NRC confident solar roof system will benefit Thais

[Nuddy]

supporting thomash

News Quote

Overall, the agency has loaned $34.2 billion to a variety of businesses, under a program designed to speed up development of clean-energy technology. Companies have defaulted on $780 million of that — a loss rate of 2.28 percent. The agency also has collected $810 million in interest payments, putting the program $30 million in the black.

[Don Aleman]

Other than large, new, commercial operations, solar power is not practical

because : 1).The return on a new house installation, ( when the house is being built ), is figured at 10 years to get your original investment back and most people relocate every 5 to 7 years and will see nothing, 2). Older homes present a whole new can of worms and few will support solar installation which is far more costly then being installed in a building just going up, 3). Who will certify equipment/contractors/guarantees ? Remember this is a nation that can't build a proper road, keep fountains spouting water or, even, operate a train !

[Nuddy]

Contrary to what MaiChai says at post# 28 Google reports the following

Quote

1. The minimum life expectancy of a solar panel is around 20 years but most manufacturers give 25-years warranties now. Most rate their panels for at least a 25 year life and some rate them to 30 years.

[tingtongfarang]

Contrary to what MaiChai says at post# 28 Google reports the following

Quote

1. The minimum life expectancy of a solar panel is around 20 years but most manufacturers give 25-years warranties now. Most rate their panels for at least a 25 year life and some rate them to 30 years.

Not sure about the latest technology but i lived 14 years with a stand alone solar system running a normal house on 220volts,

Poly cristaline modules had both the least output and the shortest life span, the mono cristaline i had from siemens had a 25yr garantie and worked fine, i remember being low on power in 2 months each year until i installed wind power.

[Trickcyclist]

...that lucky old sun

ain't got nothin' to do

but roll around Thailand all day.

Get it working!

No brainer: Should be compulsory to install solar on every new house in Thailand.I have had solar hot water for years without any problems.Once installed its free and water too hot to touch. Feed the power back into the national grid from every house's spare solar generated capacity and pay the householder.Saves the environment and provides cheap if not free energy. Pity Thai government doesn't do a deal with Elon Musk's Solar City company and also get him to bring his Tesla electric cars to Thailand. Best cars ever built. Safe, clean, big, comfortable, stylish, pollution free, fast, quiet. Petrol and diesel engines are 100 years out of date. Build Tesla car assembly and battery factories here and bring down the cost. Run your electric car from free solar home energy.Have recharging units everywhere for travel convenience, from free solar energy: at home,on the road, at restaurants, hotel car parks, everywhere. Get rid of those stinking unhealthy internal combustion engines with their polluting tailpipe emissions and maintenance costs.

[Anthony5]

Contrary to what MaiChai says at post# 28 Google reports the following

Quote

1. The minimum life expectancy of a solar panel is around 20 years but most manufacturers give 25-years warranties now. Most rate their panels for at least a 25 year life and some rate them to 30 years.

Add to that that 90% of the panels in the world are Chinese manufactured.

[surangw]

"5,000 megawatts" one house system can power the whole village ???

[ResandePohm]

Solar panels are expensive and they don't last. You might get a year or two working before they fail or power output reduces. Thats good quality ones; what about Thai or Chinese ones?

This is not true. Solar panels have a design life of 25 years.Yes they do lose power over this life span. Good quality panels made in Australia, Germany and the UK are guaranteed not to lose more than 20% over the life span. Those made in China and India which although they are cheaper are not of the same quality and tend to lose more power.

More common reasons for power loss are:

1. Incorrect installation - Installed on roofs not on the same plain, or on roofs not facing south.

2..Shadows passing over the array i.e. a chimney stack or tree or telegraph pole.

3. Inverter failure. Inverter design life is generally 10 years after which it will need to be replaced.

Also be aware that they produce no electricity at night so cannot power your house at night. Electricity produced in day time cannot be stored for usage later. Unless of course you install very a expensive battery system which then defeats the idea of cheap electricity.

Edit: Because a system cannot produce electricity at night you should reckon with it only giving you about 50% of your total household electricity needs

Edited January 6, 2015 by ResandePohm

[Anthony5]

"5,000 megawatts" one house system can power the whole village ???

1 Megawatt should be sufficient to power 1000 US homes, so 10.000 megawatt should be enough to power 10 Million US homes, or more than sufficient to supply the Whole of Thailand and a big part of Cambodia.

http://www.answers.com/Q/How_many_homes_can_a_megawatt_power

An average U.S. household uses about 10,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity each year. A watt is a unit of power, or energy per unit time, so it's the rate at which energy is being used. A kilowatt-hour (or 1000 watt-hours) is a unit of energy, so 10,000 kWh is how much total energy each household uses over the course of a year.

