Solar Power Station

http://cr4.globalspec.com/search/sitesearch?do=show&sort=textmatchrank&srch=solar%20panels&order=asc

1) price per watt

2) efficiency - (only matters in relation to space available)

3) UL or other agency certification

4) guarantees a) mechanical b) loss of efficiency

5) appearance

Best in class - probably 50 different mfgs are equal

The guy whose solar panel generate most wattage, ocupies less area, last indefinite time and is FREE.

Don't forget to add the manufacturer's and installer's Warranty period to that list! GA from me!!!

A few years back I spent months listing and going over literally virtually every solar panel manufacturer and major supplier in the world and I came to the simple conclusion that they are all much the same.

I also reconfirmed my conclusion that once you strip away government subsidies you find that existing solar technology is STILL a net sink and totally unsustainable (in that it requires far more energy to make the panels and inverters than they will ever produce). I am still waiting for them to break even (one or two more decades yet).

See previous solar discussion threads on CR4 for more information.

As a side note I now (in small part) design and sell the blooming things (solar power plants small scale to MW generation). I feel so dirty.

Wrong on the embodied energy - some green types and their counter parts harp on that but everything credible that I have read the past couple of years says less than two years payback for embodied energy in a panel.

Russ

Don't need to look back at threads - I read about the stuff everyday - in some detail.

Embodied energy has nothing to do with subsidies. You are confusing embodied energy payback and financial payback.

Solar does definitely have a very long financial payback.

1) Your post said panel - it did not mention any other system component

2) Panel aging is well known now except for thin film

3) Battery storage? An entirely different game and very expensive power - I have no idea of the embodied energy in batteries and don't care as they are such a bad deal money wise.

4) You really sell these things? You should spend more time studying up -

5) If you want to talk about the embodied energy in a panel and confuse that with financial payback and then switch to batteries and systems it is a bit hard to follow.