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*Sigh*

And where do solar panels come from? They don't fall from the sky.

to mine the minerals that go into the mass production of solar panels you must burn fuel that was pumped from the Earth and transported via some method burning fuel. The risk of oil spills is great. Once that crude has made it to the refinery it's refined and the waste gas burned. From the refinery is a number of things the mining equipment needs like Oil, hydraulic fluid, Diesel etc. These things are consumed as machinery ( More mining, manufacturing, shipping to produce these ) decimates large tracts of land destroying the environment that lay in the path of the minerals for our solar panels.

There's already full articles on this:
http://news.nationalgeographic...

But once the Panels have broken, malfunctioned or otherwise need to be disposed of they create a toxic mess for landfills to try to contain which is another problem altogether.

But lets also consider the real estate they consume to produce electricity under only ideal conditions.
http://store.sundancesolar.com...

You really need to start thinking these things through. Take a business class that covers 'true cost of operation' and apply that math to environmental gains in technology. Offsetting a little air quality in favor of decimating the environment and ecology in other nations is a dick move.

I have barely scratched the surface but my goal is more to give you a new direction to think.

You May Say I'm a Dreamer But I'm Not the Only One

Clearly you haven't met my neighbor yet.

You also haven't met the douchebag College Painters who were hired by the former owner of my house. They used Montgomery Ward's cheapest latex over walls that had been done with oil-based paint. No, they don't know what "primer" is.

Getting back OT, the big thing missing from the analysis is labor. The guy isn't unskilled, so using minimum wage isn't appropriate. Let's say that his labor rate is $10/hr. He has built several iterations of the panel. If he has spent one 8-hour day building a panel, that's $80. Compare that to the ~$40 in materials he's got. I can buy a framed 20W solar panel from Sundance Solar for $180.

If he spent more than a day building his panel, or if he values his time at more than $10/hr, it's not cost effective to DiY.

Solar power, my friend ;)

-b

http://store.sundancesolar.com/minsolpan45v.html

The people who REALLY MUST have their laptop work, like the US Special Forces, use these.

You'll also want a travel charger/solar backpack like this.

Googling says you can acquire a 32 amp hour, 12v sealed lead acid battery: http://store.sundancesolar.com/12vol33amsea.html Or, 384 watt-hours, if you prefer. Which'd run an 4 energy efficient 11W lights overnight, just about. But you can forget about having a hot shower, or a cup of coffee :)

Many RV folks have decided to use solar power to supplement the gas/diesel gensets found in their rigs. There's a market supplying these folks. Kits for RVs and cabins exist already, and probably will do what you're asking. Size your equipment properly, and run directly off the batteries if you can - every voltage conversion is lossy. Here's a nice selection of RV and cabin setups, complete with prices.

$9K? How about the Air-X Wind Turbine for $575? Even with a mast, wiring, batteries, current-flow regulator, you should be comfortably under $2K.

One of the examples is the Power Film version, which allows the charging of 12v batteries for cars, or other forms of storage, which can then power other items for short periods of time. (Didn't spend a lot of time searching) There are higher end versions that can continuously power items, but lower end ones at least give periodic use of items and allow for the recharging of emergency items. While it may not be full power all the time, in an emergency something is better than nothing. Personally we use a full size panel (which is a bit more expensive but pays for itself over time) to supplement power, and the local power co. has a buy back plan. Like I said, this small version has its limitations, but power is better than no power.

If you want to experiment, here are LED lightbulbs that screw into regular sockets. There are lots of other companies offering them (this was just the first link that came up in Google). Smarthome.com offers them, too.

12-volt DC ONLY!

You might know that DC is "more efficient" on short range power transmission than AC...

You might also have heard that people having solar panel mostly use low-energy appliances, which happen to run @ 12V DC...

here is what I find when googling "12V DC energy savings"

CET: New Energy Saving Efficient Products & Appliances - [ Traduire cette page ] ... New Energy Saving Efficient Products & Appliances, ... Mini DC Refrigerator: Low energy
consumption; 1.8 cubic feet interior volume; ... Outdoor Wall Lantern- 12 volt DC. ...
http://www.cetsolar.com/newprod.htm - 31k - 2 mar 2005 - En cache - Pages similaires

CET: The Largest Alternative Energy Dealer in the Northeast - [ Traduire cette page ] ... solar charger can charge other 12 volt powered devices ... cellular phone with a DC charging
cord ... Instant Outdoor Tree Decorating; Energy Saving LED Lighting Unit; ...
http://www.cetsolar.com/ - 37k - 2 mar 2005 - En cache - Pages similaires
[ Autres résultats, domaine www.cetsolar.com ]

Our best 12 Volt DC Compact Fluorescent Bulb Uses 80% less energy ... - [ Traduire cette page ]
12 Volt DC 11 Watt Compact Fluorescent Bulb This is the best in compact fluorescent
DC lighting. The Solsum Energy Saving Lamp has the light output equal to a ...
http://store.sundancesolar.com/12voldc11wat.html - 23k - En cache - Pages similaires

Ballast 12 Volts and 24 Volts DC Electronic ballast, energy saving ... - [ Traduire cette page ] ... We have 12 V, 24 V and 48 volts DC Ballasts: Energy efficient, long life, solid
state electronic 12 VDC ballast, for ... 24 volt models are also available. ...
http://www.oksolar.com/lighting/ballast/ - 39k - En cache - Pages similaires

Light bulbs 12 Volts and 24 Volts DC, Compact Fluorescent Light ... - [ Traduire cette page ] ... The Energy Saving Lamp is a 12 V compact fluorescent bulb with a light output
equivalent to a 60 watt incandescent bulb. ... Voltage 12 Volts DC. ...
http://www.oksolar.com/lighting/light_bulbs.htm - 99k - En cache - Pages similaires
[ Autres résultats, domaine www.oksolar.com ]

12 Volt Aquanet Sprinkler Valves - [ Traduire cette page ] ... Features/Benefits Energy-saving, Clog-proof - Dirty water DC Valves. ... with any 9 to
14 Volt DC Pulse Signal ... to Aquanet wire run lengths: -12 gauge = 3,150' -14 ...
http://www.mrdrip.com/12voltvalves.htm - 94k - En cache - Pages similaires

Energy Efficient Lighting - Diversified Power & Engineering - [ Traduire cette page ] ... power outages or areas where AC power is unavailable. Price Qty Order US
$19.95. More Details Energy Saving 110 Volt AC US $8.95, ...
http://divpower.com/sub-category.asp?CatalogVar=0& cID=1 - 44k - En cache - Pages similaires

Low Voltage Lights - 12 or 24v dc - [ Traduire cette page ] ... Both types are suitable for use in a wide range of applications: Solar & Wind Energy
Systems. Boats. ... 12 or 24 volt DC models. Low Current Consumption. ...

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