This means that each household, on average, uses energy at a rate of about 1 kilowatt (1000 watts, which equal to ten 100-watt light bulbs).

One megawatt is equal to one million watts, so for one instant, one megawatt can power 1000 homes.

Edited January 6, 2015 by Anthony5

[SpaceKadet]

Considering that a modern nuclear power plant unit generates around 1000 MW, these must be some kickass panels they have access to here. Can I have one please?

Also considering that the best case of solar irradiation (equator/zenith) is about 1kW per square meter, the panels must have an efficiency of several thousand percent to generate that amount of power per household. Something in the style of ZPM.

[englishoak]

Solar panels are expensive and they don't last. You might get a year or two working before they fail or power output reduces. Thats good quality ones; what about Thai or Chinese ones?

This is not true. Solar panels have a design life of 25 years.Yes they do lose power over this life span. Good quality panels made in Australia, Germany and the UK are guaranteed not to lose more than 20% over the life span. Those made in China and India which although they are cheaper are not of the same quality and tend to lose more power.

More common reasons for power loss are:

1. Incorrect installation - Installed on roofs not on the same plain, or on roofs not facing south.

2..Shadows passing over the array i.e. a chimney stack or tree or telegraph pole.

3. Inverter failure. Inverter design life is generally 10 years after which it will need to be replaced.

Also be aware that they produce no electricity at night so cannot power your house at night. Electricity produced in day time cannot be stored for usage later. Unless of course you install very a expensive battery system which then defeats the idea of cheap electricity.

Edit: Because a system cannot produce electricity at night you should reckon with it only giving you about 50% of your total household electricity needs

So what option do you think Thailand would go for re quality ?

Add to that your 1 2 and 3 suddenly its looking not such a great idea here, add the burning season in some areas or monsoon clouds etc.

Now put all that together for the average Thai budget spent on something you cant show off when out and about thats going to take 10 years on average to recoup ive a feeling this isnt going to get very far in the private housing sector.

[halloween]

Don't forget to include the cost of cleaning them regularly, or lose up to 25% of output.

[crazygreg44]

Solar panels are expensive and they don't last. You might get a year or two working before they fail or power output reduces. Thats good quality ones; what about Thai or Chinese ones?

This is not true. Solar panels have a design life of 25 years.Yes they do lose power over this life span. Good quality panels made in Australia, Germany and the UK are guaranteed not to lose more than 20% over the life span. Those made in China and India which although they are cheaper are not of the same quality and tend to lose more power.

More common reasons for power loss are:

1. Incorrect installation - Installed on roofs not on the same plain, or on roofs not facing south.

2..Shadows passing over the array i.e. a chimney stack or tree or telegraph pole.

3. Inverter failure. Inverter design life is generally 10 years after which it will need to be replaced.

Also be aware that they produce no electricity at night so cannot power your house at night. Electricity produced in day time cannot be stored for usage later. Unless of course you install very a expensive battery system which then defeats the idea of cheap electricity.

Edit: Because a system cannot produce electricity at night you should reckon with it only giving you about 50% of your total household electricity needs

Can't power a house in the nightime ?

what the hell are the fully charged batteries for ?

are you aware that a solar panel in the daytime, has it's best outputs at 12 degree Celsius ?

Definitely so not in Thailand.

Inverter failure ? Yes, maybe because YOU had your fingers in it.

What a load of Big BS !

[crazygreg44]

yes they maaaaybeee will introduce solar energy in Thailand.

and yes, there will maaaaaybeeee a few somchais that can do the correct wiring.

and then maaaybeee some people are able to waiiiit the installments.

comes to my mind Mister Plod-sa WhaddyaWoont, who claimed water can run uphill

Thailand is a third world country because certain people in power can sit back and relax

[ratcatcher]

I wonder which general owns the company...

General Electric Motors.

[In the jungle]

Distributed solar power generation is the way to do it.

I want power generated at my house where I will use it without anyone other than me profiting from the power generation process.

The General does not want distributed power generation. He wants a system where his mates can set up solar farms in Issan or wherever and the power companies are bound to buy the power from them at inflated prices. All electricity consumers will pay for the subsidies in their tarrifs.

Most of the world's top ten solar panel manufacturers are Chinese. It is wrong to suggest that all Chinese panels are sub standard.

[paulchiangmai]

I have a brother living in Brisbane, Australia, two years ago he had installed a solar electric system that covers half of the roof of his large house, the government subsidised the cost of installations then, not sure if they still do. He has an air conditioner in one bedroom and all the usual appliances. The electricity that is not used in the house is fed back into the grid, it is compulsory for the electricity companies to buy back electricity generated by these solar panels. Every month for the past two years he has received a cheque [check] from the electricity company. In other words he is selling more than he is using.

[sweatalot]

imagine all the temple roofs covered with solar energy tiles

[DLock]

Thailand does not have the ability to take excess electricity back to the grid, and no plans at this stage.

