Solar Tips
I'm not a solar pro, or even a fan, but my friend asked about solar power generation. He's got it in his head to get a PV array to save money and maybe make money.
LOLZ.
Here's what I told him:
- First, reduce energy consumption by conserving power.
- Second, solar water heating pays back faster than solar electricity. Get that first.
- Third, before getting a solar array, see what appliances can be replaced with DC-power equivalents, or natural gas powered equivalents, and what they cost. Plan the PV purchase around these upgrades. You lose energy when DC is converted to AC (and then back to DC in the electronic appliance).
- Fourth, get the panels in, and start buying the upgrades.
We're talking a 5-10 year plan, realistically, given the high cost of PV.
Here are some cool links:
DC to DC computer power supplies
Jetway makes tiny mainboards based around the low-power VIA processors.
Used solar panels links.
Let's do a little math on what a solar pc rig might cost. $200 for the power supply, $200 for mobo cpu hard drive and case, $570 for the Sun-190 B-grade, $200 for a new lcd monitor with a DC barrel plug (gotta find one that runs at 12V), a charge regulator $85, and some batteries $270. $1525 for your "forever PC". A computer costs around $75 a year to run (at 14c/kwh and around 200 watts), or $150 if you're a real hard-core geek (less idle time :-). So, if you compute on the machine for 10 years, you're going to break even.
The real break-even comes sooner, however, because you have to deduct the cost of a regular AC computer - $500. So, let's say it's $1025 or around 7 years. Not too bad. The panels and batteries will outlast, and you can upgrade the mobo in 5 years to keep up with technology.