PV Aesthetics [RE-wrenches]

[Drake Chamberlin, Quicksilver Electrical]

Solar Panels are BEAUTIFUL!

                                                                Drake

"Steve Willey, Backwoods Solar" wrote:

> As for aesthetics and building integrated, I would rather educate the
> customer about the function, so they can begin to see what we see.
> Otherwise you get shingle panels on a fixed tilt roof under the snow, and
> these vertical panels on the side of skyscrapers.
>
> Steve Willey   www.backwoodssolar.com
> Backwoods Solar Electric Systems
> > As engineers, we tend to think of solar panels as great looking, and as
> > energy activists, we tend to think that looks don't matter. But as sales
> > people and marketers, we need to understand that aesthetics can often make
> > or break the sale. It is pretty useless to try to convince someone that
> > anything they think is ugly is actually beautiful. Time is better spent
> > figuring out a different way to solve the problem, different colored
> > panels, mounting them farther away, etc. Often, aesthetics cost money, but
> > people are actually more willing to pay for aesthetics than they are
> solar.
> >
> > This is best evidenced in the infant BIPV market. My understanding is that
> > most installations happen because the architect involved likes the look,
> > and oh by the way these things also produce power. So working with this
> > will help to create more sales. This doesn't mean that all architects will
> > like all solar panels on all buildings, but that we need to work with
> > individual needs to craft something likeable to each client from our
> > available pieces. I did this for many years as an HVAC engineer working
> > with quite a few fancy architects. Each one needed the HVAC systems
> exposed
> > pieces dealt with differently. Although this was more work, it made the
> > aesthetics acceptable.
> >
> > So we can't just go out and proclaim solar panels to be beautiful. We need
> > to figure out what the client wants in terms of aesthetics (as well as
> > power) and mold our components to the needs. Showing diverse installations
> > that fit into a variety of molds will do a lot to expand the market.
> >
> > Jeff
> >
> > Jeffery D. Wolfe, P.E.
> > Principal
> > Global Resource Options, LLP
> > A Woman-Owned Limited Liability Partnership
> > 4 Kibling Hill Road
> > P.O. Box 51
> > Strafford, Vermont 05072
> > 802/765-4632
> > 802/765-9983 FAX
> > global at sover.net
> >
> > ----------
> > From: Michael Welch, Home Power[SMTP:michael.welch at homepower.com]
> > Reply To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
> > Sent: Monday, June 05, 2000 1:56 PM
> > To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
> > Subject: Re: Solar Powered Gate Openers [RE-wrenches]
> >
> > Travis Creswell, Ozark Solar wrote at 05:12 AM 6/5/2000 -0700:
> >
> > >Thanks for your quick replies.  I am here in Southern MO.  What (Inches)
> > >size of solar panel does it come with.  My potential customer is very
> > >concerned about a "big ugly panel."  It show it as a $129 option so it
> > can't
> > >be that big but I'm guessing it's amorphous which means it will be a
> > little
> > >bigger.  This is going to be a residence so I am not expecting a lot of
> > >cycles per day.
> >
> > This is worth discussing further on this list. Most of us on solar are
> > proud of our solar panels and take every opportunity to show them off. The
> > attitude of folks that think they are ugly is something I think dealers
> can
> > and should work on.
> >
> > How do we instill a sense of pride for folks that are just dipping their
> > feet into the realm of solar? Hell, if they really wanted good-looking
> they
> > wouldn't have put up that fence in the first place!
> >
> > Michael Welch
> >
> > ------------------------
> > "Society is like a stew. If you don't keep it stirred up, you get a lot of
> > scum on top."
> >
> > Edward Abbey
> >
> > Michael Welch, michael.welch at homepower.com www.homepower.com
> >       Associate Editor, Home Power magazine
> >       Office Coordinator, Redwood Alliance
> >       (Not HP mag's #s) 707-822-7884 fax: 707-822-3481
> >
> >
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> >
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> >
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>
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>
> Hosted by Home Power magazine: <http://www.homepower.com>
>
> for info contact: <michael.welch at homepower.com>
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for info contact: <michael.welch at homepower.com>
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