G
George Ghio
- Jan 1, 1970
- 0
June 15, 2007
The danger of solar power information, and indeed information for any other pursuit, from the web
and/or news groups is a combination of self delusion, self aggrandizement and greed.
SELF DELUSION; This is a big trap for for many people. It works like this, a person decides that he
would like to use solar power. This person has a preconceived idea of solar power based on what they
have been told by someone in a pub, seen on TV or just wishful thinking. It really doesn’t matter
where the info comes from. What matters is that it is, nine times out of ten, utter nonsense. The
problem is that the person wants to believe this information. Why do they want to believe what is
patently rubbish. Well, the main reason is that it suits their idea of how things should work. They
want to believe that all they need is a golf cart battery and a couple of fifteen watt Harbor
Freight panels and they will have free power for life. It’s true, they will believe what makes them
feel good, and the truth will not be allowed to get in the way.
SELF AGGRANDIZEMENT; This often follows on from self delusion. Our person cobbles together a system
that will light his front porch or finds a system design in a magazine that looks wonderful and
copies it. In either case there is no regard for their real needs. No understanding of system design
or their loads what-so-ever. But, all of a sudden they are the undisputed masters of solar design.
Of course they must now share their expertise with anybody and everybody. They put up a web site to
share their considerable knowledge, others look at the site and become self deluded thus starting
down the path to becoming an expert in solar power. It is not long before there are hundreds or
thousands of experts in solar power selling the same golf cart battery and and HF panel fantasy to
other people who want to believe that you can be energy independent for a couple of hundred dollars.
GREED; This is a different beast all together. Usually this type of person starts out as a second
rate automotive - marine - golf cart battery salesman who all of a sudden discovers that there is
money to be made from self deluded wannabes in the solar game. He is usually still selling the same
old batteries but now they are, of course, just as good as the worlds best, at half the price. Just
stick ten or twenty in parallel and Bob’s your uncle. The only person to win is the battery
salesman, he has your money and you have a truck load of manure.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Well, you can learn about solar power design. The first thing to learn is that there is no great
magical art involved, just basic math skills and a willingness to accept that solar power is free,
but the equipment required to use it is not.
Second thing to learn is that if the person giving you sage advice can not put a watt hour figure to
every load in their system, it is highly unlikely that they know enough to be giving advice.
Third thing to learn is being able to tell the difference between 1) Look what I did, pat me on the
back, aren’t I a clever little boy, web sites and 2) those that offer real advice, using real
numbers, in a clear and precise way.
Fourth thing is that people who tout that any number of parallel strings of batteries are as good as
a single series string of cells, are totally out of their depth as far as home power systems are
concerned. If there is absolutely no other option then limit the number of parallel strings of
batteries to two.
Fifth, reduce your energy use. If you can’t knock a third off your energy use, you’re just not trying.
Sixth, Don’t come to a forum such as this one and ask:
“I have an average home, how much will solar power cost”.
It only excites the wannabes and starts a barrage of nonsense. If you must ask how much, at the very
least look at your last power bill, work out what you used for a single day and post that number.
But, OTOH, the better thing would be to get copy of a spreadsheet and put your number into it. And
of course the very best would be to do a complete energy audit of everything you want to run and use
the final number in your spreadsheet. A good spreadsheet will tell you how many panels and batteries
you will need in under two minutes. Then you can get on the net and find some prices.
The danger of solar power information, and indeed information for any other pursuit, from the web
and/or news groups is a combination of self delusion, self aggrandizement and greed.
SELF DELUSION; This is a big trap for for many people. It works like this, a person decides that he
would like to use solar power. This person has a preconceived idea of solar power based on what they
have been told by someone in a pub, seen on TV or just wishful thinking. It really doesn’t matter
where the info comes from. What matters is that it is, nine times out of ten, utter nonsense. The
problem is that the person wants to believe this information. Why do they want to believe what is
patently rubbish. Well, the main reason is that it suits their idea of how things should work. They
want to believe that all they need is a golf cart battery and a couple of fifteen watt Harbor
Freight panels and they will have free power for life. It’s true, they will believe what makes them
feel good, and the truth will not be allowed to get in the way.
SELF AGGRANDIZEMENT; This often follows on from self delusion. Our person cobbles together a system
that will light his front porch or finds a system design in a magazine that looks wonderful and
copies it. In either case there is no regard for their real needs. No understanding of system design
or their loads what-so-ever. But, all of a sudden they are the undisputed masters of solar design.
Of course they must now share their expertise with anybody and everybody. They put up a web site to
share their considerable knowledge, others look at the site and become self deluded thus starting
down the path to becoming an expert in solar power. It is not long before there are hundreds or
thousands of experts in solar power selling the same golf cart battery and and HF panel fantasy to
other people who want to believe that you can be energy independent for a couple of hundred dollars.
GREED; This is a different beast all together. Usually this type of person starts out as a second
rate automotive - marine - golf cart battery salesman who all of a sudden discovers that there is
money to be made from self deluded wannabes in the solar game. He is usually still selling the same
old batteries but now they are, of course, just as good as the worlds best, at half the price. Just
stick ten or twenty in parallel and Bob’s your uncle. The only person to win is the battery
salesman, he has your money and you have a truck load of manure.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Well, you can learn about solar power design. The first thing to learn is that there is no great
magical art involved, just basic math skills and a willingness to accept that solar power is free,
but the equipment required to use it is not.
Second thing to learn is that if the person giving you sage advice can not put a watt hour figure to
every load in their system, it is highly unlikely that they know enough to be giving advice.
Third thing to learn is being able to tell the difference between 1) Look what I did, pat me on the
back, aren’t I a clever little boy, web sites and 2) those that offer real advice, using real
numbers, in a clear and precise way.
Fourth thing is that people who tout that any number of parallel strings of batteries are as good as
a single series string of cells, are totally out of their depth as far as home power systems are
concerned. If there is absolutely no other option then limit the number of parallel strings of
batteries to two.
Fifth, reduce your energy use. If you can’t knock a third off your energy use, you’re just not trying.
Sixth, Don’t come to a forum such as this one and ask:
“I have an average home, how much will solar power cost”.
It only excites the wannabes and starts a barrage of nonsense. If you must ask how much, at the very
least look at your last power bill, work out what you used for a single day and post that number.
But, OTOH, the better thing would be to get copy of a spreadsheet and put your number into it. And
of course the very best would be to do a complete energy audit of everything you want to run and use
the final number in your spreadsheet. A good spreadsheet will tell you how many panels and batteries
you will need in under two minutes. Then you can get on the net and find some prices.