Cheap Solar is alway awesome but is there any info on the cost savings verses a compeable tradisonal panels?Cheap solar is always awesome but is there any info on the cost savings verses a comparable traditional solar panels?

The Heliotubes are said to be 177Watt
v.s.
Sharp 170watt is about $742.90 right now at about $4.34 per watt

@ 1-2$/ watt, im buying.

until then, ill let someone else buy.

To my knowledge, electricity from solar is currently expensive. Hot water from solar on the other hand, can be done extremely cheaply. Those sort of devices have popped up all around China in the last few years, partly due to encouragement to do so, most commonly on the rooves of shacks in small towns (as the city-dwellers tend to live in apartment buildings). From my experience, one medium-sized one is good for a daily 20-minute scorching hot shower (if you like) in the middle of February, which isn't too bad. I'm sure they could make them bigger or buy two, but they seem to be satisfied with the amount.

gotta love that $3?Watt (up here in canada it's a total; of "$9/watt installed). WTF? is it a battery? when i pay (in the US) $300 for a 100Watt PV Panel, is it really $3/W? does it have to be thrown out liek a Duracell when it's done? or does this thing give me 300 watts for the 8 hours (ave) of sunlight every day for the whole 20 years of its warranty?

cause for my $300 (for the panel and an other $250 for the inverter, batteries, cables....)I will get 100 watt hours times 8hrs x 365days x 20 years. my math may suck, but that seems like i get 5.84MW over it's lifetime, 30,000 pennies buys me 5,840,000 Watts. is that really $3/Watt?

I know this may be slightly off topic but, has anyone thought about buying some land out west and slowly building a large array of solar panels and selling the energy back to a local/regional power company? Is it cost prohibitive or are there really difficult zoning issues (in the dessert) for doing something like this? Land is fairly cheap in the middle of nowhere. Seems like a decent way to go but, I'm probably missing something.

Lee, your math is almost right, but you're getting a little bit confused between Watts and Watt-hours. If you get 100 Watts for 8 hours a day, you get 800 Watt-hours that day. So, 5.84 MWh (Megawatt-hours) over the 20-year lifespan of the panel. If you can really find and use 100-Watt solar panel for sale for $300, then the cost of the electricity per kWh (kilowatt-hour, what utilities usually bill by) would be $0.051/kWh.

Unfortunately, I don't think that the cost of installing solar electric systems right now is ever as cheap as $3/W. You can get a better price per watt on solar panels than the one Mike cites if you buy in bulk, I'm sure, but the costs of mounting the panels and connecting them to an grid-tied inverter or off-grid battery system will add a few dollars per watt.

The good news is that the price per watt for installing solar electric systems is slowly coming down as all parts of the solar industry strive to reduce their costs for manufacturing and labor.

Isn't the whole point of the Heliotube that it offers sun tracking built right into the panel of roughly the same dimesions as a regular panel. That 170watt static panel is only going to generate the full 170 watts on a bright sunny day and even then for only a small window of time when the sun is overhead. The heliotube should generate it's full power for a much larger time period each day.

Mario, sun tracking is only "half" of the point of the Heliotube. The other "half" is the reduced silicon requirement.

I think the gains from tracking are already factored in. They are spefically listed at 177Weq (watt equivalent). If this panel truly used 177W of solar cells, it would not be listed this way.

They also say, "Lower cost for the same electricity output." That implies it has the same output as a 177W panel, again, meaning tracking gains are already factored into the rating.

Do you really believe that this module is going to last twenty years ? Concentrator technology has been around for 30 years and the modules that have used this technology has never survived for more than 3 to 5 years before failing due to the temperature extremes. Can you say "Carrizo Power Plant ?" If concentrators worked, every manufacturer would be using the technology. Silicon and heat doesn't mix ! Solar modules run off of light not heat. The hotter it gets, the poorer they perform and the shorter the life of the module. Do you really believe that this company will be around in twenty years to back up their warranty ?

