Solar panels set to be mandatory on all new buildings under EU plan

[Sithara007]

Iceland and Norway are not part of the EU but part of something called the EEA (European Economic Area), so I don't think this law should apply to them. In addition, every law passed in the EU parliament needs to be approved by national parliaments, and some member states will certainly not accept this.

Oh... in that case I erred and need to apologize for that. It is nice that the national parliaments need to approve these stupid measures. I am sure that the Green party dominated countries such as Germany would approve it, putting the citizens further neck deep in debt. More sensible ones, such as Poland and Hungary would refuse to do that. Stock markets are crashing around the world. Bitcoin has lost two-thirds of its value from the peak level that was reached less than a year ago. Inflation rate is in double digits. This is not the right time to further overburden the ordinary people.

[teramit]

nucular is the fastest and cheapest green energy that can power whole eu

[bakasabo]

Dont forget, that solar panels dont accumulate electricity, you cant install a huge power bank at home. You cant rely on them for 100%. At night, you will still be have to use "regular" electricity. If you want to get maximum from solar panels electricity, you would have reschedule your daily routine, move things like laundry, ironing, or things were electricity is used on a day time. Some people can do that, some will have to "partly rest at a day" and "work at nights".

That is correct. I am sure people who have solar panels installed would be doing the same. Now because in my country electricity crisis is a real trouble.
We are now seriously thinking to install solar panel at home because there is no solution to it.

You will still be dependable from regular electricity. Installing solar panels does not solve high electricity issue completely. Those who plan to install solar panels, I would suggest to consult with those who already have such panels and how they are doing in winter, when we have sun to less than 8 hours a day and panels are covered with snow.

[Lucius]

Oh... in that case I erred and need to apologize for that.

No need to apologize, believe me, many in the EU do not know who all EU members are, who is in the eurozone and who is in the EEA.

It is nice that the national parliaments need to approve these stupid measures. I am sure that the Green party dominated countries such as Germany would approve it, putting the citizens further neck deep in debt. More sensible ones, such as Poland and Hungary would refuse to do that.

No one can force a member state to accept something, but in case a member state opposes someone, let's call it a "common goal", it will pay fines or be denied funds from the common EU treasury. Hungary is the most obvious example of a disobedient member state, but it is a policy they pursue, and the people support that policy by electing Orbán four times in a row.

Stock markets are crashing around the world. Bitcoin has lost two-thirds of its value from the peak level that was reached less than a year ago. Inflation rate is in double digits. This is not the right time to further overburden the ordinary people.

I am not in favor of forcing people to install solar panels on all new buildings, but in countries that have plenty of sun during the year it would really make sense - of course provided that the purchase of solar connectors and equipment is co-financed by the state.

[Sithara007]

~~~
I am not in favor of forcing people to install solar panels on all new buildings, but in countries that have plenty of sun during the year it would really make sense - of course provided that the purchase of solar connectors and equipment is co-financed by the state.

Here in India, the government subsidizes installation of solar panels for private households. I am not sure about the exact amount, but somewhere around 50% of the cost is borne by the government (but like any other third world country, there is a lot of red tape and bureaucracy to overcome). If the EU is also thinking in similar lines, then I don't believe that there will be much opposition. Anyway, in the long run the residents will benefit out of it in the form of cheap electricity. But if they want the private individuals to bear 100% of the cost, then I am afraid that it's not going to work.

[Cryptock]

~~~
I am not in favor of forcing people to install solar panels on all new buildings, but in countries that have plenty of sun during the year it would really make sense - of course provided that the purchase of solar connectors and equipment is co-financed by the state.

Here in India, the government subsidizes installation of solar panels for private households. I am not sure about the exact amount, but somewhere around 50% of the cost is borne by the government (but like any other third world country, there is a lot of red tape and bureaucracy to overcome). If the EU is also thinking in similar lines, then I don't believe that there will be much opposition. Anyway, in the long run the residents will benefit out of it in the form of cheap electricity. But if they want the private individuals to bear 100% of the cost, then I am afraid that it's not going to work.

