Can Solar Power become cool?

[GonzoGamer]

I think so.
This is probably the coolest gadget I've seen in a while.
http://www.yankodesign.com/2013/04/26/plug-it-on-the-window/

I really want one of these. Unfortunately they don't make them for the US.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Isn't it already cool?
I mean what's cooler for killing vampires than a sun gun?

OT: IMO yes to alternative power sources.

 

[Call Me Jose]

I don't think Solar Power ever sounded lame, it'll just be a matter of time before the craze kicks in maybe. That and when companies can find a way to charge you for using the Sun.

 

[Frission]

With the Swanson effect and the cost of photovoltaic cells going down, it could be a viable solution
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SxDHmbz181A/UOBoWn2P4oI/AAAAAAAAEhg/0tFxJ4Z0gHI/s1600/swanson%2527s%2Blaw.png

We're seeing a change now in the costs for most renewable due to the presence of an industry which is capable of mass producing photovoltaic cells and wind turbines.

Solar can be installed more quickly. Small incremental gains in generating capacity produce energy immediately. Solar power goes online far more quickly. They also do not consume billions of gallons of cooling water each year and there are no national security issues with solar installations. They aren't also burdened by a variety of externalities.

I think it's pretty cool. I love talking about energy.

EDIT:The cost of solar photovoltaic cells have steadily fallen over decades. They are projected to fall even further. It could be a fulfillement of ?Swanson's Law? an observation that the price of solar photovoltaic cells tends to drop 20% for every doubling of industry capacity. As you can see above from the graph photovoltaic prices have fallen from $76.67/Watt in 1977 to an estimated $0.74/Watt in 2013, for crystalline silicon solar cells.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

That window socket looks pretty cool but... forgive the noobness, how do you make it work at night?

 

[XMark]

I'd like to know how much power it actually supplies. Would it be enough to charge a standard smartphone?

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

That window socket looks pretty cool but... forgive the noobness, how do you make it work at night?

Solar powered lights at least, store energy collected over the course of the day to use at night.
Sort of like charging a battery.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

That window socket looks pretty cool but... forgive the noobness, how do you make it work at night?

Solar powered lights at least, store energy collected over the course of the day to use at night.
Sort of like charging a battery.

So it's like Venusaur using Solar Beam in two turns

 

[GonzoGamer]

I'd like to know how much power it actually supplies. Would it be enough to charge a standard smartphone?

Sure but right now it can't do much more than that. They're trying to perfect it: more output without making it bigger.

And FTR: I always thought solar power was cool but got the feeling most other people didn't. This thing looks like the ipod of solar power.

 

[Bertylicious]

Fuck me that is amazing, I could just boil the kettle with that sucker all day and I'd never need to pay for hot water again!

*reads actual power output*

Solar power is worse than cancer.

 

[IndomitableSam]

I wish... it's always been a dream of mine (seriously, I'm that sad) to build a house out in the country with a ton of solar panels and try to live off-grid as much as I can. Where I live now is quite sunny, and where I want to live is the sunniest place in Canada, so it's very viable.

I should probably look into mini solar panel things to charge my phone and tablet with though, at the very least. In case I'm every stuck in the middle of nowhere I'll still be able to have power, anyway.

 

[Vegosiux]

They also do not consume billions of gallons of cooling water each year and there are no national security issues with solar installations.

While solar is developing, yes, the production of panels and disposal of defunct ones is still not clean business. Plus, the moment it becomes a main power supply, arrays become very lucrative, and very large targets to ne'er-do-well types.

Getting there, yeah, but I wouldn't bet on it just yet. Hopefully in the future we can clean up our orbit a bit then put the panels up there and then somehow transmit the energy down to the surface.

 

[krazykidd]

Can it become cool? It can't become cool if it want's to be cool , you just gotta do it . That's how cool works .

Amicoolyet.jpeg

OT: i would assume that a solar powered gun . That shoots beams .

 

[nvzboy]

They also do not consume billions of gallons of cooling water each year and there are no national security issues with solar installations.

While solar is developing, yes, the production of panels and disposal of defunct ones is still not clean business. Plus, the moment it becomes a main power supply, arrays become very lucrative, and very large targets to ne'er-do-well types.

