Dirk: I have only a small solar panel that charges a car type battery to 
supply electricity for a water pump - unreliable in one word.

I can confirm Stan's experience with a solar hot water installation in 
our home. It seems to me that there is considerable scope for 
improvement - for greater efficiency the angle of the solar panels need 
to be capable of self-adjustment, so as to maximise exposure to the sun, 
year round. I am unaware of such a unit being available in Australia. 
Perhaps it has yet to be invented!

Hot water storage should be sufficient to cover a long period of 
continuous cloud cover. Perhaps the installer (in our case a qualified 
plumber/electrical engineer) needs access to better local records before 
recommending a unit and proposed installation design.

Savings depend on power costs. In this country they are guaranteed to 
rise sooner rather than later.

Regards
Desmond Kennard
Museums in the making
HILL TOP NSW
Australia

Stan Woodard wrote:

> Dear Dirk
>
> I don’t know about institutions that use solar energy; I have used it 
> for installations and though it’s a nice idea, but not reliable even 
> for low energy needs.
>
> I installed an outdoor piece in January and for the first 
> week-and-a-half we had cloudy weather. After the storage batteries 
> drained, we had to charge them from a wall outlet on a daily basis. 
> When the sun was out we did OK, but during the 2 month run of the show 
> we often had to charge the batteries or even just plug the lights 
> directly into the wall.
>
> There are much better systems than the few years old, smallish panel 
> that we used, and storage battery technology is ascending, but I’m 
> afraid that it will be a while time before solar becomes a viable 
> option for mission critical applications.
>
> Sorry to be a doomsayer, but I am remaining optimistic about renewable 
> energy sources.
>
> Best, Stan
>
> Stan Woodard
> Communications Director
> Atlanta Contemporary Art Center
> 535 Means Street
> Atlanta, GA 30318
> 404 688 1970 Ext 213
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> www.thecontemporary.org 
> <outbind://19-000000008257648C2B15D94199F883CDD90EC33A070026DE96DF789F434095779439EA874C3C00000001A934000026DE96DF789F434095779439EA874C3C00000001AB8A0000/www.thecontemporary.org>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> *From:* Dirk Van Tuerenhout [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> *Sent:* Tuesday, August 02, 2005 10:59 AM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* [MUSEUM-L] Solar panels and museums
>
> Dear all,
>
> I would be interested to know if anyone out there knows of museums 
> that use solar panels to help provide them with energy.
>
> Also, would anyone know if such an approach lived up to expectations 
> (in other words, did these panels “pay for themselves?”)
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dirk Van Tuerenhout
>
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