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Students Show Off Super-Efficient Solar Homes

Posted by timothy on from the hey-it's-breezy-in-here dept.

mmol_6453 writes "An article at voanews.com describes the 'first-ever solar decathalon,' where the students show off effecient solar-powered homes." As a former Airstream resident, tiny efficient homes have a special place in my heart. Anyone in the D.C. area who can get out there and take pictures, links to photos would be much appreciated in comments.

3 of 33 comments (clear)

  1. Um. No. by WolfWithoutAClause · · Score: 3, Interesting
    "Solar energy is global. The people in Japan have the same amount of sunlight as the people in America. It's a very equalizing source of energy. Your neighbor has as much as you. You don't have more than your neighbor, unless [they] have more trees."

    They've clearly never been to Scotland then. If it's raining 'all' the time you genuinely do have less sunlight ;-)

    --

    -WolfWithoutAClause

    "Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"
  2. Re:Solar... Yeah right whoops. by Kevin+Stevens · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well, like I mentioned tax rebates and power company incentives bring it down to that point. Also, in my area the power company will allow you to reverse the meter (thus helping put more power back in the system when they need it most), elminating or at least reducing the need for a large battery system. I forget if you still require an inverter using that system... I forget the details of how the systems work.

  3. Not zero sum. by raygundan · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The idea that solar panels take more energy to manufacture than they produce in their lifetime is not true. It is NOT a zero-sum process. Assuming solar panels require about 40% of the energy they will produce in their lifetime to manufacture, you are getting a 150% return on energy investment.

    Solar panels are certainly energy intensive and dirty to manufacture-- but they get a whole lot cleaner after your first generation:

    1. make panel from energy from fossil fuel
    2. put panel on roof
    3. use energy from panel to make next panel

    This, of course, doesn't remove the need for nasty semiconductor manufacturing chemicals, but there IS a net gain. The system isn't zero-sum because the sun is dumping a whole lot of energy into it. You DO get more out than you put in. 150% more, roughly.

    Whether that's enough to make it worth it financially is a different question altogether.