Are solar cells cost effective?

Question

is it better to invest on other conventional power generation processes than solar power? also how are the bio fuels produced?a detailed structure would be helpful..:)

Answer 1

I lived North of Tuscon, Arizona for awhile and we had solar panels and a wind generator that worked pretty well for us.  We moved to South Central, Pennsylvania and they don't do much for us here.  I think we are going to find that the bio fuels are going to end up causing more problems than they will fix.

Answer 2

not yet but if the cost goes down to about 1/10th what it is now everyone would be putting them up.

the biggest cost for solar is the equipment to use it the inverters to change it to AC and the batteries to store it.

if they can reduce those cost too i would be a big help in getting people to go to solar panels.

as it stands now the people who need the solar systems (IE low income, disabled. etc) can not afford them and the rich see no need for them because they can pay there power bills.

bio fuels are grown.

the only global warming people that seam to use solar are the back to nature hippys

Answer 3

Yes.

Answer 4

Yes it is cost effective but maintenance cost of solar power cell is high.  Even it will be hard to get mechanic if it get any technical fault.

Answer 5

Soon prices will fall.  

Currently there is a shortage of pure silicon.  That's weird, you say, I thought there was plenty of silicon in sand.  There is, and there is no shortage of silicon compounds; it is just difficult to extract silicon from sand.  

There is a shortage because there are a limited number of factories converting sand --> silicon and there is a high demand for silicon (both for solar and for computers).  The good news is that soon companies will rush to produce silicon because it is a boom industry (and because you make money from the two fastest growing companies around, Apple and Alternative Energy).  Then prices will fall dramatically.

We could even start using electrolysis to make silicon, which could reduce the reduction of the greenhouse gases needed to produced solar panels and make them even more eco.

Even so, solar cells are still cost effective if you think the price of electricity will go up a ton very soon.  If so, you could be the last one laughing, as everyone else's bills double (or even quadruple) while the electricity pays YOU more money for your surplus electricity.

Answer 6

No.

Answer 7

The first thing to do is reduce your power needs.  A good goal to reach is 200 Kw a month.

Has any ones electricity cost ever went down, not mine.  If it takes 10 years to cover the up front cost of your solar panels, they are then free.  I don't know about you, but I like free.

Look at this link

Answer 8

very much. u can get govt. aid also in some cases.

Answer 9

They can be depending where they are at, and how much power you need.

Lets say you have a weather station in the middle of no where, you have to run miles and miles of wire to power the station, or you can spend a 1/4 of the money on solar cells and batteries, in that case solar is cost effective, but you only need to plug it into the wall it's not.

You need to look at each situation and decide what is the most cost effective way to accomplish what you want.

Answer 10

yup solar panels are helpful.. but the cost recovery is done in the lond runn....... others require even more amount of investment which is way beyond a common man.. like tidal power  or wind power ...

biofuels are fules produced frm the anaerobic respiration of microbes..... they are generated from the bagase(its the waste of sugarcane after the juice is extracted)..  biofuels are the next thing ... they coz no pollution also ..

Answer 11

Cost effective? Yes.

Is buying a home or renting a home better? Solar electric systems last 30 years and cost about 36000 installed right? 36000 divided by 30 years divided by 12 months gives you 100 dollars a month electric bills. So it is a break even if you don't add in cost of living compounded every year. So you would rent 100,000 worth of electric or you could buy a 36000 dollar system.. Easy math if you ask me.

What is better to invest in? That is up to you. Are you wanting to save the world or just make money? If you do it right maybe you can do both. I think solar would be best but that is me.

I'm wondering why you would want  a detailed stucture of how to make bio fuel?

Answer 12

Solar panels aren't totally worth it until technology gets better.  Now, even more advanced ones hardly get half of the solar energy that hits them.