Hey I am a sales guy :), solar sales that izzzzzzzzzz. If you guys are interested in solar stuff go to the Top of The Hill of Mackey Street, Nassau Town, and check in at Satelitte Bahamas. We have some panels there for sale. Good luck. jb And if you need any help drop me a note jb@equatorindustries.com. :usa:

This is my project for the summer...

how did it work out?

germany embraces the sun (http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,45056,00.html)

how did it work out?

Ended up being too expensive.

Even when I found the panel (in Canada), getting it here was pricey and when I checked the Bahamian customs duty it was over 65% (or more, if I can remember correctly).

Shortly after I found out how expensive the project was, BTC put those solar powered telephones out near the airport (with just the size of solar panel that I needed).

Man I was tempted, but I een no t'ief! :angel:

Ended up being too expensive.
Even when I found the panel (in Canada), getting it here was pricey and when I checked the Bahamian customs duty it was over 65% (or more, if I can remember correctly).
Shortly after I found out how expensive the project was, BTC put those solar powered telephones out near the airport (with just the size of solar panel that I needed).
Man I was tempted, but I een no t'ief! :angel:
Do you think we will ever see the day that the powers that be make the pricing more reasonable?:dgi:

I really dont know why it's so costly. Perhpas the price to produce those panels are high, because with that price, its certainly not high in demand!

To build a roof top solar water heater unit, you need the following items.
A wooden box that is three inches deep by 10 feet wide by 10 feet long. One hundred feet of black 2 inch pvc flexible pipe, and the connections to run the water up to and down from the roof to the water system.
The idea is to have the water run up to the roof, get heated by the sun, in the black pvc and of course you could also put a black coloured back-ground behind the pipes. The longer the roof top pipe pattern, the hotter the water gets, so lay the black piping in a pattern that runs up and down the roof side, to get as much length as possible.
The hotwater from the roof should rejoin the hot water line, just before the hot water heater, so that it mingels with the water from the heater. By testing the outflow at the hot water tap for temperature, you will be able to TURN down the setting of the water heater, so that you save either gas or electricity, whichever you use to heat the water tank.
This kind of system should be mounted on the south facing slope of the roof, or as much south facing as you can get it. The water from such a system should not be used for human consumption/drinking use, but for all other things it is O.K.
Secondly.............In areas where the well water is not good to drink, a solar water distiller can be built that will provide pure drinking water, using some very cheap materials. This project requires a frame made from wood, and lined with food quality black silicone. A sliding glass door ( A patio door unit works great) is mounted on a 30 degree angle, on the wood frame. The wood back frame has a series of ripples on it's face, and as the well water is poured into the frame, the water is heated by the sun, untill it becomes vapour, then it condenses on the glass, and runs down to the catch botte,at the bottom, as pure water.
The back face of the frame is coated with a black silicone that is food grade, and the water should run into a catch bottle that is in the shade. The system will provide a number of gallons of fresh drinking water everyday, and the more water that is put in, the more it will produce for you. The best part is that there are no moving parts, and once it is built and running, it only takes about 5 minutes a day to fill it and to change the catch bottle. Clean with a water and bleach mixture once a week. Hinge the glass so that you can open it for cleaning.
Position the frame so that it gets full sun all day.
Your comments?
Jim Bunting. Toronto.


What you said is a general concept about how this soar system works. but there are some potential problems, I do not know what they are.

One memeber of my family is what you call a scientist. He knows about this solar system as his associate designed it and put it into the market in China. In the beginning, the market was good, unfortunately there are some shortcomings about this system, I do not know what they are, so the market is gradually vanishing. If those potential problem could be solved, perhaps there would be a great market.

Dear Sir,
With the high cost of fule and electricity, I feel it is high time that the Bahamas goes solar.
I am in the market for a solar powered water heater. Are there any distributors in the Bahamas?
I recently installed solar powered flood lights.
I feel that solar power is the way to go for this country with our global positioning & all (Duh !!!) and solar powered items should be duty free !!!!
Soso

I so agree with you here and how about bec paying us for not using there electricity wow! that is a concept but they won't want that at all.its all about hold them ,keep them and don't let them go at bec.solar is an excellent idea THANKS.FASTTRACT:

What you said is a general concept about how this soar system works. but there are some potential problems, I do not know what they are.
One memeber of my family is what you call a scientist. He knows about this solar system as his associate designed it and put it into the market in China. In the beginning, the market was good, unfortunately there are some shortcomings about this system, I do not know what they are, so the market is gradually vanishing. If those potential problem could be solved, perhaps there would be a great market.
In one word *Batteries*.

