Solar Power Survey for School Project

jdhigh2

Hello, I am taking a Masters of Engineering class where I am working on a project to produce a technical development and marketing launch plan for a new type of solar power product.

You are invited to participate in a survey for input which will help in the design of the new solar product. The new product will produce electricity using a different technology than photovoltaics. It will be more efficient than current solar panels, and it will produce more electricity per dollar invested. The new technology will make it possibly to have new features and benefits. Use the following link: http://solar-power-survey.surveyanalytics.com

niel

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

marketing isn't a purpose in this forum, but i think we would like a bit more on the capabilities of this new technology for comparative purposes. is this for gt or off grid? will it still need the controllers and inverters? etc. etc.

Thomas

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

I have actually seen brief case like panel devices with a news truck during Katrina, they had no photo-interface, and looked more like large WiFi range expanders, but upon investigation they were hooked up along with panels and a generator for power. Is your product something like that? I took your survey. It was a good irrelevant survey....

jdhigh2

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

Thanks for the interest guys, and thanks for taking my survey.

As far as more product concept details: The system would use panels similar to PV panels and it would use a controller/inverter. I just produced a survey with more details for ranking of posible features, attributes, and benefits. Here is the link: http://New-Solar-Survey.surveyanalytics.com

I'm limited as to how much details I can give out due to the need to keep some details confidential/secret. I'm currently a machine design engineer for a company, and I'm hoping that I can move into product development and develop this product concept for them. I have an invention agreement that I'm bound to with them so that is one of the reasons I'm limited on the type of details I can give out.

Thanks for your help. Do ya'll know of any other good solar forums that I could post to?

Windsun

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

I did not see any questions in your original survey that would tell you much of any value. Pretty much just generic.

And be advised that over the years we have seen several "secret" projects that are going to be the next breakthrough discussed here, and have yet to see one pan out once the concepts start running into reality.

What do you mean "similar to PV panels"? Either they are PV panels or not.

jdhigh2

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

In my original survey I was looking for positives with current solar products and also the negatives or problems. Then with the new product if I can improve more on the positives and fix the negatives or problems then I could win over more customers from the competition. I followed a solar discussion on an investment forum and a number of people commented on problems their neighbor had with solar or a problem they heard about. In some cases that is why thy stayed away from solar. With my new survey I'm trying to take all of my previous research and put it into features or attributes that the new product might be able to have. Then by getting public feedback from a larger group of people I can determine the most important things to include in the new design.

"Similar to PV panels"- I guess I should have been more clear about that. I plan on using a different technology than photovoltaics, but I felt people were already comfortable with their general shape, ie. flat and thin. So in the new product I hope to keep them as close to that as possible.

I like what you said about how different projects didn't pan out once they started "running into reality". That's a good way to put it. I can't say for certain that won't be the case with my concept. The class I'm taking is on New Product Launches. After I finish my project report I plan on presenting it to my work, and hopefully get funding approval for doing initial technical feasibility testing. If I do run into trouble hopefully I can change the concept using my customer data as a guideline.

Cariboocoot

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

Short version of what is wrong with existing solar PV technology: cost & efficiency.
Any new technology might be able to solve the second part of that, but it is unlikely to improve on the first.

Windsun

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

There are some theoretical limits to PV unless something totally new comes along that can get more than around 43% in the lab. That is the approximate limit set by the spectrum right now, mainly due to PV panels not doing much with low-energy light, such as infrared.

Other schemes have been tried, but so far nothing has come close to matching Silicon and similar metals for conversion from light to electricity. One such was using Peltier junctions, but the main problem there is that it and similar technologies rely on a difference in temperature, not an absolute temperature. Not so good for sitting on a rooftop.

jdhigh2

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

Thanks so much for the input on my surveys. I've got 7 completed surveys total on my new longer survey. I've gotten some good data and comments. Keep'em coming. I'm hoping to get lots of good customer input at the start of my project. I know the survey looks long, but on average its taking just 9 min. for people to finish it. If you have any friends that are big solar fans I'd really appreciate it if you could forward the survey link to them. Here is the link: http://New-Solar-Survey.surveyanalytics.com Thanks, John

westbranch

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

To rephrase what Coot said:
the new technology has to provide more watts for far less than the current $ / Watt to attract users, and be more reliable/productive in low light situations while occupying the same or less space...

jdhigh2

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

westbranch wrote: »

To rephrase what Coot said:
the new technology has to provide more watts for far less than the current $ / Watt to attract users, and be more reliable/productive in low light situations while occupying the same or less space...

