ChrisB wrote:As you say millions of pounds are spent in developement etc on new products and I agree that the end user has to cop this to a degree, how ever its not like solar panels are new we've (military and the likes) have been using these for YEARS, just one that sticks in my mind was Skylab and that was in the early 70's so its not new tech.
Correct, but the panels have always been a very niche market. Plasma displays have been around since the 1960s. So very much like solar, it has taken a very long time to become affordable.
While I agree the panels are a bit tricky to make, we have had some practice now and we've been making them for over 40yrs, OK efficiencies have been much improved from the early ones but whats going on with the price
You've just said that plasma prices dropped vastly in just 4yrs so you'd expect in 40yrs panels would be at the very least at a reasonable price
Absolutely, but plasma displays were hugely expensive for decades before they dropped in price, and only when the performance of the technology created a new market for it - i.e. large TVs. The solar 'killer app' hasn't arrived yet, so there is still not a volume market for them. Ergo, the price will remain high.
I'm not sure that you can say PV panels are difficult to make work, even poorly.......you just point them at the sun
It depends on how much efficiency you want to achieve. You can always compensate for a bad design with more panels, but if you want to get the best value for money, you've got to get the best design.
its the same with EV's if you look at what has to go into an EV its far less than a ICE vehicle less moving parts less machining etc etc so why are we being charged more for them
Two reasons: volumes and batteries. Most high performing motors are hand-wound, which makes them expensive. EVs are niche which mean you can't yet build them in the volumes required to get the cost down, and the cost of batteries far outweighs the rest of the cost in an EV.
PS Book MB ....what book so come on then spill da beans
I'm writing a book on how to design solar PV systems in order to get the best out of them. It is called the Solar Electric Handbook and the UK version will be published at the end of March, with the American edition following in the summer.