Solar Air Conditioning

[soapcreek]

when growing up we all wished for the finer things in light also for stuff that made things easy not we have them we have to go back to the hard way to conserve are we as human going forward or backward

I perfectly understand what you are saying but where conservation is concerned I personally do not see it as going backwards at all. I am proud to contribute to those in the world who realise that we as humans are the ones destroying the planet and ourselves though over indulgence and ignorance to the needs of ourselves and others and our generations to come. Kinda frightens me that ppl think this way in light of what's happening in our world right around us daily.

Maybe you need to rate your self on the National Geographic GREEN indicator...http://event.nationalgeographic.com/greendex/

[desolate666]

Well for my say my father once had a project in which he ran our home off solar energy completely for about a year which was inplimented as a result of hurricane Gilbert but was made redundant as aresult of the maintenance cost plus time been put in to attending to the system but it was a good project wish i could duplicate it,. but main problem in instituting this plan is the cost as i found out from my research especially for the solar panels'"darn i wish dad hadn't sold the those stuff'" but i thing all everybody should do and can do is/as someone rightly mentioned in aprevious post is invest in energy saving equipment and importantly start conserving but hypocritically as it may seem all these comforts we desire 'self included' is killing the earth thus killing us take for example the earthquake in China which i know is somewhat related to the global warming crisis which is a result of our industrialization and modernization but rightly who cares as long as it isn't affecting us. guess we are all going to hell one way or the other/either by making one here right on earth or just die and end up there

[danthony]

A local environmental company has launched what is to be the country's first solar air conditioning unit.

Prince Graham-Haynes, president of Green Energy Technologies, said that with the increasing global demand for oil, smaller countries like Jamaica, must find ways to secure their energy needs.

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...ead/lead3.html

the price but i can imagine how high it must be.......... mayb $150,000 for the samllest unit or there about....... lol

[Bluntex_2]

i totally endorse any idea that promotes green or solar technologies, we got to stop been so dependent on oil for our every need for energy.

[danthony]

i totally endorse any idea that promotes green or solar technologies, we got to stop been so dependent on oil for our every need for energy.

2nd that again......... n especially with whr the cost of the oil has reached, even if you put aside the environmental aspect, you are then left with the economic aspect!! A/C units already consume alot of energy so this is a good initiative... the lower class of Jamaicans weren't running a/c units b4, the middle n upper class should be able to make the switch without much problems.

i understand that NHT lends money to buy solar water heaters. don't know if they include solar energy equipment, if they do, i guess they could add the solar a/c unit to the list.........

[Blunty Killer]

I'm actually in the process of getting one of these local companies to do an evaluation for me to offer solar to help offset the cost of energy. I asked about A/C and he said it's an absolute waste of money to try and power by solar. A/C draw too much current for which solar power for residential really wasn't designed. And to get the amount of solar panels and infrastructure you would need to power a house as if it were coming from the local power company would not only require a large amount of space but a huge capital layout that would not pay for itself at all. 50% of your house by solar, the other 50% by power company of on-site generator. Either way, to power a whole house (100%) under applicable load is extremely expensive.

[williamdw40]

Coupe of things, firstly I got this yesterday

There is a company doing solar air conditioning that will be displaying their product on the laws on Jamaica Environmental Trust compound at 11B Waterloo Road on Thursday May and Friday May 30, 2008 you guys may want to take a look.

Secondly I have not seen anyone make some real cost comparisons between solar and JPS cost vis-a-vis cost per kW vs cost per kWh. Solar panels are costed right now in cost per kW around US$8000 per kW. For a home with a peak demand of 5kW and assuming you convert 50% of your load to solar that works out to US$20,000. But how do you work out the life cycle cost of a solar panel to make an informed decision?.

The process is as follows convert solar DC to AC Power assuming 10% loss in inverter, approximate total electric energy over lifetime by multiplying peak hours of sunlight (about 4 hrs per day) x 365 days x 20 years

Therefore 2.5kW x 90% = 2.25 KW
2.25kW x 4 hrs per day = 9 kWh per day
9 kWh/day x 365 days/year = 3285 kWh per year
3285 kWh per year x 20 years = 65,700 kWhs total output over lifetime
Therefore cost per kWh = 20,000/65700 = 30.4 US cents per kWh

How does this compare to JPS, the JPS bills for May 2008 had a cumulative rate of J$29.284 (5.249 Energy 1st +9.225 Energy Next+14.733 F&IPP+0.077 Ivan Recovery) per kWh or US 40.9 cents per kWH

What does this mean, it means that you will be saving US 10.5 cents per kwh, therefore after 190,476 kWhs you will recoup the original investment of US$20,000. To generate that 190,476 kWhs will take you over 60 years which exceeds the lifetime of the panel by 200%.

Now these calculations are estimates and maybe the hours of peak sunlight could be revised upwards, but the essence is that solar power as it presently costed is only marginally cheaper (25%) than JPS.

[soapcreek]

williamdw40--how much do you think jps will be charging a year from now for that kwh--while they increase, the solar power owner will remain the same---i paid $90 a liter for fuel today--a year ago about$50--

[danthony]

@williamdw40- nice info. nvr really had it explained like that b4.

@bluntykiller- the design of these solar power A/C units, are sort of diff. you need to take a look at them. there is a Picture in todays Gleaner news paper. the price is staggering, $1,000,000.00 for the one pictured. they said you would recoup over 3 years.

and as soapcreek said, the price per kwh is rising but you will always remain constant!

[Blunty Killer]

@bluntykiller- the design of these solar power A/C units, are sort of diff. you need to take a look at them. there is a Picture in todays Gleaner news paper. the price is staggering, $1,000,000.00 for the one pictured. they said you would recoup over 3 years.

I did, an A/C unit from ATL is about $60,000. The light bill to run that A/C alone per month normal usage is about $8,000 per month. Again, to use solar to power an A/C is just not practical. $1,000,000 for an A/C unit? You've got to be kidding. Power everything else and let JPS do the A/C.

PS - You have to also take into account A/Cs come in different sizes. A 6000 BTU unit is good for a small room. But a 24000 BTU which is good for a larger room uses an obscene amount of current. He never mentioned in the article what sizes his system supports which is where you have to be careful.