Browse Forums General Discussion Re: solar powered house?????? 13Mar 26, 2007 12:54 pm "Greg Watson, the dude behind the SunCube is not concerned about the rebate program."
Shame that since with the rebate, I would almost certainly go down this route, without it, I'll just sit and watch things develop. I am sure I am not alone in this. 3xb solar powered house?????? 14Mar 26, 2007 3:53 pm Hi All
New to this forum, but not to the SunCube (SUNBALL).. Not affiliated to them, but wish I was... I think that the issues raised here about look and rebates are a little blinked.. No intention to offend so please don't take offense.. come from a long line of straight talkers.... If we agree that * There are issues throughout this planet with Global warming. * We want to leave our Children/ Grand Children / Great Grandchildren something to play on and enjoy. * We think that the little bit each of us does makes a difference. * All hope IS NOT lost, then maybe we need to stop worring about how pretty our roof looks or about the fact that we don't get the rebate but pay $7,000 LESS for more power output.. Seriously, if these Suncubes are able to do what they claim, and be at a price that demonstates the inventor is not pushing the price up 400% like some other technologies, then what is the hesitation really about? As for the rebates, it comes down to who has the bigger lobby group and the best Golf lunches I'd say.. Anyway.. not meaning to get high-horsed and certainly will understand if I am requested to not post here again, but i couldn't help but offer another view-point.. Re: solar powered house?????? 15Mar 26, 2007 4:42 pm Pierre,
I guess the reason the look is important is that most people do not want to live in a house that has an unattractive look. That may simply mean that these things are only good as an extrernal power generation facility. Put another way, most people here would not want a mini coal powered power plant at their home either. Asthetics do matter when selling a home and the loss in resale value of your home has to be considered in the equation. Also remember that council may not like them either. As for rebates, the guy is basically cutting himself out of great marketing which is odd given that he has been so thorough with everything else. He is also (in my opinion) a bit evasive on his forum when answering questions. That doesn't affect the product per se but it does mean that sales to people other than devoted followers will be a harder sell. For a relatively little effort, he could make it so that it would be almost crazy not to consider this product even if you are not intrested in the environment. Factoring in costs over a 25 year period may be fine for some, but I suspect that the vast majority won't go with it. If you really want to get the environment cleaned up, every effort should be made to get the majority on board. A bit of effort could potentially achieve this but seems to be being snubbed. As for lobby groups/ golf etc, I just don't buy it, it is a great excuse though isnt it?? I personally am likely to buy green power from my existing power company. I will keep an eye on how things develop and take it from there. There is a number of other technologies coming through the pipeline that I'll be keeping an eye on (eg.CIGS). Time is on my side as I am currently building and wouldn't be able to buy for about a year anyway. I ran some figures through the spreadsheet and came back that I would have to wait 16 years before I could get a return and that was without taking out a loan. The figures were drastically different when I considered a government rebate. Anyway, I certainly appreciate your opinion and I am far from writing these things off. As you acknowledge, these things are unproven in a realworld environment and we will just have to wait and see. Hopefully they will prove to be a real wonder power source. 3xb Re: solar powered house?????? 16Mar 26, 2007 5:50 pm 3timesbuilda Pierre, I guess the reason the look is important is that most people do not want to live in a house that has an unattractive look. Asthetics do matter when selling a home and the loss in resale value of your home has to be considered in the equation. Yep.. I agree.. but in 5 to 10 years, will it be a sight people want to see? Don't know to answer my own qu.. but I would hope so.. Also remember that council may not like them either. With all the Green push, I think we'll find a lot of councils jumping to at the least assess all options.. I hope so anyway... fingers crossed.. and I DO mean ALL options.. not just SunCube.. As for rebates, the guy is basically cutting himself out of great marketing which is odd given that he has been so thorough with everything else. Yep.. I agree about the rebates.. it IS almost a nose dispite your face situation and would sure make it a HUGE go if he could get 25% like the flatties.. even though it would be less $ wise it would show acceptance.. He is also (in my opinion) a bit evasive on his forum when answering questions. That doesn't affect the product per se but it does mean that sales to people other than devoted followers will be a harder sell. For a relatively little