This sounds like a good formula for me to gauge my product against as I develop it further. How many kwH does your solar system produce? How much space does your battery bank take up, and will they supply enough power if the sun's behind the clouds for a few days?

jdhigh2

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

Windsun wrote: »

There are some theoretical limits to PV unless something totally new comes along that can get more than around 43% in the lab. That is the approximate limit set by the spectrum right now, mainly due to PV panels not doing much with low-energy light, such as infrared.

Other schemes have been tried, but so far nothing has come close to matching Silicon and similar metals for conversion from light to electricity. One such was using Peltier junctions, but the main problem there is that it and similar technologies rely on a difference in temperature, not an absolute temperature. Not so good for sitting on a rooftop.

I still need to do some more research on exactly how to calculate percent efficiency for solar. It would seem that there would be disagreements as to whether you only count visible light as the energy in, or if you include the whole spectrum from infrared to UV. There's also the issue of whether the sun is normal to the panels or at an angle.

Cariboocoot

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

jdhigh2 wrote: »

This sounds like a good formula for me to gauge my product against as I develop it further. How many kwH does your solar system produce? How much space does your battery bank take up, and will they supply enough power if the sun's behind the clouds for a few days?

Hoo-boy!
Someone's specifically? Or systems in general? Solar power systems are highly site specific and tend not to translate from one place to another. For example, I am at higher than average elevation. As a result my PV's run about 5% better output than they would if they were at sea level (and all other factors were equal, which they never are).

If you want to test your new product against existing equipment you'll have to build your own "standard" system for a benchmark.

Windsun

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

Right now most better panels will give around 140 to 150 watts/sq-meter electrical output. Some lab versions can go as high as 220 watts.

jdhigh2

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

Windsun,

Thanks for that benchmark data!

jdhigh2

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

Thanks for all of the input on my last survey! I know it was long. Sorry about that. However, I did get lots of good data. I got 10 completed surveys, and I think most of them were from this forum. From my number crunching I found that the top 3 attributes out of 47 were:
1. Will not be damaged by squirrels or other rodents.
2. System is resistant to lightening damage.
3. On-line price estimate, and electricity production estimate.

Then the last 2 attributes were: 46. Designed for charging electric/plug-in hybrid cars. 47. Panels and controller/inverter all from one supplier.

Then I organized all of the attributes into groups of factors. (The factors ended up being a little different from my original topic groups.) There were 10 total factors, and the top 5 were:
1. Minimum Maintenance
2. Energy Storage
3. DIY (Do it Yourself)
4. Good Investment
5. Upgradeability

Also, for my class I have to get comparisons of peoples' perceptions of products that will compete with my new product. I've made a new survey that is much shorter than the last one to collect this input. If you would like to take it that would be great. Here is the link: http://Solar-Competition.surveyanalytics.com

niel

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

you had validation errors pop up in a few of the questions as they wouldn't accept the value of 6 so i left it blank and you should know it is the number 6. the survey was accepted leaving #6 blank.

jdhigh2

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

Hey Niel,

Thanks for the red flag on the survey problem! I downloaded the data and was able to see where you had to enter a couple of blank responses. Also, I was able to fix the survey by going in and rebuilding 2 of the questions.

Thanks again.
John

jdhigh2

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

Hey Everyone,

I tabulated and charted the results from my Solar Competition survey. I thought you might be interested in seeing the results.

Attachment not found.Attachment not found.

You can take a look and see if you agree or disagree. If you think the locations of the products don't look quite right you can still take the survey, and I'll post updated charts later. If you are one of the ones that took it the first time, and you want to retake it now that you see the charts that's fine. Just put retake in the comment box in the survey. http://Solar-Competition.surveyanalytics.com

Thanks,
John

jdhigh2

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

I really appreciate everyone helping me out on my college project by taking my surveys and offering your comments. On person requested that I let everyone know when I can reveal more details about my product concept. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to do that yet. Hopefully if my employer approves the funding for me to work on this project for them they will allow me to start an on-line focus group. With an arrangement like that I would be able to give more details to anyone that joins the group and signs a confidentiality statement. For now I still have to be really careful about what details I give out. According to U.S. patent law, if I make the details of an invention public knowledge I only have one year from that date to file for a patent, or I would loose the right to patent the invention.

I've posted another survey that is short. It presents you with two choices at a time. You pick the one that has the combination that you would like the best in a new solar power system if it was offered to you to purchase. You choose the best option just 3 times total, and then there is a space available if you have any comments. If you would like to give it a shot here is the link: http://Solar-Product.surveyanalytics.com

Thanks,
John

jdhigh2

Re: Solar Power Survey for School Project

Thanks to everyone that took my last survey. I got 31 total responses! This will really help with my class project. Thanks again!