Solar power is the current craze, but like disco, it will be a very short lived craze.
Two varieties of solar power systems exist for the consumer market, neither particularly valuable unless you live where you just cannot hook up to the power grid. It all depends on your climate: if you live at a latitude greater than 54 degrees north or south, solar power is a poor choice.
1. Photovoltaic. These are black germanium arsenide panels, that still take 1-1/2 times the power to construct as they will ever develop in use. They convert photons into DC voltage. A 6" X 6" panel will develop about 4 watts: less than a D cell. Banks of over 2,000 black Ga/As panels are needed to supply your home. Power after dark requires lead/acid storage batteries, unless you opt for the much more expensive and much more toxic Lithium systems. AC motors will not work on DC, you must use gas for cooking and water heating, and expect to wash the panels once a month. The cost to buy the system will require a second mortgage, and will last about twelve years, then buy it all again.
2. Solarthermal. These systems require lots of sun, are extremely complex to install, maintenance is a nightmare, and it is just plain dangerous: to get any steam from the system, which in turn spins a generator and charges your batteries, means that you must heat a coil to at least 900 degrees F, and keep the sun pouring onto a tower that also requires constant cleaning and maintenance.
Either way, the initial outlay can run into six figures, you will save yourself only part of the cost of a reliable power hookup, and contrary to propaganda, these systems are not ever going to pay back their initial cost, unless you live so far away from a power utility that stringing power poles is simply not an option.
One of the things that propagandists will not tell you (until it's too late) is that you will need a propane or gas powered backup generator, that will run you high four figures to purchase and install. Then you must buy the fuel. Diesel systems can run you $7,500.00 to buy and $11,000.00 to hook up the DC system that the solar system will need. No, you can't run DC on AC lines: it will back feed, send the whole system up in smoke, your house, and everyone who is trapped inside with it.
The worst part is that by going solar, you will require by law a licensed electrician to set up and maintain your system. On the grid, you will only pay the setup cost, not maintenance costs: when panels go out, or your steam lines burst, the law says very clearly that you must have a professional do the job. Labor and Industries (electrical inspection) or Building and Safety (other safety issues) can lock your system. It really is a life saver.
Now, to give you the absolute truth that your black panel propagandists don't want you to know, here is where they get the components that they sell you.
www.wwgrainger.com
www.squared.com
www.westinghouse.com
www.ge.com
No one with a human heart could be cold and ruthless enough to sell you the junk that they're selling. Now that you know the truth, the truth has set you free of these predatory junk salesmen.
