solar power for your house?

swampwitch · Nov 20, 2012

I've been usurped.

mani · Nov 20, 2012

Sorry, SwampWitch.. I though QOTD wasn't organised. I've asked a Mod to remove this thread.

PLEASE IGNORE THIS THREAD EVERYONE.. I MUCKED UP!

swampwitch · Nov 20, 2012

We should keep it - it's a better question than I was going to ask!

I'd love to have solar panels but they wouldn't work on this house. Also, geothermal heating would be awesome.

AbbysMom · Nov 21, 2012

The Lounge is big enough for plenty of questions.

. I've changed the title of this one so it is no longer the question of the day.

rosiemac · Nov 21, 2012

There's companies going around our area offering so many householders the free solar panels, but l'm passing on them because l think they look awful. Plus l often wonder what damage they could cause if we get any high winds?

I've had the cavity of my house insulated for free, because the Government are making power comnpanies pay for it seeing as they won't drop their prices

Winchester · Nov 21, 2012

Yes, we are looking into panels....the big question is Can We Afford Them?.

Our house faces due south; the amount of sunlight we get at the front of our house is amazing.....our front door gets so hot that you can't touch it. We've been kicking the idea of solar panels around for quite a while now, but as usual, we haven't done anything yet.

mani · Dec 25, 2012

Well, I have 10 panels being put in place on the 9th of January. I'm getting a 3KW inverter so I can add up to 6 more panels when I can afford them. Unfortunately my roof doesn't slant in the right direction, so it's costing more to have them doing so.

It's quite exciting! It's so hot here at the moment, but soon I'll be able to run my aircon all day without a concern in the world..

Winchester · Dec 29, 2012

Cool! It won't take long for them to pay for themselves, I would think. It's really a smart idea. A lot of poultry farmers around here are starting to install solar panels on the roofs of their barns. I can imagine that it's quite the high investment, but it's really worth it in the long run. Some of those barns run 40 x 500 feet, so you can imagine the money it takes for them to do solar paneling and there are a few farmers who have built more than one of those barns on their farms.

catapault · Dec 29, 2012

Our house doesn't get quite enough sunlight for a solar electric setup. But we do have two panels for solar hot water. Very happy with it.

My husband used to get irritated in summer when the propane boiler would run to heat water in the tank - not that anyone was using hot water, just that it was cooling off a bit.

It's a transfer system with glycol so no worry about freezing. Uses an 80 gallon tank, transfers heated water to the hot water tank and, in winter, to the heating system water tank. Even in very cold, not too sunny cold winter weather it can serve as a pre-heater so well water at 52 degrees Fahrenheit is somewhat warmed up and boiler doesn't have to work as much.

One thing to consider - our roof was aging so we had it reshingled before the solar panels were installed. You don't want to try and reshingle around the panels

I had been worried about how the panels would stand up to wind. They came through just fine, even after Superstorm Sandy that uprooted 20 trees After the Superstorm: Woodcutting

just mike · Dec 29, 2012

I don't have enough sunshine to have full solar panels. but would consider partial. In particularly the heated garage.

mani · Dec 29, 2012

Catapault said:
Our house doesn't get quite enough sunlight for a solar electric setup. But we do have two panels for solar hot water. Very happy with it.

My husband used to get irritated in summer when the propane boiler would run to heat water in the tank - not that anyone was using hot water, just that it was cooling off a bit.

It's a transfer system with glycol so no worry about freezing. Uses an 80 gallon tank, transfers heated water to the hot water tank and, in winter, to the heating system water tank. Even in very cold, not too sunny cold winter weather it can serve as a pre-heater so well water at 52 degrees Fahrenheit is somewhat warmed up and boiler doesn't have to work as much.

One thing to consider - our roof was aging so we had it reshingled before the solar panels were installed. You don't want to try and reshingle around the panels

I had been worried about how the panels would stand up to wind. They came through just fine, even after Superstorm Sandy that uprooted 20 trees After the Superstorm: Woodcutting

Great wood gathering blog! We don't need it here, but I know the satisfaction of a big woodpile from my childhood in Tasmania. And then the whole process warmed us up a whole lot more as all the splitting was done with an axe. There's something really rewarding about stacking wood, too.

My roof is just tin, and it will last the duration (I hope)! I kept prevaricating about solar as I thought it was a big expense for my basic little old fishing cottage. Then I realised that wasn't the point and that I'm probably going to be here for at least 10 more years, and the fact that my house is so little is a good thing.. 10 panels may even be more than I can ever use, so a lot will be sold back to the grid.

I really feel like things are changing remarkably with climate change and, apart from financial savings, it felt important to do my bit. And we have so much sun here!

missymotus · Dec 29, 2012

Mani said:
soon I'll be able to run my aircon all day without a concern in the world..

And with the ever rising price of electricity here, a/c is becoming out of the reach of many.

Almost all the new houses or estates I see have the panels, government rebate ends tomorrow but I've seen a few companies offering their own rebates past that.

I don't have them, I think my mum was considering it not sure if she has or not.

mani · Dec 29, 2012

missymotus said:
And with the ever rising price of electricity here, a/c is becoming out of the reach of many.

Almost all the new houses or estates I see have the panels, government rebate ends tomorrow but I've seen a few companies offering their own rebates past that.

I don't have them, I think my mum was considering it not sure if she has or not.

Yes, I got in just before the rebate ended, but I have a feeling the prices were inflated when the rebate came in. I don't think prices can go down to rebate ones, but they won't be what they were.

I find reverse air con is the most cost effective way to heat, but then we don't need a lot of heating here.. just at night for a couple of months.

My last power bill was up by a third last time. What about down in SA?

missymotus · Dec 29, 2012

I have a fireplace for winter, doesn't need to be used much.

Try not to use the a/c unless it's really hot, but pregnant cats sometimes demand it

My import girl is especially heat sensitive though she's been here a year.

My bills also up about a third, though the official rate is 18%.

mani · Dec 29, 2012

missymotus said:
I have a fireplace for winter, doesn't need to be used much.

Try not to use the a/c unless it's really hot, but pregnant cats sometimes demand it

My import girl is especially heat sensitive though she's been here a year.

My bills also up about a third, though the official rate is 18%.

Yes, mine are really feeling the heat, especially Sundar.. he's such a big boofy boy! I guess the Russian's coat is really not made for the sub-tropics.

maraozza · Dec 29, 2012

Our house in Greece has solar panels for water heating. About 80% of households there are using solar power for water and house heating. It's very effective and was used from 90's.

mani · Dec 29, 2012

MaraOzza said:
Our house in Greece has solar panels for water heating. About 80% of households there are using solar power for water and house heating. It's very effective and was used from 90's.

That's really interesting, MaraOzza. And makes a lot of sense in a land of sunshine!

mani · Jan 8, 2013

YAY!

I have panels... it's 37 degrees celcius (about 99 degrees F) so I'm running the air-conditioning, plus the computer and doing a load of washing, and I'm not using any energy off the grid!!

AbbysMom · Jan 9, 2013

Oh that's great! :clap:

It's still not common here to install them, although some businesses are starting to use them.

Solar panels?

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