PV Gap

Larry Said:

Do you have solar panels on your house roof ?

We Answered:

We have applied for them because we are trying to be more environmental, but savings (and in some cases, making) money is few and far between. With our bills and such (and the cost of the equipment), it will take us 8 years to pay off the system... and then we will still also pay monthly to the utility company! We understand that the panels do not last forever and our roof also needs to be replaced. The government gives back toward your taxes, for certain sized units, but it is not significant enough to pay for the entire system! So, if you want to be environmental, it's a good investment. If you want to make money... invest in the market!

Dean Said:

regulating solar power in my laptop?

We Answered:

There is a thing called a Maximum Power Point Tracker, a circuit designed to run the solar panel at its most efficient point. Unfortunately, such a circuit takes power itself to run, and the overhead is generally not worth it until a solar array reaches a few hundred watts or so.

For a 4W panel, connecting straight to the battery is unlikely to cause any harm. At worst, it simply won't charge the battery well.

Guy Said:

Isn't saying Africa can only have alternative energy supplies (Solar) saying that they can't have any energy?

We Answered:

(Should we tell the brain-dead liberals that solar panels create only DC power? Will that help them to figure out why it would take solar panels the size of a football field to power a single home that requires conversion to AC?)

Africa is every liberal's wet dream for experimental solar power because of the long days and extra sunshine.

What do you think happens when you apply the statistics in Africa to speculation in North America, where cloud cover is a regular phenomenon?

The result is stupid sounding dishonest politicians who have no idea why the free markets in America have never adopted inefficient solar power.