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Film Turns Windows Into Solar Panels
itwbennett writes "At the Ceatec electronics conference in Japan this week, 3M is showing film that turns windows into solar panels. Although the product only generates about 20% of the electricity of a traditional solar panel, it will cost about half as much, is much easier to install, and takes up no additional space. 'An average person could go to the store, buy some of this, and then bring it home and install it themselves,' said Yasuhiro Aoyagi, a senior manager in the company's construction markets division."
Normal solar panel takes 10-15 years to pay for itself. If it only produces 20% of a normal panel it won't be worth it unless it costs about 20% of a normal panel
The numbers are going to vary depending on how much grid electricity costs where you are, how much electricity you use, how much sun you get, which panels you use, how much 12V DC stuff you run, how much you run through an inverter and which inverter you have. I probably left a few things out - batteries for one thing but not all installations have them.
Since reality is so hard to pin down you have to ask yourself where the confidence of the above post comes from. Is it ignorance and just parroting some specific case? Or is some petty little agenda being pushed to put those greasy engineers and smelly hippies in their place as mere consumers instead of rocking the boat? Either way the above poster IMHO deserves contempt.
Two decades ago some solar panels in the right place paid for themselves on installation if they cost less than getting a line in from the grid. It's not just about being green.