Ended up being too expensive.
Even when I found the panel (in Canada), getting it here was pricey and when I checked the Bahamian customs duty it was over 65% (or more, if I can remember correctly).
Shortly after I found out how expensive the project was, BTC put those solar powered telephones out near the airport (with just the size of solar panel that I needed).
Man I was tempted, but I een no t'ief! :angel:


i got the manufacturers link in China if you like, they are really inexpensive but as with any OEM manufacturer you will need to pay up front, and order a trailer load !

I really dont know why it's so costly. Perhpas the price to produce those panels are high, because with that price, its certainly not high in demand!

The silicon wafers that they use to make the solar cells are also used for computer chips, resulting in a shortage for the solar panel makers.
------------------------------
Polysilicon shortage

A booming solar industry is competing for the chip industry's wafer supply

By Russ Arensman -- Electronic Business, 5/1/2006

Photovoltaic cell maker SunPower expects to more than double its sales, from last year's $80 million to $200 million-plus in 2006, thanks to booming worldwide solar energy demand. But CEO Tom Werner says an acute shortage of silicon wafers is keeping his company, and the rest of the solar industry, from growing even faster.

"We can easily sell everything we can make," he says. "We're sold out for the next couple of years." SunPower, which is 85 percent owned by Cypress Semiconductor, has more than $600 million in orders for its high-efficiency solar cells, which use circuits printed on silicon wafers to convert sunlight into electricity.

"The demand completely exceeds supply," says Jeffrey Bencik, an analyst with investment bank Jefferies & Co. "These solar companies could produce five times as much if the silicon supply were there."

Semiconductor makers—which rely on many of the same suppliers as the solar industry for silicon wafers to build their chips—have been largely sheltered from the shortage thus far by long-term purchase contracts and their historic status as favored customers.

"In 10 years, suppliers will have other customers that are more important to them in terms of revenue. Chip makers will lose their favored position, and they'll have to pay market price," says Richard Winegarner, president of market research firm Sage Concepts. Contract prices for semiconductor silicon have already jumped from $30 to $60 per kilogram, he says, and solar companies without contracts are paying more than $100 per kilogram on the spot market.

http://secreg.globalsources.com/sreg/SITE/SOLPANEL/MIRSOPSUMMARY.jsp?productcode=MIRSOP&dmsource=HP102BEA
http://www.alibaba.com/productsearch/Solar_Traffic_Light.html
http://www.alibaba.com/catalog/11265385/Solar_LED_Pavement_Maker.html
http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?IndexArea=offer_en&SearchText=Solar

The silicon wafers that they use to make the solar cells are also used for computer chips, resulting in a shortage for the solar panel makers.
------------------------------
Polysilicon shortage
A booming solar industry is competing for the chip industry's wafer supply
By Russ Arensman -- Electronic Business, 5/1/2006
Photovoltaic cell maker SunPower expects to more than double its sales, from last year's $80 million to $200 million-plus in 2006, thanks to booming worldwide solar energy demand. But CEO Tom Werner says an acute shortage of silicon wafers is keeping his company, and the rest of the solar industry, from growing even faster.
"We can easily sell everything we can make," he says. "We're sold out for the next couple of years." SunPower, which is 85 percent owned by Cypress Semiconductor, has more than $600 million in orders for its high-efficiency solar cells, which use circuits printed on silicon wafers to convert sunlight into electricity.
"The demand completely exceeds supply," says Jeffrey Bencik, an analyst with investment bank Jefferies & Co. "These solar companies could produce five times as much if the silicon supply were there."
Semiconductor makers—which rely on many of the same suppliers as the solar industry for silicon wafers to build their chips—have been largely sheltered from the shortage thus far by long-term purchase contracts and their historic status as favored customers.
"In 10 years, suppliers will have other customers that are more important to them in terms of revenue. Chip makers will lose their favored position, and they'll have to pay market price," says Richard Winegarner, president of market research firm Sage Concepts. Contract prices for semiconductor silicon have already jumped from $30 to $60 per kilogram, he says, and solar companies without contracts are paying more than $100 per kilogram on the spot market.

isnt his lovely ...demand exceeding supply! they need to bbost production!
where does silicon come from?
is this industry easy to permeate for entreprenuers?

where does silicon come from?


Silicon can be produced from, among other things, sand! (silica) Which contains silicon oxides. We got a bit of sand here.:)

Silicon can be produced from, among other things, sand! (silica) Which contains silicon oxides. We got a bit of sand here.:)

:eek: why arent we in business then! what are we waiting for! see I told yinna we could use our god given natural resources (sun water and sand) to the best of our abilities...and we can still own our land!
...say when!