Getting there, yeah, but I wouldn't bet on it just yet. Hopefully in the future we can clean up our orbit a bit then put the panels up there and then somehow transmit the energy down to the surface.

I saw a program on discovery channel on scientists succeeding in that very thing. They used micro waves to transfer almost 80% of the energy through 20km of air with dense fog. (The arrays were placed on two hilltops) Because the most energy is lost to the last few km's down to earth testing over a distance of 20kms on a relatively low altitude made it a realistic test. this means sending solar power down from space is viable. Now to find an investor.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

It's a bandaid for the energy crisis, according to Micho Kaku.

Instead of that, let's just wait for Nuclear Fusion.

Then everything will be sunshine and bunnies and unicorns shitting rainbows.

EDIT: found the video

 

[sextus the crazy]

I don't think Solar Power ever sounded lame.

Of course not, Solar power is the shit. And if 'Murica could get around to utilizing our giant sun resource, y'all other countries are even more fucked.

 

[emeraldrafael]

I always thought the idea of solar power ws pretty awesome and would love to see it used en mass. I dont think its there yet to take away in a noticeable (30+%) way the output items like coal do for electricity. And being from south western PA wanting to go away from coal is like sacrilege because tahts such a huge market and employer here and in the WV area (hell, consol energy just put their name on the new arena they cant afford to go out of business now). But iw ould look to see it more and more. Throw some out in the nevada deserts and up and in the sahara and stuff (once get africa fixed, which likely means never). Just anyhting to cut back so its not a giant shock when coal and diesel run out and the pumps shoot up to 15$/gallon and people rush to make alternative powered cars viable and practical to the average consumer en mass.

EDIT:

It's a bandaid for the energy crisis, according to Micho Kaku.

Instead of that, let's just wait for Nuclear Fusion.

Then everything will be sunshine and bunnies and unicorns shitting rainbows.

EDIT: found the video

now Im not an expert on nuclear power, and i know there's fusion and fission and they're both different processes and one us mostly used today cause the other is considered dangerous, but doesnt nuclear power run on a scarce natural resource that has to be mined and will also disappear once the world looks to it as a major energy source and only be the next oil/coal/fossil fuel crisis once it runs down (plus the deadly byproducts of it). i dont know what the time range is for that but i cant imagine is going to be a golden age of centuries.

now granted, I watched the video and understand solar power is near infinite (by the time the sun dies i'm pretty sure humanities going to be gone before that and 4.6 or however much billion years is near infinite enough when look at species dominance only lasting maybe millions) by not infinite and there's storage issues and its very dependent on really good weather which by nature is fickle, but it seems like fusion isnt the end all either. especially when in the video Micho Kaku even said you should use both together and not just fusion as a main.

 

[Requia]

Fuck me that is amazing, I could just boil the kettle with that sucker all day and I'd never need to pay for hot water again!

*reads actual power output*

Solar power is worse than cancer.

What is the actual output? I can't seem to find it.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

It is currently just not cost effective enough at the moment, not enough power for the price of the cells and the room they take up.

It will improve, it is improving all the time. Of course, it comes with a few issues you can't ignore right now, such as the problem of generating zero power at night, so must out produce what the power requirements are and have batteries able to store the power till the sun rises again. Coil, oil, and even dams don't have such problems.

 

[Dragonpit]

Solar power is very awesome, but for the time being, it's not gonna be used here. For one, it's not yet cost effective (getting there, though), not to mention some places will get more use out of it than others (Washington State is the only state I know of where the houses are "seaworthy." Dumdum da bish!). And second, and you may not believe this, certain types of power of certain...political leanings. For example, nuclear power. It can only move a country in an autocratic direction, simply because it's costs and dangers require it to be held and maintained by centralized governments, financial institutions, and militaries. And then there's the disposal of the resulting waste...

Solar power is democratically biased, because small communities and towns CAN maintain anything that can generate and provide it with little overall harm and solar power itself works best when it's decentralized. But of course, for this reason, big power companies would never allow this, and as we all know, companies rule the world (more or less). This essentially why we won't see solar power for a long, long time.