• Valmond@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 month ago

    Just have to buy 1100 panels 😋 but then the price is 0.055€/watt …

    I Want one, but only one or a couple, to put on my balcony…

    • ikidd@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 month ago

      These are topcon modules only. Considering a 400W panel will have about 72 modules in it, that’s only about 15 panels worth. Of course, then you have to actually build the panel and connect the modules, put it behind glass inside a frame, then put in a bypass diode and leads for connection. So an actual panel ends up being about 5-10X the cost of the modules per W.

    • frezik@midwest.social
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 month ago

      Thousands of people buying rooftop panels was never going to be the best way towards a Water/Wind/Solar (WWS) future. Fitting panels to the roof has to work around the roof geometry and obstructions like vents. That makes every job a custom job. It also means thousands of small inverters rather than a few big ones.

      Compare that to setting up thousands of panels on racks in a field. As long as it’s relatively open and flat, you just slap those babies down. You haul in a few big inverters which are often built right into shipping containers that can just be placed on site, hooked up, and left there. Batteries need inverters, too, so if your project includes some storage, then you only need one set of inverters.

      I get the feeling of independence from the system that solar panels on the roof gives people, but it’s just not economically the best way to go. The insanely cheap dollars per MWh of solar is only seen when deploying them on a mass scale. That means roofs of commercial/industrial buildings or bigger.

      • A7thStone@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        1 month ago

        Rooftop units might not be the least expressive, but they are absolutely the way to go. The less we rely on the utilities, the more demand we take off of their adding grid, that they refuse to upgrade. It also means more energy independence. A friend of mine has a small rooftop setup that has completely offset his electricity isn’t to the punt that he bought a plugin hybrid that never goes out battery for his day to day travels and costs him nothing to charge.

        • frezik@midwest.social
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          1 month ago

          If you want energy independence, push for community solar. Neighborhoods or municipalities get together to own their own solar field. Then you get a measure of independence while also taking advantage of economies of scale.