June 3, 2008

New Technology Trends in Solar Power

We often get calls from clients interested in solar power but have heard that a new technology is on the way and should they wait. This is very similar to waiting to buying a new computer. The day you buy one it’s obsolete. So what to do?  To help answer this question I thought I would focus on a new type of solar module (panel) that incorporates a new type of solar cell production using Nano Solar.

Imagine a solar panel, thin as a layer of paint that can mold to most any shape. That’s the promise of thin-film solar cells and a company called Nanosolar. The company produces its PowerSheet solar cells with printing-press-style machines that sets-down a layer of solar-absorbing nano-ink onto metal sheets as thin as aluminum foil. This means the panels can be made for about a tenth of what current panels cost and at a rate of several hundred feet per minute. Traditional solar cells require silicon, and silicon is an expensive commodity. Because it’s applied onto glass; it’s fragile and heavy.

According to Nanosolar’s web site their cells use no silicon and Nanosolar has developed a critical mass of engineering advances that profoundly change the cost efficiency and production scalability of solar electricity cells and panels. Shooting for a price point of 0.99 cents a watt the new modules would be the lowest priced photovoltaic on the market well below the current retail price of $4.00 to $7.00 per watt.

In a recent interview appearing on the Nanosolar web site, CEO Martin Rocsheisen said, “As we are about to inaugurate our first commercial manufacturing facility, I wanted to make sure to say a few words early on to set general expectations about how you are and are not going to see our product appear in the market: Our product will be introduced into the market through a very small group of the most distinguished wholesalers. This means that if your local system integrator has not secured any quantities from us, which typically will be the case, the next opportunity is in 2009. We are working hard to expand production as fast as possible and to make our breakthrough panels available to the broadest group possible.”
What this means for the smaller installations (i.e. residential), is that the first 100,000 cells will be shipped to Europe and when this technology will hit the US market is anyone’s guess. Right now, the biggest question for Nanosolar is not if its products can work, but when will smaller installations have an opportunity to use these new modules. So our recommendation is if you’re ready to go solar now, then waiting may not make sense. As these new modules become available to our market we will pass this along through the newsletter.

Websites to Check Out

A great resource and interesting web site that is fairly new is the World Wide Green Directory web site www.worldwidegreendirectory.com  Here you can find a green event in your area, list and find green jobs, buy or sell a green home and find green and organic businesses.
 

Helpful Tips & Stuff We've Learned
Living Off the Grid

Most everyone knows about compact fluorescent bulbs and how they can save money but even these lights get left on when no ones around.

Think about using a timer switch that will shut the lights off after the time runs out or switching your standard light switch to one of the new motion sensor switches. These work great for the kids’ rooms.

Spotlight on New Products

Outback has always been a favorite product line for us due to the high quality, rugged and reliable line of inverters and charge controllers. The MX 60 charge controller has been the staple of our off grid system packages and their newest Power Point Tracking Charge Controller the FLEXmax 80 increases the size of the solar array you can connect to a controller.

The FLEXmax 80 Charge Controller offers an efficient, safe, multi- stage recharging process that prolongs battery life and assures peak performance from a solar array. The FLEXmax 80 also features continuous Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT), which seeks out the maximum power available from a solar array and uses it to recharge the batteries. It has 80 amps maximum continuous output current up to 40° C without thermal derating, It’s engineered to work with 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60VDC battery voltages, step-down capability allowing a higher PV array voltage configuration and manual and auto-equalize cycle.

The following are the maximum recommended wattages for the most common solar arrays:

• 12VDC battery systems—up to 1250 watts of solar panels
• 24VDC battery systems—up to 2500 watts of solar panels
• 36VDC battery systems—up to 3750 watts of solar panels
• 48VDC battery systems—up to 5000 watts of solar panels
• 60VDC battery systems—up to 6250 watts of solar panels

An Off Grid Perspective
Wind power: Can It Work For Me?

Wind power has been harnessed for thousands of years to perform useful tasks for humans. Just look out into any farmer’s field and you’re likely to see an old windmill that was used for pumping water. Today, modern wind turbines efficiently convert the force of moving air into electricity using modern design principles and high-tech materials.

We recently installed a Whisper 100 wind turbine on a 50-foot tower in Susanville, CA. Take a look at the video we made while on location http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_-fiBBtRTI

Most wind turbines have airfoil-type blades that rotate around a horizontal-axis. The blades are designed like the wing of an airplane, creating lift when exposed to the force of the wind, which propels the blades around in a circular motion. There are a few new styles of turbines out there such as the vertical-axis wind turbine where the main rotor shaft is arranged vertically. Key advantages of this arrangement are that the turbine does not need to be pointed into the wind to be effective. This is an advantage on sites where the wind direction is highly variable. The key disadvantage is that this style of turbine is prone to mechanical problems and has yet to prove its long-term reliability in the field. At this point there are no vertical-axis wind turbines on the market that are available for sale and that have proven the capability.

Not every location can support wind power, so you need to ask a few basic questions. The first question is: do I have a good site? Good site selection for a wind generator is extremely important to the performance of the machine. It is the difference between a machine that gives you lots of energy and a system that is basically just a garden sculpture. The ideal location for a wind turbine is 20 feet above any surrounding object within a 250-foot radius. This generally means your property should be at least one acre in size. Many folks ask us if they can mount a wind turbine on their home. the answer is no. All wind turbines will produce vibration that will be transmitted into the homes structure and resonate an audible noise that will drive you crazy.

The second question is: how much wind would my site produce?  The best solution to this question is to put an anemometer (The instrument used to measure wind speed it has four cups which catch the wind and cause the anemometer to spin) up in the exact location where the wind turbine is proposed. A data logger can monitor your wind speed, gusts and temperature for your location. Most folks don’t have the patience for this so another good alternative is to go to the US Department of Energy’s web site and see how your area is rated for wind energy.

www.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/windpoweringamerica/wind_maps.asp

The final decision is to pick a turbine that meets your needs. There are a number of options, but keep in mind the average wind speed in your area of the country and the amount of power you want to produce. We can help you with these choices and guide you to the best choice for you.

Please feel free to make comments and suggestions for upcoming newsletters to farrel@apxsolar.com

Call us toll free 888.782.0706

Sales and Service
Throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico

Apex Solar | San Jose, California USA
408.782.0706 Phone | 408.782.0706 FAX
www.apxsolar.com

If you want off the Apex Solar email news list please send a reply email with unsubscribe in the subject line and you will be automatically removed. If you would prefer to receive this email at another address, please send an email reply with your old email address and your preferred new address.  Thank you.