Hector didn't want to hijack that other thread but I forgot you were at the

[Bill R.]

pv conference in may...Had some pv questions for you
1. Have the prices come down anymore yet?
2. Have the prices gone up due to oil prices affecting manufacturing?
3. Whats the best panel right now as far as bang for the buck..?

I'm thinking about starting small and buying a few panels here and there to try to get into it on a small scale first. Thanks for any info. Any recommendations for converters,panels, system wide things to look out for?

[632 Regal]

pv hmmmm...

[billb]

pv conference in may...Had some pv questions for you
1. Have the prices come down anymore yet?
2. Have the prices gone up due to oil prices affecting manufacturing?
3. Whats the best panel right now as far as bang for the buck..?

I'm thinking about starting small and buying a few panels here and there to try to get into it on a small scale first. Thanks for any info. Any recommendations for converters,panels, system wide things to look out for?

I'm guessing the exposures would be similar to Southern California as here in NC, so PV would work for power generation. Would love to have that setup!

[632 Regal]

sigh...

[Hector]

was focused on solar concentrators. The buzz was all about promoting different solar cell materials to make concentrator systems. This is the 3rd international conference of its kind and it’s building a lot of momentum. Most of this stuff is geared toward utility use. Arizona Public Service has much invested in this technology, and I believe they will (or already) have several tens (perhaps low hundreds) of KW of installed PV that is grid-connected. Pretty exciting!

Flat plate rooftop panel manufacturers are making progress toward reducing PV systems costs. Before subsidies, the cost is currently $6 - $8 per W of a PV generating system. This is total cost, and includes array of modules (optics, receiver and solar cells) and the balance of systems (BOS.) BOS is everything you need to install a PV system such as inverter, wires, support structures, meters, switches, storage components, etc. In some cases BOS can be as high as 50% of the total cost of a PV system, and is one of reasons why PV electricity costs are high. Right now as per this link http://www.solarbuzz.com/ cost of a module is $5.22/W. The cost from BOS is usually another $3/W on average. The other side of the coin is the solar material. Many have been using amorphous silicon but the efficiency for which light is converted to electricity in a module is 10 - 13%. Because of this, many have been using single crystal silicon that is purer than its a-Si counterpart but is a bit more expensive. Despite this, $/W have come down a bit. Sunpower recently unveiled a solar cell that might help bring cost down to $3 - $4 per W, which is what is needed to compete with fossil-burning systems. They didn’t mention any plans for market introduction.

To get the subsidies such as rebates, state and federal (I think federal is now 30%) tax credits, I believe one would need to purchase an eligible PV module from one of these manufacturers. This is based on the California Energy Commission and is similar in other states
http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/cgi-bin/eligible_pvmodules.cgi

Some reputable solar panel manufacturers that I know of are: Sharp, SunPower, Shell Solar, BP and Kyocera. Here’s a site of several PV panel manufacturers that I would seriously consider. http://www.partsonsale.com/products.html

For inverters, Xantrex, Sunnyboy and Outback Power probably have the most reliable inverters. There are others that are just as good but can't remember their names.

Since you are a resourceful man, and if you just want to tinker with a few panels, and do the electrical connections, support mount, inverters… you could buy a few a-Si Sharp panels at this link http://www.bullnet.co.uk/shops/test/siemens.htm. If you bought the 60 W panel at $254.47, then you $/W would be $4.24/W. Actually, this would be kinda fun. If you did connect them, built support mounts and got an inverter, etc and kept track of costs, then you would know how much it cost in $/W to build your system.

Hope this helps, and happy playing in the PV sandbox



pv conference in may...Had some pv questions for you
1. Have the prices come down anymore yet?
2. Have the prices gone up due to oil prices affecting manufacturing?
3. Whats the best panel right now as far as bang for the buck..?

I'm thinking about starting small and buying a few panels here and there to try to get into it on a small scale first. Thanks for any info. Any recommendations for converters,panels, system wide things to look out for?

[632 Regal]

I have 4 4x20 solar panels on my roof for the pool...does that mean I'm certified in this discussion too?