Why no solar power in florida?

driver_problems · 16-02-2006, 14:09

I was in florida, USA a while back and as you are probably aware it is nearly always sunny there. What struck me as strange as why there weren't any solar panels anywhere - you would have thought that this would be the ideal place to have them but I can't recall seeing any anywhere. Maybe its just that they have cheap fuel so can't be ar$ed with any of that kind of stuff

16-02-2006, 14:10

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Originally Posted by driver_problems

What struck me as strange as why there weren't any solar panels anywhere...

Maybe they were well hidden?

driver_problems · 16-02-2006, 14:11

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Originally Posted by ScaredWebWarrior

Maybe they were well hidden?

a possibility I suppose

gazzae · 16-02-2006, 14:12

I know that NASA use evacuated tube collectors. The company I work for supplied them.

**Chris** · 16-02-2006, 14:15

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Originally Posted by driver_problems

I was in florida, USA a while back and as you are probably aware it is nearly always sunny there. What struck me as strange as why there weren't any solar panels anywhere - you would have thought that this would be the ideal place to have them but I can't recall seeing any anywhere. Maybe its just that they have cheap fuel so can't be ar$ed with any of that kind of stuff

The US is 'addicted' to oil, according to Gee-Dubya.

And it seems the University of Central Florida agrees with you. This is pretty damning reading.

gazzae · 16-02-2006, 14:20

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Originally Posted by gazzae

I know that NASA use evacuated tube collectors. The company I work for supplied them.

And we also supplied the Pentagon, but thats not in Florida...

Jason1 · 16-02-2006, 15:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by driver_problems

I was in florida, USA a while back and as you are probably aware it is nearly always sunny there. What struck me as strange as why there weren't any solar panels anywhere - you would have thought that this would be the ideal place to have them but I can't recall seeing any anywhere. Maybe its just that they have cheap fuel so can't be ar$ed with any of that kind of stuff

might be the cost per panel. Whilst i was there I did see some solar panels on new builds in Davenport but these where used for pool heating only

gazzae · 16-02-2006, 16:02

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Originally Posted by Jason1

might be the cost per panel. Whilst i was there I did see some solar panels on new builds in Davenport but these where used for pool heating only

Thats what a lot of them are used for. Most of our products are used for Hot Water supply - swimming pools, space heating or air conditioning.

16-02-2006, 16:06

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Originally Posted by gazzae

And we also supplied the Pentagon, but thats not in Florida...

Ahhh yes but they only use them to deflect the sunlight into the eye's of terrorists in order to blind them so they don't get a bull's eye when trying to crash their plans into it!

Xaccers · 16-02-2006, 22:18

Hurricaines.

punky · 16-02-2006, 22:36

Solar power is used in Florida. Some of the signs that have a flashing amber (warning light) are solar powered, if they are in a good position. 'Solar power' also heats some pools (its just channels of water running over your roof in black pipes) does sod all good except in height of summer. Some peoples external lights run on solar power too.

The reason why solar power isn't widely used, is because its ridiculously expensive, produces an extremely inefficient, low electricity yield, and is very susceptible to damage. Not just in hurricanes by generally. Also, being on your roof, will make it very hard & expensive to clean (especially as its glass so you can't lie on it), so it won't be long before it gets dirty and produces an even lower yield.

I agree (well, everyone does, even Dubya) that we should move away from oil, but solar is a complete non-starter.

Kliro · 17-02-2006, 00:04

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Originally Posted by punky

I agree (well, everyone does, even Dubya) that we should move away from oil, but solar is a complete non-starter.

Heh, what made you come to that conclusion?

There are whole power plants that produce electricity, soley using energy from the sun.

Also - we should take advantage of the heat the sun inputs into our land, extensive piping throughout a garden can allow a heating system to operate throughout the year.

I think solar energy has huge potential.

But in this case - I'd say mixture of cost due to low demand, and damage from the storms they have there.

They can make self cleaning glass now can't they?

punky · 17-02-2006, 00:13

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Originally Posted by Kliro

There are whole power plants that produce electricity, soley using energy from the sun.

Well that's news to me. It just seems so impractical, that I don't even think its worth trying to refine & improve it. Yeah, using the sun for heat isn't bad... But using solar to convert to pure electricity on a mass scale seems a bad idea.

Kliro · 17-02-2006, 00:22

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Originally Posted by punky

Well that's news to me. It just seems so impractical, that I don't even think its worth trying to refine & improve it. Yeah, using the sun for heat isn't bad... But using solar to convert to pure electricity on a mass scale seems a bad idea.

I'll try and find a link, saw it in a biology video a while back, I think they used reflectors onto pipes containing a thick liquid that heated water to produce steam, hence power.

http://www.eng.fsu.edu/~shih/succeed...er%20plant.htm

gazzae · 17-02-2006, 10:32

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Originally Posted by punky

does sod all good except in height of summer.

Complete rubbish. We have our products in countries like Sweden, Denmark, Norway. We also have installations in Alaska. They all work year round.

Our collectors absorb solar radiation, even the diffused radiation in cloudy conditions. They don't need direct sunlight and because they are evacuated they are almost unaffected by outside temperature or weather conditions.