If the thermal problem could be solved, concentrators would prevail. Maybe a pv-stirling engine combo is a solution. The stirling engine could be the heat sink for the pv concentrator array. Maybe infrared filtering could be installed to cut down the heating effect. Take a look at the Sunball at this link. I don't know how this device effectively achieves pv thermal protection, but it does.

http://www.hydrogen.asn.au/SolarBall-Solar-Energy.htm

It was supposed to be available starting this past March at about USD$8500.

I have been involved and wind and solar advocation for the past 20 or so years. And do really not think to much of the idea of feeding electricity to a power grid for a home wind or solar electric project. The cosy of the proper inverter would take 10 years or better to recoop, as least if just getting the lowest costs for electricity which is what the utility companies want to pay. So, use it yourself, or sell it to the neighbors for now. You can always look at selling it back to the power company in later years if it becomes profitable. Right now I am designing an inexpensive home for North Datoka that will not be even tied to the power grid, but still have all the good things in modern life. Biggest problems is will I be able to put my nice hot tube into this system? Roland at 701=885-1555.

There is currently a $3/Watt product - made by Aten Solar. Check out these:

http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/solar_panels.htm

Their product is not clear, it looks like both a solar water heater, and a solar electical device. They may use water for cooling, extending the service life. Many people who install solar panels, have panels which to one or the other. This looks like it provides both services.

Concentrators might have been around for years, but putting clean silicon (grown from a single crystal like in the semiconductor process) is a relatively new thing in PV cells. I'm wondering if the lifespan due to thermal exteremes is much better when using clean silicon since computer chips run at very high temps. I've created semiconductor tools that run at 300 deg C.

Something is missing from this conversation........

$3 a watt or $8 watt...if we don't do something now to help the environment you won't be around to find out if they work for 20 years.

People can always find a reason why they shouldn't change their lifestyle. The fact is solar power in clean power. The power companies are getting mini power generators with every system that is grid tied and feeding power back to them. In addition they are building huge solar arrays in the deserts of California, and wind power farms too, even the gas companies are doing it. HELLO! Doesn't that tell you anything?

But just for the sake of argument.. there are plenty of places where you can get panels at $3.50 a watt.

My bottom line is to dump fossil fuels from the vocabulary of eneregy in the USA. Germany, Japan and Australia are leaving us in the dust while we dicker about cost of solar $3 VS $5 as we drop trillions (thats trillions with 12 zeros) on a war in Iraq in order to get more oil. Take those trillions invest in solar, wind, thermal, and hydro power and we would be free of imported oil forever! If you want to do some math figure out how many watts of power could be generated with the money we are spending in Iraq.

Now go out and buy a small solar unit and upgrade as you feel the need. You can get electricty in 3 rooms to power lights, TV, laptop, fan etc for $500.00! You will be helping the USA to become energy independant! AND you will help to slow global warming. And you will be making a personal commitment to stop using fossil fuel energy. While your at it, start finding other ways to use solar energy, water heating, cooking, space heating, etc.

Hi! I have a question for all those knowledgeable in solar power issues... I purchased a solar system (16 Carrizo panels rated at 105 w per panel, and a Trace inverter) at an auction years ago. They all all brand new in the box, but my wife and I do not own our own home to install them... (f.y.i we are both college students currently). My question is, do I sell the system now, and bank the money to invest in a more advanced and more efficient system when the technology increases, or do I just hold on to this system and use it whenever I can? P.S. I bought the whole system for under $500 USD in rural Idaho!

Panels are rated to produce 85% of their listed wattage at the end of their life. A 100W panel will produce 85W at the end of its warranty period.

Matt, silicon is one way to generate solar power. The company I'm with uses a base of germanium. The company's been in business for over 50 years and we've got over a 3 year backlog on orders. So, yes, we'll be here another 20 to backup our warranty.