Mother Earth News

[DUD]

I don't know if there are many readers here of this magazine, but I read it at the library. I find some good articles in it.

In the December/January 2007 issue is an article about Solar Heating. This Man in Montana builds one on the South side of His garage. He says it raises the temperature 35 degrees. Good Reading, Bill

[Richard in Smithville]

I installed a solar clothes dryer for loml. We're the talk of the neighbourhood.
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Now everyone wants their own clothes line

[MilDoc]

Give it a few more years and solsr electricity will be a reality. Read where there are new panels in the development stage that far exceed the efficiency of the ones available now.

[LCHIEN]

Give it a few more years and solsr electricity will be a reality. Read where there are new panels in the development stage that far exceed the efficiency of the ones available now.

There's always people claiming to be developing new breakthrough technology - mostly people working on it that want to raise more money to keep working.

Actual breakthroughs are unfortunately much more difficult.

The efficiency of solar panels has been for many years stuck at around 20% - in other words 100 watts of solar energy striking the panel would generate about 20 watts of electrical output.

Another problem is aiming the panels. In order to get the maximum energy applied to the panels the sunlight has to be incident to the panels at 90 degrees... straight overhead. Otherwise the panels have to be adjusted for off angle... both varying with latitude, date in the year, and time of day. If left in the best possible fixed position then the net efficiency will be only 5-10%. If its on a car, the net efficiency will be even lower since the car will be turning every which way. Mechanisms to have the solar panels track the sun will be both bulky and expensive.

So I don't think we'll see a great revolution in solar panel power anytime soon.

[LinuxRandal]

There's always people claiming to be developing new breakthrough technology - mostly people working on it that want to raise more money to keep working.

Actual breakthroughs are unfortunately much more difficult.


So I don't think we'll see a great revolution in solar panel power anytime soon.

Breakthroughs generally don't occur, if the technollogy isn't being used. And while I agree I doubt anything will happen soon, there are flat and generally not good for anything, area's of the US (thinking western KS as an example), where I would like to see testing fields. They could be used for developing, while supplying even a little boost of energy, directly into the powergrid. As long as we are dependent on ANY ONE SOURCE (oil, nuclear, even solar) there are both natural, and sociopolitical events that could change the dynamic of our use.
We need to be smarter then that.