admin answers:

Generator is a vague word. Assuming you are using it to mean motor-generator sets which have a gas or diesel engine driving an alternator.

No, you can’t charge a motor generator set, it runs on gasoline or diesel fuel, you can’t convert sunlight or electricity to fuel.

But, you can use excess power during the day to charge batteries that can be later used to supply power. Note that battery storage can be expensive, and needs a lot of space and maintenance.

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admin answers:

Yes. There are ways including wind, gravitational (rain falling into spouts, turning generators). You can also heat your water by taking aluminum/tin foil and shaping it into a semi-circle by hand and aiming the sunlight at your hot water pipes.

admin answers:

There are some cars that already do this, but it is not piratical for commercial uses.

admin answers:

Hey turingschild,

I think you have a good idea there. I am also interested in solar energy. I just saw a film called “A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash” and agree that oil will soon run out. My interest in energy is purely investment oriented. Energy stocks make up the greatest portion of my portfolio. And year-over-year, the energy stocks have outperformed all of my other holdings (including real estate stocks and physical real estate).

In my profession, I get to analyze real estate investments and figure out how the investment will perform in short-term and long-term durations.

My answer to your question is this, analyze all factors leading to the purchase of solar products. You will want to find information about the following:
physical boundaries of your particular location
size of location
population
population growth
employment rate
incomes
disposable incomes
housing costs
busiest retail locations in your particular location
any competition?
Where are the hardware stores?
Can you open close to a home depot or Lowe’s?
Will they end up carrying the same products you want to carry?
Where can the current population go to purchase solar products?
How is your pricing compared to online stores
what’s your marketing and advertising plan?
Do you think just having a store open is enough?
Can you use the press to get publicity?
Can you work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week?

These are variable I try to figure out when I analyze an investment. I also do a sensitivity test by guesstimating the expenses and then increasing all expense items to see what the worst case scenario would be.

Hope that helps.

admin answers:

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I think solar power will one day be perfectly feasible and able to power devices which require a lot less power then they do currently (think of the different power requirement for light between an incandescent lightbulb and quantum dots for example).

I think the insane part, though, is when people assume that you can somehow force solar and wind on to the country and world as a whole when it is nowhere near at the stage when it can supply the electricity we need. Nuclear is the only sensible way to go for power at this moment, unless you want to go back to coal.
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When solar and wind can compete genuinely, then they will win naturally.
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admin answers:

Yes, that is how battery based solar systems work. The charge controller manages putting the energy from the solar panels in the battery, while the inverter converts it to AC and allows appliances to run off it.

If you are interested in learning more about solar electricity, check out the free video on the AltE Store. Http://www.altestore.com/store/Books-Classes-Educational-Videos/Educational-Videos/Educational-Video-Solar-Electricity-Basics/p6053/. No catch, it’s free.

admin answers:

More watts is more power, because watts are a measure of power. Most solar panels produce the right voltage to charge a car battery, but you should really have a charge controller too. See the source for some ideas.

admin answers:

I’m a huge fan of solar, but if your purpose is just to cover yourself during a power outage, I would suggest that you just get a gasoline-powered generator from a hardware store (some are less than $100), and run that to a power strip. If outages are frequent or long, you might want to get a better built generator. That will cost several hundred dollars, but will still be less expensive than the equivalent solar. Keep a 5-gallon can of gas handy, and you can have power for days.