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If panel costs become a smaller and smaller fraction of installation cost over time, I wonder what sort of innovations we see where we install them "sub optimal

by gpm 2y ago

If panel costs become a smaller and smaller fraction of installation cost over time, I wonder what sort of innovations we see where we install them "sub optimally" because it's easier to put them there. E.g. hanging them vertically on the side of a fence or on a wall might be easier (and thus cheaper) than placing them on the roof.

jaggederest 2y ago
I'm already planning to have a robust inverter and battery stack offgrid and do all the actual solar panel wiring myself. They're going to be thrown in the field face up, and if they have problems, I'll just add more or replace dead ones. $0.31/w is actually kind of expensive, you can get crappy clearance used panels for more like $0.15/w or even less if you shop around (shipping is the largest expense at that point!) Does it even make sense to set up racking for panels that are ~1/4 the price of a rack, even if you are using ballasted cheapo racking?
- fbdab103 2y ago
  One company is trying the approach of placing the panels flat on the ground[0]. So long as you put a fence around it to stop local wildlife from crushing them, seems easy enough. Maybe give it a monthly sweep if it is more prone to collecting debris. [0] https://electrek.co/2022/12/12/texas-solar-farm-flat-on-the-ground/ https://electrek.co/2022/12/12/texas-solar-farm-flat-on-the-...
- andrewmcwatters 2y ago
  Wow, that’s incredible pricing.
- hattmall 2y ago
  I had the idea to have them floating, sort of, where you angle them by pumping up a sort of canal or something. And potentially the water could be used to create condensation based irrigation for crops planted with in the panels. That or installations that mimic trees with preserves ground space being maximized.
  - jaggederest 2y ago
    Yeah that's actually very close to what I am thinking, if I get some expensive high value panels, I'm at a fairly high latitude (46N) so the winter-summer angle difference is extreme - winter 69.77 degrees, summer 17.27 degrees. I plan to do it with something like angle iron and fasteners but it's a big angle adjustment. I may actually hang them on the side of the barn with standoffs at the bottom in the winter, and in the summer lay them flat on the ground.
defrost 2y ago
There are also panels available as surplus, rotated out old stock from large solar farms (at least in Australia)- when they start to dip and an engineer determines it's cost effective to replace with brand new and more efficient (than the older panel ever was). I've seen a lot of panels on cars | vans to charge batteries for fridges etc. Also more professional offerings such as mobile charging for field work. https://www.solarbatterywarehouse.com.au/solar-battery-shop/off-grid-solar-trailer https://www.solarbatterywarehouse.com.au/solar-battery-shop/... and farmers with workshops just buying the batteries, inverters, panels and fitting those to existing trailers | tractores | trucks, etc.

by gpm 2y ago

jaggederest 2y ago

I'm already planning to have a robust inverter and battery stack offgrid and do all the actual solar panel wiring myself. They're going to be thrown in the field face up, and if they have problems, I'll just add more or replace dead ones. $0.31/w is actually kind of expensive, you can get crappy clearance used panels for more like $0.15/w or even less if you shop around (shipping is the largest expense at that point!) Does it even make sense to set up racking for panels that are ~1/4 the price of a rack, even if you are using ballasted cheapo racking?

fbdab103 2y ago
One company is trying the approach of placing the panels flat on the ground[0]. So long as you put a fence around it to stop local wildlife from crushing them, seems easy enough. Maybe give it a monthly sweep if it is more prone to collecting debris. [0] https://electrek.co/2022/12/12/texas-solar-farm-flat-on-the-ground/ https://electrek.co/2022/12/12/texas-solar-farm-flat-on-the-...
andrewmcwatters 2y ago
Wow, that’s incredible pricing.
hattmall 2y ago
I had the idea to have them floating, sort of, where you angle them by pumping up a sort of canal or something. And potentially the water could be used to create condensation based irrigation for crops planted with in the panels. That or installations that mimic trees with preserves ground space being maximized.
- jaggederest 2y ago
  Yeah that's actually very close to what I am thinking, if I get some expensive high value panels, I'm at a fairly high latitude (46N) so the winter-summer angle difference is extreme - winter 69.77 degrees, summer 17.27 degrees. I plan to do it with something like angle iron and fasteners but it's a big angle adjustment. I may actually hang them on the side of the barn with standoffs at the bottom in the winter, and in the summer lay them flat on the ground.

defrost 2y ago

There are also panels available as surplus, rotated out old stock from large solar farms (at least in Australia)- when they start to dip and an engineer determines it's cost effective to replace with brand new and more efficient (than the older panel ever was). I've seen a lot of panels on cars | vans to charge batteries for fridges etc. Also more professional offerings such as mobile charging for field work. https://www.solarbatterywarehouse.com.au/solar-battery-shop/off-grid-solar-trailer https://www.solarbatterywarehouse.com.au/solar-battery-shop/... and farmers with workshops just buying the batteries, inverters, panels and fitting those to existing trailers | tractores | trucks, etc.