| Promising breakthrough in solar cells 09:40 - Aug 15 with 3358 views | StokieBlue |
A UK company believes it can increase the power generation of a solar cell by 30% by adding a layer of crystal to the panel. It will also make them black which should make them less intrusive (although I think many people don't mind how they look).
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/aug/15/uk-firms-solar-power-breakthrou
SB
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| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 10:23 - Aug 15 with 3285 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
Does black make them less intrusive?
I think Elon Musk came up with a roof tile solar panel that looked really good.
Solar panels on roofs can look really naff, so anything that makes them blend in is a good thing.
Can only be positive that solar cells are getting for efficient, does the new layer add a lot of cost? |  |
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| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 11:49 - Aug 15 with 3226 views | Bent_double |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 10:23 - Aug 15 by Marshalls_Mullet |
Does black make them less intrusive?
I think Elon Musk came up with a roof tile solar panel that looked really good.
Solar panels on roofs can look really naff, so anything that makes them blend in is a good thing.
Can only be positive that solar cells are getting for efficient, does the new layer add a lot of cost? |
When I see a house with solar panels on the roof, I don't think,"god, they look awful", it's more,"good for them, free leccy and helping the environment", but I suppose - like wind turbines - some people just think they're ugly regardless of the benefits they bring.
I guess they will be way more expensive initially, would take a few years to bring the cost down. |  |
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| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 13:46 - Aug 15 with 3077 views | hampstead_blue |
I like it.
The sooner renewables are ubiquitous the better. The Gov need to incentivise new house builders a lot more.
We're building at present at there is no financial incentive to put pv or any renewables into the homes. In fact it's a loss making exercise. |  |
| Assumption is to make an ass out of you and me.
Those who assume they know you, when they don't are just guessing.
Those who assume and insist they know are daft and in denial.
Those who assume, insist, and deny the truth are plain stupid.
Those who assume, insist, deny the truth and tell YOU they know you (when they don't) have an IQ in the range of 35-49.
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| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 13:46 - Aug 15 with 3073 views | Ryorry |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 11:49 - Aug 15 by Bent_double |
When I see a house with solar panels on the roof, I don't think,"god, they look awful", it's more,"good for them, free leccy and helping the environment", but I suppose - like wind turbines - some people just think they're ugly regardless of the benefits they bring.
I guess they will be way more expensive initially, would take a few years to bring the cost down. |
I think modern wind turbines are actually rather beautiful - all in the eye of the beholder I guess.
Bet there were 17th Dutch & E. Anglian people saying "ooh look at those awful windmills with their big, horrible wooden sails"! |  |
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| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 13:50 - Aug 15 with 3066 views | J2BLUE |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 13:46 - Aug 15 by Ryorry |
I think modern wind turbines are actually rather beautiful - all in the eye of the beholder I guess.
Bet there were 17th Dutch & E. Anglian people saying "ooh look at those awful windmills with their big, horrible wooden sails"! |
I love wind turbines. Watching them really gives me a peaceful 'at one with the earth' feeling. |  |
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| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 13:56 - Aug 15 with 3053 views | hampstead_blue |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 11:49 - Aug 15 by Bent_double |
When I see a house with solar panels on the roof, I don't think,"god, they look awful", it's more,"good for them, free leccy and helping the environment", but I suppose - like wind turbines - some people just think they're ugly regardless of the benefits they bring.
I guess they will be way more expensive initially, would take a few years to bring the cost down. |
Sadly the leccy ain't free.
It's incredibly expensive until the costs of the unit's have been repaid.
This is the problem.
From an economics perspective, the only way to increase use is to offer suitable incentives.
The feed-in tariff and other incentives were canned by Osbourne (naughty George).
We do need to get the Gov to invest more in new home efficiencies (which include renewables) | |
| Assumption is to make an ass out of you and me.
Those who assume they know you, when they don't are just guessing.
Those who assume and insist they know are daft and in denial.
Those who assume, insist, and deny the truth are plain stupid.
Those who assume, insist, deny the truth and tell YOU they know you (when they don't) have an IQ in the range of 35-49.
| | Poll: | Best Blackpool goal |
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| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 14:12 - Aug 15 with 3027 views | Bent_double |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 13:56 - Aug 15 by hampstead_blue |
Sadly the leccy ain't free.
It's incredibly expensive until the costs of the unit's have been repaid.
This is the problem.
From an economics perspective, the only way to increase use is to offer suitable incentives.
The feed-in tariff and other incentives were canned by Osbourne (naughty George).
