When will Lowes sell solar panels?

Question:

The other day I was in lowes and noticed, they have landscape accent lights that are solar powered. This begs the question when will I be able to walk into my local hardware store and buy a solar panel?

Response:

> The other day I was in lowes and noticed, they have landscape accent > lights that are solar powered. This begs the question when will I be > able to walk into my local hardware store and buy a solar panel?

The accent lights are battery powered.  The battery charger is solar powered. -dl

Response:

> > The other day I was in lowes and noticed, they have landscape accent > lights that are solar powered. This begs the question when will I be > able to walk into my local hardware store and buy a solar panel? > The accent lights are battery powered.  The battery charger is solar > powered. > -dl

True, But they come with a little solar panel.

Response:

> >The other day I was in lowes and noticed, they have landscape accent >lights that are solar powered. This begs the question when will I be >able to walk into my local hardware store and buy a solar panel? > Some Home Depot stores on the west coast already do.

Can it do anything more than charge a 120 A-hr RV battery?

Response:

> > The other day I was in lowes and noticed, they have landscape accent > > lights that are solar powered. This begs the question when will I be > > able to walk into my local hardware store and buy a solar panel? > The accent lights are battery powered.  The battery charger is solar > powered. > -dl > True, But they come with a little solar panel.

You’ve answered your own question.  Want a solar-panel powered battery charger?  Go to Lowes. I guess you have something more grandiose in mind.  Maybe they can special-order a set of solar-photovoltaic roofing tiles for you?  Might be fun to ask them to look it up in the catalog…  Also, maybe you should check with Batteries Plus to see if they can hook you up with a rechargable "uninterruptable power supply" unit to catch the run-off from your roof. More cheap thrills with solar-powered roofing tiles can be had at: http://www.ovonic.com/ -dl

Response:

> >> >able to walk into my local hardware store and buy a solar panel? >> Some Home Depot stores on the west coast already do. >Can it do anything more than charge a 120 A-hr RV battery? > They’re carrying real, full-size panels (as opposed to the tiny panels > on accent lights), if that’s what you’re asking.

I still don’t know the capacity. A 2A x 18V could charge that RV battery in a week during summer, ideal for small cabin. For larger setups you need charge controllers, bigger batteries, etc. Solar electric is not just a panel plus battery.

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->> >> >able to walk into my local hardware store and buy a solar panel? >> >> Some Home Depot stores on the west coast already do. >> >Can it do anything more than charge a 120 A-hr RV battery? >> They’re carrying real, full-size panels (as opposed to the tiny panels >> on accent lights), if that’s what you’re asking. >I still don’t know the capacity. A 2A x 18V could charge that RV battery in >a week during summer, ideal for small cabin. > They are selling Astropower’s line of modules, which ranges from 65W to > 140W. They are also selling Astropower’s residential systems, including > power electronics and, if desired, battery backup. If you want to power > an entire house there, you can do it.

So what kind of cost are we talking? It seems like these huge chain hardware stores tend to drag down the price of everything they sell. It would be nice to see solar panels get into the reasonable price range.

Response:

> They are selling Astropower’s line of modules, which ranges from 65W to > 140W. They are also selling Astropower’s residential systems, including > power electronics and, if desired, battery backup. If you want to power > an entire house there, you can do it. > So what kind of cost are we talking? It seems like these huge chain > hardware stores tend to drag down the price of everything they sell. It > would be nice to see solar panels get into the reasonable price range.

The power of mass-production and mass-marketing has yet to dethrone solar pv as a plaything of the rich.  More cheap thrills, price quotes, etc. at: http://www.astropower.com/ -dl

Response:

> So what kind of cost are we talking? It seems like these huge chain > hardware stores tend to drag down the price of everything they sell. It > would be nice to see solar panels get into the reasonable price range. > The power of mass-production and mass-marketing has yet to dethrone solar pv > as a plaything of the rich.  More cheap thrills, price quotes, etc. at: > http://www.astropower.com/

The price used to be 10 $/W for years. I now find 120W panels at 4 $/W at http://www.solar-electric.com/ . I think another post said Lowes were much more.

Response:

> The power of mass-production and mass-marketing has yet to dethrone > solar pv as a plaything of the rich.  More cheap thrills, price > quotes, etc. at: http://www.astropower.com/

For every example of a solar-playboy, there are hundreds of people who have found PV affordable for living modestly off-grid. You’d think such facts would prevent someone who could afford city services etc., from imagining that PV is a "plaything of the rich". But it doesn’t. Weird huh? Here’s a sample of turn-key solar-powered homes for sale http://www.66greenwood.com/gw_main.asp They start at $100k. Perhaps the playboy lifestyle just ain’t what it used to be?   Wayne

Response:

> quotes, etc. at: http://www.astropower.com/ > Here’s a sample of turn-key solar-powered homes for sale > http://www.66greenwood.com/gw_main.asp They start at $100k. Perhaps the > playboy lifestyle just ain’t what it used to be?  

It’s never been the same since they closed the bunny clubs in Chicago and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. -dl

Response:

> > Here’s a sample of turn-key solar-powered homes for sale > http://www.66greenwood.com/gw_main.asp They start at $100k.

Wayne, it appears that the one and only $100k home+lot out of about 487 lots in this "off-grid" community has a power line running through the back yard. Who wants an off-grid home with a powerline in the back yard? I imagine that after a summer in the desert 30 miles down a dirt road from Kingman AZ, one might be tempted to install air-conditioning, in which case, the powerline might not be such a bad idea after all. No bunnies at this mansion, but maybe a Jackelope or two. -dl

Response:

>Wayne, it appears that the one and only $100k home+lot out of about 487 lots >in this "off-grid" community has a power line running through the back yard. >Who wants an off-grid home with a powerline in the back yard?

Who knows — people do some strange things.  Like, buy one of N identical new houses in an area in which more new houses appear every year and will continue to do so for at least the next ten years, so that if they ever go to sell the place, they will have an "old" new house that is otherwise indistinguishable from a "new" new house in the same area and hence worth far less than if they had bought something that were less of a commodity. >I imagine that after a summer in the desert 30 miles down a dirt road from >Kingman AZ, one might be tempted to install air-conditioning, in which case, >the powerline might not be such a bad idea after all.

Wayne’s place *is* 30 miles down a dirt road from Kingman AZ. (Well, perhaps no longer — they keep paving over more and more of the dirt.)  Wayne has air conditioning.  Wayne has no power lines. This constitutes an existence proof that power lines are not a requirement.  (Forethought, however, is.) — In-Real-Life: Chris Torek, Wind River Systems Salt Lake City, UT, USA (40

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