India is doing so much for the people. I wish our government do the same for us.
But the weather is so hot here and power outage is around 10/12 hours so we have decided to have less grocery from now on and will buy the solar panels. 

[Mometaskers]

I think it's fine for southern Europe that gets plenty sunshine all throughout the year, so just Spain, Greece and maybe parts of Italy. But what about the rest? The yield might not be as good in the areas with longer winters.

Maybe give companies in those regions alternatives. I've seen vids of small wind turbines that can be placed on the roofs and walls of buildings and those don't need all-year clear weather to be useful.

[DrBeer]

1. The most efficient environment for solar panels to work is cold weather with bright sunshine. Under such conditions, solar cells generate maximum energy!

I was thinking of installing solar panel in my house because electricity is too expensive now and we don't get electricity for 24 hours. I live in country where 7 to 8 months we have sunny season and summers are too hot. But your posts just shocked me that panels are best for warm regions not for hot. Can you explain with some references?

Semiconductors are often temperature dependent, physical processes that affect their performance (resistance, leakage, etc.). But as I understand it, you do not live on the equator, which means that your territory belongs to warm rather than "extremely hot" countries, and solar panels will show themselves quite effectively!

"Solar panels are generally tested at about 77°F and are rated to perform at peak efficiency between 59°F and 95°F. However, solar panels may get as hot as 149°F during the summer. When the surface temperature of your solar panels gets this high, solar panel efficiency can decline somewhat."
https://www.google.com/search?q=solar+panels+lose+efficiency+at+high+temperatures

[Pesona1]

The use of solar panels as alternative energy is really needed today to cover electricity needs, the increasing need for electrical energy will certainly accelerate the depletion of fossil fuels that have been used for power generation, the use of solar panels may look cheaper, efficient and can save usage fuel oil or gas, at this time I see many who discuss the positive side of using solar panels, but does anyone know what about the negative side of using solar panels for humans and the environment?

[Naficopa]

The use of solar panels as alternative energy is really needed today to cover electricity needs, the increasing need for electrical energy will certainly accelerate the depletion of fossil fuels that have been used for power generation, the use of solar panels may look cheaper, efficient and can save usage fuel oil or gas, at this time I see many who discuss the positive side of using solar panels, but does anyone know what about the negative side of using solar panels for humans and the environment?

It's good to avail the solar panel  deals. The sooner the better. We live in the country where there is huge crisis of electricity.
Some smart minds have availed this opportunities a year ago - I repent for not doing this.. But now at any cost I will get the solar panels installed.

[niceli]

I reckon it would be a move based on the self-sustainability movement which has been around for a while now. Its clear that governments do not care about climate change as much as they say they do, but they do not ignore it neither. Plus, if you have a nation that doesn't require to get energy or oil from any other nation, you are 1-0 ahead of everyone, maybe gas too. You can't just build gas (as far as I know) or oil (again same) but you could get energy, electricity, from solar panels and wind turbines and even nuclear plants, which would be the move to go, then instead of regular cars, have electric cars everywhere, even stop the production of cars running on petrol, and you have such a big movement in your hands. Not really shocking move.

[Ultegra134]

It's something I was always shouting for, I live in Greece and it would be a great opportunity for homeowners to adopt such an innovation. Personally, at my parental home we have plenty of space in our rooftop, offering great sunlight coverage. If we had invested in something like this, our house could easily be self-sustained and not pay a single dime for electricity.

Solar panels are expensive, but in cases like mine, they'd pay off really quick, achieving ROI in just a few years.

Dont forget, that solar panels dont accumulate electricity, you cant install a huge power bank at home. You cant rely on them for 100%. At night, you will still be have to use "regular" electricity. If you want to get maximum from solar panels electricity, you would have reschedule your daily routine, move things like laundry, ironing, or things were electricity is used on a day time. Some people can do that, some will have to "partly rest at a day" and "work at nights".