The solar panels should last 20 years+, if they are not crappy Chinese solar panels. German and Australian are by far the best, but that comes at a cost, and import duty.

But the biggest cost is the batteries to store the electricity generated during the day, and the life of the batteries, and that depends on proper setup, proper charging cycles, temperature and the type of batteries to start with.

But needless to say, an average home will probably never recover their investment on solar, until the price comes down, import duties cut, subsidies provided and excess can be sold back to the grid.

But there are some great standalone solar systems for water pumps, pool filters, hot water systems that do not need batteries and only work during the day, and will pay back in 2 or 3 years.

I have looked into this in detail, and come to the conclusion that Thailand is not ready...

....unless some Government Minister family just happens to be setting up a solar panel factory. Then it all makes sense.

[Mr Somtam]

I don't want to sound like a grumpy user but: electricity is very cheap in Thailand, solar panels are expensive and many people find them ugly as well. Who will buy and install these panels?

[jerojero]

Desperately trying to be 1st world tomorrow..... Give it 25 years maybe.

[BSJ]

"with a capacity of 5,000 megawatts per household. As for the next 20 years, Mr Alongkorn expects the capacity to reach 10,000 megawatts per household."

It's been 8 years since I got my qualification in electro technology - renewable energy...but I don't think solar cells have developed that much!

But if they have, I'll have one, thanks very much.

[koo wallety tourist]

This is a good idea.

I am currently working in South Sudan were the street lights are run off solar power. The traffic lights are run off solar power and the rich folk have solar power on there roofs which run their 3 light bulbs and fan at night. Obviously this is all on a micro scale.

The system work well and once installed are essentially maintenance free and maintenance free in Thailand is critical to longevity.

Good luck in introducing this. I must concede that the chairman of the NRC subcommittee should leave the maths to the electrical engineers though!

they have no theft problem in south sudan?

while we are there whats the long term expat visa situation like?

Edited February 28, 2015 by koo wallety tourist

[koo wallety tourist]

"with a capacity of 5,000 megawatts per household. As for the next 20 years, Mr Alongkorn expects the capacity to reach 10,000 megawatts per household."

It's been 8 years since I got my qualification in electro technology - renewable energy...but I don't think solar cells have developed that much!

But if they have, I'll have one, thanks very much.

you havent factored in global warming

[aussieinthailand]

All they need to do it talk to the United States and see how much money has been wasted on this crap . They tried back in the 80's and now trying again.

Does the company Solindra ring a bell ? I think I misspelled it. Took the tax payers for 9 billion dollars.

Sad the seppo's (America) can't get it right, sorry about that mate, as for the aussie's well yeah doing just fine thanks, solar panels on the roof and pushing back into the grid and getting a pay cheque each month not that hard man really,

The big question is getting the right type of panel for tropical region and then ya got a fighting chance with the best type batteries.

[chiang mai]

Electricity is too cheap here and the panels too expensive for solar to pay back within reasonable/sensible timescales - for two hot months a year when I might use aircon and my bills could run to say 3k/4k a month, the rest of the months are sub 1k a month, that makes an annual spend of 18k tops, only 50% of which can be recouped from daytime solar. Solar costs how much, HomePro has a basic system that costs over 300k - 300k divided by 9k is over 30 years, or am I missing something!

[BSJ]

The wife wants a solar setup for one of her farms that is 2km from the grid. Looking at the price of a solar pump set-up here as opposed to back in Oz.....they are cheaper in Oz!

[Mr Somtam]

Electricity is too cheap here and the panels too expensive for solar to pay back within reasonable/sensible timescales - for two hot months a year when I might use aircon and my bills could run to say 3k/4k a month, the rest of the months are sub 1k a month, that makes an annual spend of 18k tops, only 50% of which can be recouped from daytime solar. Solar costs how much, HomePro has a basic system that costs over 300k - 300k divided by 9k is over 30 years, or am I missing something!

No you are not missing something. This is the reason why very little people will be interested in solar. When a system, prefferably with batteries, is around 100000 baht it will be more appealing.

[kelboy]

No good around Sukhothai,

we haven't seen the sun for 3 months.

just think if only they could get energy from all the burning around thailand.

[tif]

This is a good idea.

I am currently working in South Sudan were the street lights are run off solar power. The traffic lights are run off solar power and the rich folk have solar power on there roofs which run their 3 light bulbs and fan at night. Obviously this is all on a micro scale.

The system work well and once installed are essentially maintenance free and maintenance free in Thailand is critical to longevity.

Good luck in introducing this. I must concede that the chairman of the NRC subcommittee should leave the maths to the electrical engineers though!

Ah, your favourite demographic. So the 'not rich folks' here in Thailand will simply have to make do with a candle, then.