We do need to get the Gov to invest more in new home efficiencies (which include renewables) |
Yeah, I realise that, I was just being a bit lazy!
I almost signed up to a roof-full of panels a few years back under that government scheme, just before it came to an end, but the initial costs were a bit too much for me at the time - if a similar scheme were to be announced now (and I don't understand why there isn't!), I'd be first in line to sign-up. | |
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| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 14:25 - Aug 15 with 3014 views | Fixed_It |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 13:50 - Aug 15 by J2BLUE |
I love wind turbines. Watching them really gives me a peaceful 'at one with the earth' feeling. |
Agreed. Far worse things blot the landscape. |  |
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| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 14:28 - Aug 15 with 3002 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 11:49 - Aug 15 by Bent_double |
When I see a house with solar panels on the roof, I don't think,"god, they look awful", it's more,"good for them, free leccy and helping the environment", but I suppose - like wind turbines - some people just think they're ugly regardless of the benefits they bring.
I guess they will be way more expensive initially, would take a few years to bring the cost down. |
Not if it's a new house, but some older houses with character do look awful.
It also depends whether they are chunky first generation ones. | |
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| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 14:30 - Aug 15 with 3001 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 13:46 - Aug 15 by Ryorry |
I think modern wind turbines are actually rather beautiful - all in the eye of the beholder I guess.
Bet there were 17th Dutch & E. Anglian people saying "ooh look at those awful windmills with their big, horrible wooden sails"! |
I agree with that.
My kids love going on bike rides to see them close up. | |
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| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 16:03 - Aug 15 with 2928 views | Bent_double |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 14:28 - Aug 15 by Marshalls_Mullet |
Not if it's a new house, but some older houses with character do look awful.
It also depends whether they are chunky first generation ones. |
I had 3 of the chunky old ones on my current property when I moved here, bizarrely though, they weren't actually connected to anything, I guess whoever had them installed ran out of money to finish the job!
Finally got shot of them a few years ago when the roof was being fixed. | |
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| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 16:23 - Aug 15 with 2906 views | Clapham_Junction |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 13:46 - Aug 15 by hampstead_blue |
I like it.
The sooner renewables are ubiquitous the better. The Gov need to incentivise new house builders a lot more.
We're building at present at there is no financial incentive to put pv or any renewables into the homes. In fact it's a loss making exercise. |
They're currently in the process of trying to relax standards for housebuilding in London. It's utter madness.
There doesn't need to be any financial incentives for housebuilders to put them on homes. It should just be mandatory and it be accounted for in the cost of the home.
Although the feed-in tariff was reasonably successful in increasing the installation of solar panels, in some ways it was a slow-moving car crash, with the government frequently messing around with it at short notice (sometimes illegally), which caused a lot of problems for the industry and put several firms out of business.
The way it was done also amounted to wealthy people (who could afford the install costs) being subsidised by poorer people who could not (who paid for the subsidy through increases on their bills). It would have been far more better to use the money raised from the bill increases to pay for solar installations on public buildings, social housing and the properties of people claiming various benefits, reducing the energy bills of the poorest and the government. We'd have also got more bang for buck, as many people will make a profit on their installation over the payment period, whereas only paying for the install price would have mean more money to spread around.
The same criticism can be made of the ECO scheme, which was ruined by the government - it was meant to fund external wall insulation for the worst performing houses, but changes meant it was only really usable for measures on better performing homes. Again, the poorest ended up paying for works on the houses of the better off, while gaining no benefits themselves.
The current Green Homes Grant scheme is going to be an absolute disaster. They way it's been designed will mean huge amounts of substandard and overpriced work being carried out, much of which may have to be undone at some point in the future.
Energy and related policy in general has been a shambles for the past decade and the improvements achieved have largely been despite the government rather than because of it. |  | | |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 16:57 - Aug 15 with 2865 views | Swansea_Blue |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 10:23 - Aug 15 by Marshalls_Mullet |
Does black make them less intrusive?
I think Elon Musk came up with a roof tile solar panel that looked really good.
Solar panels on roofs can look really naff, so anything that makes them blend in is a good thing.
Can only be positive that solar cells are getting for efficient, does the new layer add a lot of cost? |
I painted mine dayglow yellow for that extra 'look at me' effect. |  |
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| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 17:52 - Aug 15 with 2819 views | Ryorry |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 14:30 - Aug 15 by Marshalls_Mullet |
I agree with that.
