Solar panels on SBH

W

waynek

SBH Insider
You don't seem to see a lot of solar panels on SBH which seems surprising as the climate is conducive to it and the power that they do have comes, presumably, from diesel generators, which can't be cheap.

Why isn't there more use of solar power generation? Is it a violation of building codes to put panels on your roof? Or are there other reasons?
 
Solar is in use, but perhaps not obvious. Both of the villas that I rent use solar panels as a source of hot water.

Unrelated to the solar, both villas also use LED lighting where feasible.
 
LEDs and CFLs are pretty much all you see outside of North America these days.

When you say solar is used for hot water is this passive solar where the water runs through black pipes or does the solar create electricity that does the heating?
 
Solar panels are very expensive to install on the island, and most are not insured over a certain mph of wind so you'd be in trouble if they blew off the roof in a big hurricane. Sadly most of the big houses use generators for extra power instead causing air and noise pollution... as noted some people have tried solar for hot water and seem to be successful...
 
I didn't think of hurricanes, that makes sense. I do believe that there are places where solar panels have become competitive with traditional power sources, I believe Hawaii is one such place.
 
I rented a Solar Car in 2011. One of Arnaud's experiments. Technology ain't quite there yet, but I love the idea.


GusCarweb.jpg
 
elgreaux said:
Solar panels are very expensive to install on the island, and most are not insured over a certain mph of wind so you'd be in trouble if they blew off the roof in a big hurricane. Sadly most of the big houses use generators for extra power instead causing air and noise pollution... as noted some people have tried solar for hot water and seem to be successful...
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you dont get a lot of bang for the buck using solar panels to heat water 24/7.....you re much better off with a propane fired tankless hot water on demand system, which is also mush cheaper and extremely energy efficient....panels are better used to charge banks of batteries which invert 12 volt battery power into household electricity
 
waynek said:
I didn't think of hurricanes, that makes sense. I do believe that there are places where solar panels have become competitive with traditional power sources, I believe Hawaii is one such place.
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.. thanks to solar subsidies.

Reminds me of Spain where they decided to make wind power 24x7 by running the turbines with petrol engines when it wasn't windy enough.
 
I agree that subsidies are stupid but in places with high electricity costs I believe that solar panels have achieved cost parity with traditional options.

For example, in Hawaii the price of electricity is about $0.366/kWh which is over three times the US average. I would think that SBH is more like Hawaii than Oklahoma, which is the cheapest state for electricity.

You still need other options unless you can cheaply store it for rainy days like today, not to mention night time.
 
our electric bill is not overly excessive, the cost of solar panels and their upkeep and maintenance is prohibitive... of course we are "old school" and use very little power, our pool is not heated and we don't sleep with air conditioning - we have ceiling fans and nice breezes... our living room is not air conditioned either and we open our shutters with our hands, rather than a remote control... my office has air-conditioning more for the hardware (computers etc) and also because it is built into the hillside so no cross breeze... we don't even have a TV....intentionally !
 
nope... they dont make them any different.....same material for both...

my house ones and boat ones are identical
 
Mike R said:
nope... they dont make them any different.....same material for both...

my house ones and boat ones are identical
Click to expand...
..When I did my remodel 3 years ago, the company showed me a new type of solar "panel"..it was actually the thickness of peel and stick and did stick to the roof surface...was supposedly Miami-Dade rated to 160 MPH....thought it was too expensive, but may be an option for new mega home construction where money is no concern...
 
Like this one....priced right too..[h=1]Unisolar 128 Watt Flexible Solar Panel PV Laminate - Simple & Easy Installation - Peel & Stick[/h]
 
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