I'm not that familiar with the technology, however, I'm in a Facebook group regarding electric vehicles and a few members had incorporated solar panels into their households. I've read that with enough battery capacity, you can get through the night without any major issues, providing that your consumption is within a reasonable range.

[Sithara007]

Here in India, the government subsidizes installation of solar panels for private households. I am not sure about the exact amount, but somewhere around 50% of the cost is borne by the government (but like any other third world country, there is a lot of red tape and bureaucracy to overcome). If the EU is also thinking in similar lines, then I don't believe that there will be much opposition. Anyway, in the long run the residents will benefit out of it in the form of cheap electricity. But if they want the private individuals to bear 100% of the cost, then I am afraid that it's not going to work.

India is doing so much for the people. I wish our government do the same for us.
But the weather is so hot here and power outage is around 10/12 hours so we have decided to have less grocery from now on and will buy the solar panels. 

The current government is doing a good job in diversifying the electricity output. Although they are encouraging renewable energy generation by installing more solar power plants and wind turbines, they are not ignoring the other sources (unlike what the EU has done). Nuclear energy is also being given a priority and a number of large nuclear plants are being constructed with the help from ROSATOM and Areva. New thermal power plants are coming up, as coal is abundant in India. And major hydro-electric powerplants are also being constructed.

No one here is against the Kyoto Protocol. But why the third world nations always need to take the burden of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, when their per capita output is around 1% of that from richer nations such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait?

[Rikafip]

I was thinking of installing solar panel in my house because electricity is too expensive now and we don't get electricity for 24 hours. I live in country where 7 to 8 months we have sunny season and summers are too hot. But your posts just shocked me that panels are best for warm regions not for hot. Can you explain with some references?

I think its all about the number of sunny days as solar panels works best when exposed to sunlight directly, not through clouds so if you have plenty of those you are good to go.

I think it's fine for southern Europe that gets plenty sunshine all throughout the year, so just Spain, Greece and maybe parts of Italy. But what about the rest? The yield might not be as good in the areas with longer winters.

Dunno, I've seen in Germany (I am mostly visiting southern parts though) big percentage of houses covered with solar panels so I guess that it works good enough in those regions as well and I even heard that state is buying all the excess energy produced so during summer months can even make some extra money.

[bakasabo]

Take a look on an interesting article - Will solar panels get cheaper? (updated for 2022). It seems that situation with solar panel prices is doing opposite of normal market rules. Demand is growing (or will start to grow soon), but the price of solar panels is decreasing. Even we put aside recent financial problems, from the article we find that the price of 1 kW is increasing, number of of installed solar panels is increasing either, but the price of solar panel equipment reduced by almost 90% during last 10 years. Isnt this indicates that solar panels is not the best solution for expensive electricity?

[DrBeer]

Some general information about solar energy technologies:

1. Monocrystalline panels are more efficient, their physical size is smaller than that of polycrystalline counterparts of the same power.
2. Chinese researchers have developed a new solution to create an all-weather solar cell that runs on both sunlight and raindrops. They published the results of their work in the Journal Angewandte Chemie.
3. Most efficient panels so far: 44.4% efficient solar panels from Sharp, 37.9% efficient solar modules from Sharp, 32.6% efficient solar cells from the Spanish Solar Energy Research Institute (IES) and the university (UPM).
4. According to IRENA, over the past 10 years, the installed capacity of solar power plants in the world has grown more than 17 times - from 41.6 GW to 714 GW.
5. The average efficiency of household solar panels, today - up to 30%

[Sithara007]

Take a look on an interesting article - Will solar panels get cheaper? (updated for 2022). It seems that situation with solar panel prices is doing opposite of normal market rules. Demand is growing (or will start to grow soon), but the price of solar panels is decreasing. Even we put aside recent financial problems, from the article we find that the price of 1 kW is increasing, number of of installed solar panels is increasing either, but the price of solar panel equipment reduced by almost 90% during last 10 years. Isnt this indicates that solar panels is not the best solution for expensive electricity?

