PHOTOVOLTAICS TODAY

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Bargains can also be found in mail-order catalogs. In MOTHER NO. 90, page 132, we printed a list of such companies offering equipment for low-voltage living. Many of these firms sell photovoltaic panels as well. Also, for the person interested in buying and installing his or her own photovoltaic system, Joel Davidson and Richard Komp's book, The Solar Electric Home (available from Solar Works! for $12.95), is an invaluable guide to using PV and provides a good list of suppliers. The main disadvantage to catalog sales is that it's harder to stay in touch with (and get technical advice from) a supplier that's thousands of miles away.

Then again, single-minded bargain huntmay not be everyone's best approach to buying solar panels. To take full advantage of the lower cost, you must know what you need and how to put it to work. All too often, a person with little or no solar energy experience will be disappointed with the end result because there wasn't enough forethought given to system design or user requirements.

This situation has led to a tremendous growth in the third source of photovoltaic panels: local retailers. Today there are few areas in the United States where someone selling PV panels isn't within a reasonable distance. And when you buy locally from a qualified dealer, you're getting more than just merchandise; you're also purchasing the years of experience that person has invested in de signing and installing functional systems Sure, the price is going to be somewhat higher but when you consider how much longer it might take you to accomplish the job on your own, buying locally might actually work out to be less expensive. And remember, installed systems normally include service after sale and warranty protection.

As this is written, individual solar modules are selling for between $6 and $10 per watt, but the lower-priced panels are seconds and don't carry a warranty. Installed systems. complete with batteries, inverter, and necesary hardware, go for around $10 to $20 per watt, depending on your needs. A typical 2,500-watt system (with 500 watts of PV power and hardware) will run you anywhere from $4,500 to $12,000

NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Single-crystal silicon solar cell have been the workhorses of the solar industry for more than 20 years, and if you buy in the next year or two, they're probably the type you'll end up with. For a couple of reasons, however, single-crystal cells are beginning to feel the pinch from emerging technologies. Crystalline cells are fabricated from a wafer of absolutely perfect, ultrapure silicon . . . using the process I described in MOTHER NO. 76. Making such a perfect wafer is extremely energy-intensive and expensive, so manufacturers have been trying for years to improve the process.

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