[quote=Jacarandoso]It looked like the proponents are talking about applying the system to batches of 100 houses or a small office buildings as a minimum system size. Did I misunderstand that?What are the required inputs to support and run the system? It looked like there are fuel requirements?
In any case how will this technology get to a stand alone house? If you are suggesting that consumers wait 5-10 years, while a solar system could be paying for itself and hedging against energy price increases and potential failures of competing technologies, the case needs to be stronger IMHO.
So there seem to be problems with rejecting residential solar at this time,at least for some households, based on this technology.[/quote]
Since you brought up this thread from another thread, asking for my response, here it is. You should watch is 60 minutes clip: http://youtu.be/eF0uOZSvrLA You should also take a look at this blog: http://mapawatt.com/2010/02/02/residential-natural-gas-fuel-cells/ and specifically the ClearEdge Power portion. That company actually have a residential solution today. Here’s what they claim:
[quote=ClearEdge]The list price for the ClearEdge5 is actually less expensive than equivalent residential solar PV systems, based on production. A major advantage over solar, the ClearEdge5 generates eleven times more energy than the same size solar installation. For the same capital investment, the ClearEdge5 gives you 90 MWh of annual combined electricity and heat, compared to approximately 8MWh generated by a 5kW solar system. Operating costs for the CE5 are as low as 6.0¢ per kWh based on $1.20 per therm for natural gas, assuming full electrical and heat utilization.[/quote]
The CEO claim it can be scaled down to individual household. This is his claim, not mine. I’m just excited about it if they can scale it down to individual household.
I’m not suggesting people wait 5-10 years. Everyone situation is different, so I can’t make any generic claim like that w/out looking stupid. I’m just talking about pure technological advancement and price break through. Are you claiming I can get a solar system that will pay for itself in 5 years? All the estimates I got, based on my usage, put the break even at 10-12 years with all the government rebate. I’m not rejecting residential solar, I just don’t think 10-12 year break even point is good enough for me to go solar. Especially when a) solar cost is dropping and b) new green tech are coming up that would make it cheaper. Even if bloom energy never able to get it down to residential level, the dropping in price of solar alone is keeping me from getting a system today.
So, let me repeat just in case I’m not clear. I’m not saying everyone should forget about solar and wait for this bloom energy in 5-10 years. I’m saying for me, solar is not a good enough value at this time and I’m excited about a) newer/different green tech and b) the increase in efficiency of solar panel and declining in solar panel cost.