As time progress technology will get more and more affordable, unlike the case with non-renewable commodities such as oil and gas. So there is no surprise here. Desalination used to cost as much as $3 per cubic meter two decades ago, but now it costs less than $0.50 per cubic meter. Similarly, 1 GB of mobile data used to be priced at $3 in India 10 years ago. Now it costs around $0.05. The case with solar panels is similar. As technological advance is made, the products will get cheaper. And in the future, we can expect the prices to further go down.

[Cryptock]

Take a look on an interesting article - Will solar panels get cheaper? (updated for 2022). It seems that situation with solar panel prices is doing opposite of normal market rules. Demand is growing (or will start to grow soon), but the price of solar panels is decreasing. Even we put aside recent financial problems, from the article we find that the price of 1 kW is increasing, number of of installed solar panels is increasing either, but the price of solar panel equipment reduced by almost 90% during last 10 years. Isnt this indicates that solar panels is not the best solution for expensive electricity?

As time progress technology will get more and more affordable, unlike the case with non-renewable commodities such as oil and gas. So there is no surprise here. Desalination used to cost as much as $3 per cubic meter two decades ago, but now it costs less than $0.50 per cubic meter. Similarly, 1 GB of mobile data used to be priced at $3 in India 10 years ago. Now it costs around $0.05. The case with solar panels is similar. As technological advance is made, the products will get cheaper. And in the future, we can expect the prices to further go down.

That is correct - with the passage of time with more use of solar panels and more coming in market, things will be much easier and cheaper for the average person too. That is very good example quotes. of the mobile data. I would want to mention here there was a time when even attending the phone costed a lot.

[virasisog]

Take a look on an interesting article - Will solar panels get cheaper? (updated for 2022). It seems that situation with solar panel prices is doing opposite of normal market rules. Demand is growing (or will start to grow soon), but the price of solar panels is decreasing. Even we put aside recent financial problems, from the article we find that the price of 1 kW is increasing, number of of installed solar panels is increasing either, but the price of solar panel equipment reduced by almost 90% during last 10 years. Isnt this indicates that solar panels is not the best solution for expensive electricity?

As time progress technology will get more and more affordable, unlike the case with non-renewable commodities such as oil and gas. So there is no surprise here. Desalination used to cost as much as $3 per cubic meter two decades ago, but now it costs less than $0.50 per cubic meter. Similarly, 1 GB of mobile data used to be priced at $3 in India 10 years ago. Now it costs around $0.05. The case with solar panels is similar. As technological advance is made, the products will get cheaper. And in the future, we can expect the prices to further go down.

That is correct - with the passage of time with more use of solar panels and more coming in market, things will be much easier and cheaper for the average person too. That is very good example quotes. of the mobile data. I would want to mention here there was a time when even attending the phone costed a lot.

Everytime there's a development in the technology, the old discoveries becomes cheaper and more affordable which is actually beneficial to average people. In our country, solar light panels were too expensive before and we couldn't even afford them but right now, our streets are filled with solar lights. It simply means that as time passes by, some technology-related stuff decreases its value due to its increasing supply and decreasing demand.

[Naficopa]

Everytime there's a development in the technology, the old discoveries becomes cheaper and more affordable which is actually beneficial to average people. In our country, solar light panels were too expensive before and we couldn't even afford them but right now, our streets are filled with solar lights. It simply means that as time passes by, some technology-related stuff decreases its value due to its increasing supply and decreasing demand.

The idea is good. Since the big buildings consume a lots of energy. So it's a good idea to install solar panels for them so the local can get benefited.
In our region - there is so much shortage of electricity. So there is a need for an alternative solution. The sooner the better.