How the Smartflower’s price compares to standard solar panels

The best way to compare solar panel system prices is to determine the cost per watt of electricity generation. The cost per watt for a Smartflower is anywhere from $6.25 to $7.50, with an average price of $6.75, assuming that it is equivalent to a 4 kW fixed rooftop array. The installed cost depends on how far the Smartflower is installed from the home, whether a concrete slab foundation needs to be poured, and whether the installation requires additional electrical work.

By comparison, the median price for a standard ground-mounted solar energy system without tracking capabilities on the EnergySage Solar Marketplace was just $3.44/Watt, or $13,760 for a 4 kW system. If you choose to install a rooftop solar energy system, the cost falls to just $3.14/Watt, or $12,560 for a 4 kW system.

https://news.energysage.com/smartflower-solar-complete-review/

The Smartflower is just a pioneering iteration. In principle the same solar cell technology is deployed in both but the adaptive technology can get greater efficiency. At a certain point down the road, the cost of the adaptive part falls below the efficiency return. Sounds like we aren't there yet, but no surprise in that.

It does not make it a reason to kill the idea.

As an aside, any reason the adaptive technology could not be installed on a roof, especially for new homes?

tracking systems are rarely installed - why? because it's cheaper in the long run just to install more fixed solar panels.

The device in the announcement is just a fancy gimmick and not cost effective.

By means of government regulation (horrors!) and spending (more horrors!), the solar industry has been stimulated but not by government investment or tax-funded purchase. The California example shows how a society can decide what needs to be done, set the framework and playing field and then let capitalism sort out the efficient solution.

Rational economic decision making is not always the bottom line. People buy coffee at their favorite stores at a somewhat higher price for the experience. Many of us are not driving around in the least expensive cars we could buy just to get to work and back. This is a product that has a different flavor of buyer's appeal. Can see these landing in parks, around commercial buildings and in adventurous home owner's yards simply because of the "cool" factor. I'm sure these would be a big hit at schools and universities as well.

...in a big way.

I can see this paired with a Tesla battery in ALaska somewhere. Or in a place like Montana or Wyoming. Of course the shipping would probably be obscene. K&R

That's part of the deal. Any object that is designed to move will eventually break. Also, I suspect this is something that only the wealthy could afford.

I checked into the cost of getting basic solar panels a couple of times. I don't know how people afford it. It was very expensive. The irony is...if you are poor, the govt subsidizes it for you. But for the masses of middle class? Nothing. Ironic - only the wealthy and the poor can get solar panels added.

Most don't own houses.

There are of course poorER people.

I read an article or two when reading up on getting solar panels several years ago. There are programs to provide assistance to poor people (those whose income is low....like poor people get Medicaid). There was a group at Walgreen's collecting on behalf of some group to help "poor" people get solar panels, also. I stopped and checked it out and talked to her.

So there has been a push in the past to get the poorer areas of the country set up with renewable energy, something they would never be able to afford. I thought that was a bit unfair, since adding solar panels is quite expensive and beyond the reach of many middle class people, as well. But they wouldn't qualify, since their income is too high.

Maybe they've discontinued those programs, now that the Republicans are in control and they don't like renewable energy.

One of the reasons community solar is taking off is that you can buy for what you can afford. It also allows you buy more later after prices go down.

Solar pays off long term. A lot of people don't stay in a house long enough. The typical warranty guaranties 80% of the new rated output after 25 years and longer.

It makes better sense to install solar on schools and government buildings.

I must have run across a site showing how to do that. I lived alone, so I figured I'd be almost dead by the time solar panels paid off money-wise. It would be helpful for the environment and for the next homeowner, but not for me. Not that I could afford it. If they were cheaper to install, they'd be cost effective.

Small systems have a higher installation and integration cost as a percentage of the total cost so it's going to take longer to break even.

You also have to remember that utility bills always find a way of going up. Buying solar locks in your future cost of electricity.

is WHY people tie their solar system into the electric grid. They don't have to do that, and initially that wasn't done. I'm guessing because you can make some money by selling your overage to the electric company, lessening your bill, and then you get backup for when you may run out of solar power?

But it makes more sense to me that a person have a standalone system. There IS no power bill at all. If you run out of power, you have to accept that there may be short periods where your stores of power run out. Sort of like my cutting the cord from cable tv. I do streaming and have streaming devices, and I have to have internet, no matter what. But I watch a lot of antenna tv, and I accept that I won't have good reception all the time. That's just the way it is.

Many power saving things aren't worth it for single people. In other words, it can take decades just to break even from the cost of the thing. Like high efficiency a/c units. Past the minimal efficiency rating, the cost of a/c units goes up significantly. I calculated once that, like solar panels, it would take me decades to make up for the extra cost of the unit in power savings. As a single person, I just don't use enough power for it to be worth it.

From Solar Energy News:

The Colorado Energy Office (CEO), Energy Resource Center (ERC), and Colorado Springs Utilities announce the installation of a 2kW rooftop solar array as part of the state's Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). The CEO WAP provides free, cost-effective energy efficiency measures to income-eligible households in all of the state's 64 counties.

http://www.esolarenergynews.com/2016/08/colorado-unveils-low-income-rooftop.html

The state of CO must have concluded that it is in the state's interest to do that. Maybe savings in power bills offsets the possibility of their needing food and other assistance, thereby saving the state money? Leave it to Colorado. A forward thinking state in many ways.