PV Gap

Jo Said:

What would it take to determine if a particular business model will succeed in a particular location?

We Answered:

hey turingschild,

I think you have a good idea there. I am also interested in solar energy. I just saw a film called "A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash" and agree that oil will soon run out. My interest in energy is purely investment oriented. energy stocks make up the greatest portion of my portfolio. And year-over-year, the energy stocks have outperformed all of my other holdings (including real estate stocks and physical real estate).

In my profession, I get to analyze real estate investments and figure out how the investment will perform in short-term and long-term durations.

My answer to your question is this, analyze all factors leading to the purchase of solar products. You will want to find information about the following:
physical boundaries of your particular location
size of location
population
population growth
employment rate
incomes
disposable incomes
housing costs
busiest retail locations in your particular location
any competition?
where are the hardware stores?
can you open close to a home depot or Lowe's?
will they end up carrying the same products you want to carry?
where can the current population go to purchase solar products?
how is your pricing compared to online stores
what's your marketing and advertising plan?
do you think just having a store open is enough?
can you use the press to get publicity?
can you work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week?


These are variable I try to figure out when I analyze an investment. I also do a sensitivity test by guesstimating the expenses and then increasing all expense items to see what the worst case scenario would be.

Hope that helps.

Tamara Said:

What is a solar cell inverter?

We Answered:

this is an excruciating example

buy a small solar photovoltaic panel from an automotive parts store
they produce about 1W per 25 square inch for a reasonable price
more efficient (more power per surface = more $$)

buy a 12V to cell phone adaptor, probably you have one with your phone

also look here
http://images.google.ca/images?hl=en&um=…

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&um=1&q…


Anita

Shane Said:

I am making a model of a miniature eco friendly city, Please help!?

We Answered:

If you could find a piece of tile, or a clay pot, and it it on the "south wall" of the house. ad take an incandescent light to simulate the sun (incandescent for the heat) this will act as a heat storage wall. (one way to save on heating bills is to have clay/tile floors or walls, with the southern sun directly on it. some walls even can have water capsuls in them. and this takes the sun's heat and retains it for the night.