I remember being told that 'catseye' Cunningham - a night fighter pilot in WW2 era got his night vision by eating carrots.
Years later it was revealed that he used radar. Thus shattering another childhood belief.
Is there a value in diversification/localisation of supply?
On a slightly larger scale I believe Google has put solar panels on it's (very thirsty) data centers, and I've a dusty memory that Danish households sometimes club together to buy a full size wind generator, which then does that 'feed in' whatnot with it's excess electricity.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2...-is-
coming.html
http://www.ontario-sea.org/
Commu...munityWind.html
With the current generation of solar cells you would only purchase them if
1) you were daft
2) you are subsidised
3) you can not get a grid connection
4) you do not believe government assurances that despite lack of investment in power stations the grid will be able to supply power. (Even now running a petrol/diesel generator is cheaper)
Your argument about the grid company being "forced" to couple your solar cells to the grid is tosh as they are already forced to connect your house to the grid anyway. Any extra cost to provide a bi-directional meter is marginal at worst. Electrical safety regs on home inverters would soon get rid of all the other "worries" that the power companies express.
The real reason for power companies not wanting home generation connected to the grid is obvious. Home generation reduces their potential market, so they would rather not do anything to encourage it.
The question of price paid for the electricity is a more interesting one. Obviously the electricity companies would prefer to pay nothing, and they are currently in a position where they can do that. It seems reasonable that a "fair" price should be paid (enforced by regulation if required). The question is what is fair.
It seems to me there are three costs in traditionally generated electricity. Generation costs, Transmission costs, and local delivery costs (billing, meter reading etc). Home generated electricity generally will not need to be transmitted from a distant power station to the cities where the demand is. So a fair price for home generated power may end up being higher than the power station sale price.
I do not agree with the subsidy for the purchase of solar panels, but maybe the next generation of solar cells will cheaper. It does not seem unreasonable that regulation should create a market where excess home generated electricity can be sold.
Stephen-
"Your argument about the grid company being "forced" to couple your solar cells to the grid is tosh as they are already forced to connect your house to the grid anyway"
I must bow to your knowledge on the cost of connection - I merely repeated what I'd read elsewhere on that, but I have no figures... I must look out for some.
On the question of a fair price for home generated electricity, why shouldn't it simply be the domestic tariff charged by the companies? That after all includes the costs of transmission and billing. I can't see why it should be 2-3 times the standard tariff price.
The German system seems to have fixed the price premium far too high. Which is why the price of stocks for regeneration equipment suppliers tanked earlier in the year when it looked like the German govt was going to slash it back more towards the market price.
But it's a fascinating issue I must look at more closely.
Dave B- power transmission losses can be considerable, so there is certainly a logic in distributed power generation.
I'm all in favour of companies like Google trying it, or even individual households. What I don't want is for the govt to force the taxpaying consumer to pay over the odds for something that would be cheaper from a power station even with those transmission losses.
john cramer-
IIRC Cats Eyes Cunningham was some kind of intelligence ruse to distract attention from radar.
Drifting off topic.
Smart electricity meters.
I came across a mention of an electricity meter called a 'Wattson' today. It apparently tells you the annual electricity cost of using particular appliances.
Sounds like a super way to encourage frugality in yourself, and bring down your electricity bills.
Another Times article outlined several similar devices.
Loose connection to an Ars Techinica article:
' a fascinating experiment in Washington State in which it provided both homeowners and their appliances with tools that can sense stress on the power grid. Homeowners who made use of the tools saved money—approximately 10 percent on their electric bills—and the grid was more stable, too.'
On the question of a fair price for home generated electricity, why shouldn't it simply be the domestic tariff charged by the companies? That after all includes the costs of transmission and billing.
That would certainly be simple as you could just make 'the meter go backwards' In reality that would be a subsidy as when you purchase electricity you pay (generation+transmission+admin) When you sell it it should probably be paid the going (generation+transmission-admin) since there is an admin cost to purchase home generated power. Long distance transmission is not needed so that is a reasonable bonus for home generation.
I can't see why it should be 2-3 times the standard tariff price.
It is not entirely clear what your article means on this one. You state 2-3 times the current price for ordinary power station power.
A quick google for figures reveals In May 08 the mean generator sell price (into the grid) was £53.95 MW/h. The mean purchase price out of the grid after transmission was £82.29, and my supplier charged me £91. If you are talking a 2-3* premium on the £53 that a power station charges it is a very different story to a 2-3* premium on the £91 that a consumer pays !
I have no idea how German transmission costs compare to the ~30% of retail price in UK
The German system seems to have fixed the price premium far too high.
I do not think that means we should do nothing about creating a home generation market in the UK just because other governments are throwing tax payers money down the drain. Naturally we should watch our government to stop them doing the same with our money.
That solarbuzz.com web page is dated 2006, but a recent article that I saw said that thin film photovoltaics are much cheaper to produce and flexible to boot, albeit their energy conversion factor is currently only half that of the previous generation of devices.
Going to wallpaper the outside of your house with thin film photovoltaics, Watt?
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