effort, he could make it so that it would be almost crazy not to consider this product even if you are not intrested in the environment. I hadn't noticed the evasiveness , but I don't read every entry and will take your word for it. Maybe he's the type who think that if he can work it out then others should for themselves also.. If that's the case, then I don't agree with that attitude.. Factoring in costs over a 25 year period may be fine for some, but I suspect that the vast majority won't go with it. If you really want to get the environment cleaned up, every effort should be made to get the majority on board. A bit of effort could potentially achieve this but seems to be being snubbed. What would you suggest would be a better way of getting a larger number of people interested in this kind of thing? Surely not just $'s or have we reached that point in our evolution? I wonder?? maybe we have.. As for lobby groups/ golf etc, I just don't buy it, it is a great excuse though isnt it?? Not his comment, that is my comment.. I'd love to have a chat with a politician to see just how strong and powerful these lobby groups are.. up to now for me it is only on hearsay that I based that comment and retract it unreservedly if shown to be unfounded.. I personally am likely to buy green power from my existing power company. Yep.. I do that already... I will keep an eye on how things develop and take it from there. There is a number of other technologies coming through the pipeline that I'll be keeping an eye on (eg.CIGS). Time is on my side as I am currently building and wouldn't be able to buy for about a year anyway. I ran some figures through the spreadsheet and came back that I would have to wait 16 years before I could get a return and that was without taking out a loan. The figures were drastically different when I considered a government rebate. Fully Agree.. as I said.. I'd love SOME rebate.. to encourage us all to consider the alternatives.. no lobbying should be needed.. just working initiatives that add value to the effort... Anyway, I certainly appreciate your opinion and I am far from writing these things off. As you acknowledge, these things are unproven in a realworld environment and we will just have to wait and see. Hopefully they will prove to be a real wonder power source. Yep.. me too... thanks for honest opinions and comments 3xb Re: solar powered house?????? 17Mar 27, 2007 9:48 am 3timesbuilda "Greg Watson, the dude behind the SunCube is not concerned about the rebate program." Shame that since with the rebate, I would almost certainly go down this route, without it, I'll just sit and watch things develop. I am sure I am not alone in this. 3xb Thing is if you look at the data, 2 Suncubes (ie: $3000 worth) can do the same job at $10,000 worth of flat panels! Even if you took a $4000 rebate off the flat panels ($6000), you are still better off with Suncubes. By a long way.. And that is just with 2 Suncubes. If you work out that you needs say 10 Suncubes (that's a lot of power), imagine what that is going to cost in flat panels!! Not only that, but how much space would the flat panels take up? A $4000 rebate is not a deal breaker. Re: solar powered house?????? 18Mar 27, 2007 6:08 pm Greg Watson of Suncube just posted a link on the Yahoo user group to an image on his site that shows estimated power output from a single Suncube, depending where you are in Australia.
http://www.greenandgoldenergy.com.au/im ... tralia.JPG This thing is gonna be awesome. $1500 for a Suncube with a built in inverter $1200 for a Sunbube (DC) without an inverter Bring em on! Re: solar powered house?????? 19Mar 29, 2007 12:40 am Hi all,
Am a little confused about the power output of the suncube, had a look at their site and found this in the 1500 buck inverter one Output 240 Vac, 1 Amp, 50 Hz using an in-built AS4777 approved grid connect inverter. 240v @ 1amp = 240w@240v a standard 120w 12v panel will put out 10 amps ( 120w divided by 12 volts=10 amps) 10 amps x 240volts +2400 watts (less the usual 10-20% loss) maybe my math is wrong but these things dont seem to put out that much power Re: solar powered house?????? 20Mar 29, 2007 1:50 pm crunk81us,
Yes, a problem in your maths. Suncube = 240 W Standard panel = simultaneously 120 W (correct) and 2400 W (incorrect) So basically the Suncube puts out twice the peak power. The real beauty however is that since the Suncube tracks the sun, it's output remains fairly high day long. The flat panel quickly reduces power output as the sun moves from being perpendicular to the panels. So the Suncube, for the same amount of money, has a higher peak power output and keeps closer to the peak output power as the sun moves across the sky. Cheers, Casa I looked into it a few years ago and my conclusion was to just build a carport that will support panels and get a system installed separately. The company I looked at had… 1 5433 Hi, This is my first post. We are planning to buy new home via House and Land (H&L) Package around Boxhill/Gables/Marsden Park in Syndey. Googled reviews for most of… 0 10505 Very good points. Thanks so much ponzutwo for your advice. Appreciate it. 2 10397 |