PV Gap

Brittany Said:

Three part survey -- please only honest answers?

We Answered:

1. yes
2.No. because we already did it 3 years ago. Husband is at this moment working on a new wind generator design.
3. I currently pay nothing, would be happy to install more panels if you will pay me to install them!

Methinks your questions did not cover the situation of existing solar users!
Further comment : our system only just works for us, with minimal household electricity use and living in sunny South Australia. In winter we need to boost power with a petrol generator maybe a couple of times a week.(Not environmentally friendly I know, but better than using candles for lighting!) We use gas for water heating, for the fridge and all cooking, electricity runs lights, TV, computer. Heating is wood stove, the wood comes from our own property, which is big enough to provide enough to keep us in comfort, while still growing more trees and slowly revegetating. In a cloudier/colder/higher latitude area there would be little benefit in winter to a householder even if the house was plastered with panels. In summer it would work for most people. A good system is to have panels, but remain linked to mains for emergency backup, and get refunded by the power company for the power you put back into the system.

Janet Said:

How can I find some discussion groups about building an energy efficient home ?

We Answered:

HGTV has one, centered around their Green Home"

http://boards.hgtv.com/eve/forums/a/frm/…

The only other suggestion I have is to google energy efficient home forum and see what you get.

Patsy Said:

Are PV cells heavy? or do they need maintenance? or are they fragile?

We Answered:

Actual PC Cells are wafer thin and very very brittle. What PV manufacturers do is they sandwich then in glass and then put the glass in a frame and the glass they use is pretty strong and will not break from standdard wear and tear, hail, baseballs etc..

There is also thin film solar PV which are basically printed on a flexible sheet which would work much better in the applications you are referring to.

Just a side note about the airplane idea. the amount of electricity generated from the top and wing span of an air place would be 1% of the power needed to make a flight. Electric passenger air planes will never work, the plane would be way to heavy with all of the required batteries.