if solar is good why hasnt every one got it

razor344

looking at solar

got a great price from TP solar

but if solar is so good then why hasnt every one got it ???

i under stand the return in ££ and the saving etc

but trying to make the better half understand more and not be so "do what you want" ish about it

thanks
marc

Consumerist

Not everyone wants an ugly monstrosity attached to their roof.
or
Not everyone can afford the initial outlay.
or
Not everyone wants to encumber their property with a loan which mortgage lenders won't lend on.
or
The subsidies which make solar look "good" economically may not be there indefinitely.

Need I go on?

tberry6686

Solar is not good at all in this country. Take away the large subsidy and only the better off with environmental tendencies would have it.

Cardew

As well as the points made above, lots of houses are not suitable because of shading to the roof.


Lots of people live in flats.

Dr._Shoe

It's just a matter of getting the message out.

If every roof in the UK had solar then we could be self sufficient in energy during daylight hours.

What I don't understand is why they don't put solar farms under wind turbines...

Richie-from-the-Boro

razor344 wrote: »

looking at solar

got a great price from TP solar

but if solar is so good then why hasnt every one got it ???

i under stand the return in ££ and the saving etc

but trying to make the better half understand more and not be so "do what you want" ish about it

thanks
marc

- because your solar only works for you .. .. .. if I pay for it .. .. .. and I and all energy users do pay for your panels with a hidden levy on our electricity bills
- the amount of sunshine available each year is always exaggerated if you had to pay the full real cost of solar you would never ever contemplate such madness
- all green[ing] initiatives are a scam on all taxpayers, the Germans have dumped green[ing] including windy mills & solar PV
- its dead - find another way - its dead - give the taxpayers a break and produce real energy at real costs
- without all these hidden green taxes our power bills are likely to be several hundred pounds cheaper than they are now

tberry6686

Dr._Shoe wrote: »

It's just a matter of getting the message out.

If every roof in the UK had solar then we could be self sufficient in energy during daylight hours.

What I don't understand is why they don't put solar farms under wind turbines...

Solar will not make us self sufficient during daylight hours even if you covered the entire country in panels. The fact of the matter is that solar is a lousy idea unless it is heavily subsidised along with all the other so called green energy sources.

The reasons that they don't put solar farms under wind turbines are several including the fact that many wind turbines are farms and are farmed around so the land is not available for solar panels, then there is the shadow effect from the turbine, need to get heavy machinery in for repairs etc .

zaax

Why the UK lags behind in commercial solar installation
http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/commercial-solar-energy-installation-uk

gazapc

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

- because your solar only works for you .. .. .. if I pay for it .. .. .. and I and all energy users do pay for your panels with a hidden levy on our electricity bills

Sure, but perhaps it should come out of general taxation rather than a levy per kWh, could be more fair on low/poor users.

- the amount of sunshine available each year is always exaggerated if you had to pay the full real cost of solar you would never ever contemplate such madness

I've never heard of anyone exaggerating the level of sunshine other than the odd super dodgy salesman, go to any website like PVGIS and you can get a pretty accurate average figure. If you had to pay the full levelised costs of burning coal then electricity prices would also be higher...

- all green[ing] initiatives are a scam on all taxpayers, the Germans have dumped green[ing] including windy mills & solar PV

https://cleantechnica.com/2015/04/17/european-commission-approves-germanys-30-billion-euros-investment-offshore-wind/

As one example, first result on google so hardly abandoned.

- its dead - find another way - its dead - give the taxpayers a break and produce real energy at real costs

What is 'real energy' and 'real costs'? Electricity once its generated is all the same. And another way, what about supporting nuclear at a much higher price than future renewables?

- without all these hidden green taxes our power bills are likely to be several hundred pounds cheaper than they are now

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/charts-outlook-costs-make-energy-bills

So the actual cost in 2013 was just over a £100 per annum...but actually only a portion of this is made up of renewables subsidies, lots goes on grants/funding for insulation etc which is desperately needed to upgrade the poor housing stock the UK has. So hardly hundreds of pounds cheaper.

The forecast is for a stabilisation/reduction of the cost and the budget available for renewables subsidies is strictly controlled via the Levy Control Framework which means funding cannot increase uncontrollably and blow these estimates out of the water.

gazapc

Dr._Shoe wrote: »

It's just a matter of getting the message out.

If every roof in the UK had solar then we could be self sufficient in energy during daylight hours.

What I don't understand is why they don't put solar farms under wind turbines...

There are a couple of projects which do this, Goonhilly wind farm in Cornwall is one example.

A few problems:

Grid connection - can be already maxed out with the wind farm
Planning - a sort of cumulative impact by having both can make some local people not like the proposal
Land - farmer might want to retain the unrestricted farming potential of the land
Space - as mentioned above, shading can impact the panels and as turbines are tall structures some set back is needed.

Cardew

Dr._Shoe wrote: »

It's just a matter of getting the message out.

If every roof in the UK had solar then we could be self sufficient in energy during daylight hours.

Except of course when it is overcast/raining.


The peak electricity load on the National Grid is on an early winter's evening when solar generates zilch/zero/nothing. So we could cover the whole of UK with wall to wall solar panels and we would still have to have the same generating capacity from oil, gas, coal, nuclear power stations as we currently have installed.


It seems some solar enthusiasts think that if the sun pops out from behind a cloud we can instantly shut down power stations.