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Balcony solar is even cheaper to build than utility-scale solar.
by kragen 11mo ago
Balcony solar is even cheaper to build than utility-scale solar.
- triceratops 11mo agoIt's limited to 800W in Germany and 1200W in Utah. It isn't about to replace utility-scale generation anytime soon.
- rjdj377dhabsn 11mo agoThose limits are just arbitrary regulations. It's easy to install 10x that on a residential roof.
- triceratops 11mo agoAnd we come back to my original point. Residential roof installation is the most expensive way to install solar power. Utility scale solar is easily haf the cost of residential.
- rstuart4133 11mo ago> Utility scale solar is easily half the cost of residential. If it's only half, the problem it's not going to stop residential installs. By the time that utility power gets to them here in Australia it costs about 3 times as much, so they are going to install their rooftop systems anyway. I can't speak for elsewhere, but here in Australia residential installs tend to be over provisioned. A small'ish install is 5kW. That generates about 20kWh per day. Typical household consumption is 1/2 that. Newer builds like mine tend to have far more - upwards of 20kW of panels. That's to cater for charging EV's. The result is grid solar installs are getting hammered by roof top solar: https://reneweconomy.com.au/wind-and-solar-hit-record-share-of-main-grid-as-curtailment-underscores-need-for-more-storage/ https://reneweconomy.com.au/wind-and-solar-hit-record-share-...
- kragen 11mo agoIn the US it's typically about a quarter.
- rjdj377dhabsn 11mo agoIt shouldn't be that expensive. I had 10x 500w installed and wired on my 7-8 meter high roof in 1/2 day. I only paid $50 where I ljve, but even with 10x higher labor costs in the US, it should be under $1000.
- kragen 11mo agoIt shouldn't be, I agree. And eventually it won't be. But SEIA's report https://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-market-insight-report-q2-2024 https://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-market-insight... said that, in Q1 of 02024, utility-scale fixed-tilt installations in the USA averaged 98¢ per peak watt, of which 40¢ was the PV modules; and residential installations averaged 325¢ per peak watt, of which 20¢ was the PV modules, which is an atypically low share, historically speaking. Where do you live?
- pfdietz 11mo agoI'm surprised at the 40¢ figure for utility scale. Are you sure that didn't include the mounting hardware? Utility-scale PV is typically with 1-axis trackers. Another possibility would be that utility scale solar optimizes to a much large disparity between DC rating and AC rating than does domestic rooftop PV.
- duskwuff 11mo agoBalcony solar is installed on a unit-by-unit basis. It isn't 800W per building; it's potentially up to 800W for each unit in an apartment.
- triceratops 11mo agoThat's still not a lot. Less than a hairdryer uses.
- kragen 11mo agoA heavily used hairdryer is typically in use for 5 minutes per day, so a 1500-watt-peak hairdryer might average 5.2 watts. It needs 1500 watts of batteries (say, 3kWh of 0.5C batteries, or 0.4kWh of 4C batteries), not 1500 watts of solar panels.
- kragen 11mo agoThat only applies if you connect it to the grid in each of those places, I believe.
- triceratops 11mo agoI can't wrap my head around what off-grid balcony solar even means. Balcony solar is meant for apartment dwellers. Or detached home/townhome owners who don't want to spend on a rooftop install. You aren't installing balcony solar to go fully off-grid.
- kragen 11mo agoSure, but you don't need to go fully off-grid to have an off-grid balcony solar panel. You can connect it to just your freezer, or just a storage heater, or to the batteries you run your homelab off of.
- adrianN 11mo agoBalcony solar can still satisfy a significant portion of a household's demand.