I've been enthusiastic about solar energy ever since the first time I grasped that a panel of solar cells could actually produce electricity. And a house design incorporating solar features could actually stay warmer in winter and cooler in summer, with no draw on electricity. And when I saw a car that ran on solar energy, I was in love. Imagine a Prius running on solar power with plug-in backup, instead of gas.
In an effort to help the idea of solar homes to catch on, the Solar Decathlon is taking place right now on the National Mall in Washington DC. Students from all over the world are competing to create efficient, affordable and marketable solar homes. There's a lot of raw wood, a lot of boxiness in the designs, but the units had to be created in their home states/countries, shipped to DC and erected quickly, which may have limited the design options. The DOE's website shows a gallery of all the entries, a timelapse video of the activities on the Mall and more. It's a slick presentation — maybe a little too slick for my taste — but the coverage is pretty thorough. I just wish I could find out what's going to happen to all those houses after the event is over. Recycling, I guess.
Solar home entry from Spain
Solar home from U of Louisiana Lafayette, dubbed "most marketable"
Solar isn't the complete answer, but it's one of the few choices that doesn't increase the draw on power plants (like plug-in electric cars), create toxic waste (like coal and nuclear plants), kill birds and make unacceptable levels of noise (like windpower) or require a great deal of technical knowhow to put into use. So it's certainly an option that should be incorporated into any campaign to alter climate change.
8 comments:
Solar is considerable down in price from years ago. We use to have panels at one of our communications sites and due to change in business needs the site has been drastically downsized. Lucky me, I took those panels down to Mexico and now, my water, and all house lighting run on solar.
My CFE bill has dropped from a high of about $3000 pesos down to 400.
The solar water pump was the best investment yet.
You can slowly convert, one panel at a time to make it more affordable, but why not?
I would love to see the impact in another 10 years.....
You never cease to amaze me. Now I see that you have quite a technical dimension. What next?
LOTS of solar going on down here in new construction. Has been for at least the last 8-10 years. Also using packed earth brick and many other environmentally sound practices. It's all good........
I hope to install a solar water heater in my house next year.
So how long of a drive is it to Tucson?
Constantino - you changed your photo! You did a very smart thing, realizing the value of those panels and lugging them down to Mexico! We use solar panels on our boat, but now that we have our own place I'd love to have them on the condo too. Just as I wrote this there was a TV commercial for solar water heating. It's happening, agonizingly slowly.
Bob - In my 30s I published a newspaper that was mostly focused on alternative energy and my pet topic was solar It's incredible to me that in all that time the industry hasn't developed farther and become more publicly accepted. I used to work as a secretary in the research dept. of one of the companies in CA that first developed the films that are used in photovoltaics. At some point, they shelved their efforts in favor of defense contracts. "We just left it to the Japanese," one of the techs told me.
Babs - Solar has so many dimensions! There's photovoltaics, passive design such as trombe walls that soak up the sun, greenhouse designs... Why are we still shivering in the dark?
Felipe - Good on ya, Mate. I expect to see a blog on the subject with how-to details.
Constantino: You´re DOWN to an electric bill of 400 pesos?! I got solar nothing, and I pay less than that. Clearly, lifestyle comes into play here.
Just popping by to say hi! I always enjoy reading your posts. I wish I had more time for visiting!
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