My kids love going on bike rides to see them close up. |
There was a 'How it's made" on Quest about them. Also a prog a couple of nights ago about installing them into the sea off the E. coast - fascinating. Will try to find the prog details for you later. | |
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| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 18:02 - Aug 15 with 2812 views | StokieBlue |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 13:46 - Aug 15 by Ryorry |
I think modern wind turbines are actually rather beautiful - all in the eye of the beholder I guess.
Bet there were 17th Dutch & E. Anglian people saying "ooh look at those awful windmills with their big, horrible wooden sails"! |
Wind turbines look excellent, they improve the countryside view in very many cases.
SB | |
| Avatar - M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy - Taken on 29th April 2024 |
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| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 18:08 - Aug 15 with 2803 views | hampstead_blue |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 16:23 - Aug 15 by Clapham_Junction |
They're currently in the process of trying to relax standards for housebuilding in London. It's utter madness.
There doesn't need to be any financial incentives for housebuilders to put them on homes. It should just be mandatory and it be accounted for in the cost of the home.
Although the feed-in tariff was reasonably successful in increasing the installation of solar panels, in some ways it was a slow-moving car crash, with the government frequently messing around with it at short notice (sometimes illegally), which caused a lot of problems for the industry and put several firms out of business.
The way it was done also amounted to wealthy people (who could afford the install costs) being subsidised by poorer people who could not (who paid for the subsidy through increases on their bills). It would have been far more better to use the money raised from the bill increases to pay for solar installations on public buildings, social housing and the properties of people claiming various benefits, reducing the energy bills of the poorest and the government. We'd have also got more bang for buck, as many people will make a profit on their installation over the payment period, whereas only paying for the install price would have mean more money to spread around.
The same criticism can be made of the ECO scheme, which was ruined by the government - it was meant to fund external wall insulation for the worst performing houses, but changes meant it was only really usable for measures on better performing homes. Again, the poorest ended up paying for works on the houses of the better off, while gaining no benefits themselves.
The current Green Homes Grant scheme is going to be an absolute disaster. They way it's been designed will mean huge amounts of substandard and overpriced work being carried out, much of which may have to be undone at some point in the future.
Energy and related policy in general has been a shambles for the past decade and the improvements achieved have largely been despite the government rather than because of it. |
POTD.
Thanks for that. Really interesting and clearly you've got your head into the topic.
I know that loads of Housing Associations are looking into the highest levels of energy efficiency. When we explored build systems we had that reminded to us often.
One problem is the consumer.
We wanted to install a number of really cool technologies into our development. Pretty much everyone we spoke to in the contractor circle told us that people wouldn't engage with the tech and that a simple gas boiler with A rated windows would be all they wanted.
Apparently, to maximise the efficiency on a lot of tech you need windows and doors closed. It was told to us that the majority of consumers would simply ignore that and not use it properly.
I'm unsure at to that and feel people would engage more. Still, we've gone for an EPC A rating via MVHR and Isotex.
Making a high EPC Rating compulsory and forcing local authorities to install tech on their estate would be amazing. Move away from gas as well.
I'm excited, really excited about this sector. Can't wait to see how it develops. | |
| Assumption is to make an ass out of you and me.
Those who assume they know you, when they don't are just guessing.
Those who assume and insist they know are daft and in denial.
Those who assume, insist, and deny the truth are plain stupid.
Those who assume, insist, deny the truth and tell YOU they know you (when they don't) have an IQ in the range of 35-49.
| | Poll: | Best Blackpool goal |
| |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 18:47 - Aug 15 with 2767 views | dickie |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 16:03 - Aug 15 by Bent_double |
I had 3 of the chunky old ones on my current property when I moved here, bizarrely though, they weren't actually connected to anything, I guess whoever had them installed ran out of money to finish the job!
Finally got shot of them a few years ago when the roof was being fixed. |
We have 6 on our roof that the preview owner put on. We get between 300 and 500 quid a year on the FIT |  | | |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 18:57 - Aug 15 with 2757 views | jeera |
| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 18:47 - Aug 15 by dickie |
We have 6 on our roof that the preview owner put on. We get between 300 and 500 quid a year on the FIT |
Don't they make a lot of noise though being up there?
Edit: sorry, wrong post. [Post edited 15 Aug 2020 19:01]
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| Promising breakthrough in solar cells on 13:31 - Aug 16 with 2589 views | Ely_Blue |
IMHO they should be made compulsory on all new build homes, anything that reduces the reliance on fossil fuels is only a good thing and those who say they are ugly re probably the ones spouting rubbish about carbon emissions etc but when it comes to wind/solar energy it’s “oh not tho ghastly things anywhere near my house” |  |
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