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"With clear skies and near-constant sunlight, European summers should be high season for the solar power industry.
But while solar panels feed on sunlight, Europe is in the grips of a record-breaking heat wave, and extreme heat is no friend to solar energy producers.
"But when a panel heats up too much, its electrons are already in an excited state once sunlight is absorbed, reducing efficiency and the voltage it can generate.
That’s interesting. We had a solar consult last year and our entire roof would have been filled with the things (1900sf doublewide) and it still would not have totally offset our electric bill, mostly due to air conditioner usage. We are in Florida where 90s is normal for summer, with heat indices into the 100s bc of our humidity. We purposely chose a light-colored shingle to try to keep the house cooler since we have no tree cover around the house itself, and the ugly black panels would definitely be getting super hot. Glad we didn’t end up doing it. $$$$$
That’s interesting. We had a solar consult last year and our entire roof would have been filled with the things (1900sf doublewide) and it still would not have totally offset our electric bill, mostly due to air conditioner usage. We are in Florida where 90s is normal for summer, with heat indices into the 100s bc of our humidity. We purposely chose a light-colored shingle to try to keep the house cooler since we have no tree cover around the house itself, and the ugly black panels would definitely be getting super hot. Glad we didn’t end up doing it. $$$$$
Yeah. I'm in South Carolina now and we are the same here. Ironically, though, one of my good summer customers back in NH has a solar array in the field behind his house in northern NH. He says that in Jan. and Feb. it's the only time their solar doesn't cover the whole electric costs - possibly because of snow piled up at the bottom of the panels. So he's getting more efficiency in NH than either you or I would get with way more sun year round. And his Jan and Feb electric bills run between $25-35 each winter.
There is no opposition to the climate agenda in Europe so why don't they just raise taxes? Give more in sacrifice to the Sun God, to assuage zher wrath.
Yeah. I'm in South Carolina now and we are the same here. Ironically, though, one of my good summer customers back in NH has a solar array in the field behind his house in northern NH. He says that in Jan. and Feb. it's the only time their solar doesn't cover the whole electric costs - possibly because of snow piled up at the bottom of the panels. So he's getting more efficiency in NH than either you or I would get with way more sun year round. And his Jan and Feb electric bills run between $25-35 each winter.
Wow! I never would have thought.
I think it’s more popular also in areas where the meter will direct power back to the power company for payment. Our reimbursement would have been low but my husband’s buddy would actually earn money if their usage doesn’t exceed what they send back. But still, it’s like taking on another car payment for 20 years and I’m not really digging that idea, so this thread is really icing on the cake for why it’s not a good idea for us. Lol
Anyway, as much as I like the idea of harnessing power from the sun, I’m not sure it’s super practical the way we can do it at this point in time, and it’s expensive.
Also, if you put Panels on your Roof and you have typical Roof Shingles, which I see quite a bit out there, think of the cost of a new roof. The roof itself is expensive enough. I can just imagine what dis-assembly and re-assembly of the panels would cost.
Also, if you put Panels on your Roof and you have typical Roof Shingles, which I see quite a bit out there, think of the cost of a new roof. The roof itself is expensive enough. I can just imagine what dis-assembly and re-assembly of the panels would cost.
A typical asphalt roof shingle will last 20 plus years. The typical solar panel will last about 25 years.
If you ever stopped at one of those solar panel booths at Home Depot the second question they ask is, how old is the roof. It doesn't make sense to go to the cost and labor to put panels on a roof that has to be replaced in 5 years.
My neighbor put on a new roof and solar panels quickly followed. I wonder if the panels will extend the life of the shingles underneath by reducing the amount of damaging sun and wind that hits them OR will they have a shorter life because being blocked from the sun and wind will allow moisture from rain and snow to build up?
It is interesting that the solar panels that work with the sun cannot take the heat.
Also, if you put Panels on your Roof and you have typical Roof Shingles, which I see quite a bit out there, think of the cost of a new roof. The roof itself is expensive enough. I can just imagine what dis-assembly and re-assembly of the panels would cost.
it has never been made clear to me how panels on roofs deal with moisture. asphalt impregnated shingles REQUIRE sunlight to reform the seal - almost daily - even in the winter on a bright day.
If you shingle up a roof, you have to wait some time before you could panel it, and then next rain, what dries the water out of the shingles?
As this progresses I see roof rot climbing, sooner.
Carlisle PA, has lots of 'solar farms' around it. From ex-farmland (and we were worried that solar would not cause other problems) and they call them 'solar and pollinator farms' as they let the shade tolerant weeds grow under them and apparently its a safe haven for bees to keep that population up.
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