Do you think it's a good idea to locate solar panels on buildings in order to increase energy independence?

Question

California has a million roofs inititive should other states and countries do the same thing? I've come across this video and I was just wondering if people from california and every other state think it's actually a good idea to do things like this?

http://www.eispv.com/google_video.html

Answer 1

The problem with solar photovoltaic cells is that they are a very expensive way to produce energy.

The California law requires utilities to pay a subsidy to people who put solar photovoltaic panels on their homes.

All utility rate payers are required to pay extra for the electricity the receive to pay the subsidies to people who are wealthy enough to own their own homes and install solar photovoltaic cells.

This hit the poor, particularly renters very hard.

Already electricity is very expensive. Now the poor must pay even more to subsidize wealthy homeowners for what is essentially a status symbol of the wealthy.

Answer 2

I live in California and I absolutely think it's a good idea to use solar panels if you can afford them. They will eventually pay for themselves - sooner rather than later if you consistently have a high utility bill. The problem for people that I know personally is affording them to begin with. They are very costly at this time. Hopefully, that price tag will come down in the near future. The statement by Allen saying that you have to have a generator on stand-by in case a cloud passes over head is completely false. A friend of mine has had solar panels on his roof for years for the sole purpose of heating the water in his home. He has never been without hot water and lives near San Francisco - always foggy. My grandparents had solar panels on their roof just for heating the pool in the back yard. We swam year round - they also lived near San Francisco. If more of us had solar as an option for electricity, we could be plugged into the power grid and sell our excess back making it possible for lower energy prices for those who cannot have solar panels (because there would be less reliance on fossil fuels and their fluctuating prices).

Answer 3

Sort of. I like the idea of solar panels on buildings like warehouses and large expansive roofs such as strip malls and large box stores. But it's for an economic reason. That's a huge open expanse of open sky that collects energy. If it's just a roof, it collects and holds the heat and requires AC to cool the building. If it's turned into a solar farm, you have a couple acres of concentrated solar collectors that offer an economy of scale that's impossible for a residential home to provide.

As for being green, they are a lousy idea. The chemicals that make them are horrible and you have to have normal electric generators on standby ready to take over if a cloud passes over head, which means you end up with cheaper to build and maintain gas,coal plants.

If you want green, go nuclear, the thing sits there without kicking out smog, it's ready to gear up or down fairly quickly, and the fuel doesn't have to be trucked in constantly.

Answer 4

Yes

Answer 5

Yes

Answer 6

Homemade Solar Power Videos : http://Solar.eudko.com/?aUI

Answer 7

Another common thing in warm climates is to paint roofs white ... this reflects heat and lowers the air conditioning demand.

Answer 8

That's one option. Another would be to grow energy producing crops on your roof. That might actually be more efficient.