Photovoltaics and Our Future-- an Editoral by Windy Dankoff Our concept is site produced and consumed electrical energy. Home Power. Perhaps no source better fits our future energy demands than the photovoltaic (PV) cell. This editorial presents some thoughts on one of our possible energy futures, in this case using the PV- RP. Solar cells are made of inert mineral materials, similar to ordinary sand. These cells convert light directly into electricity without moving or wearing parts. Silicon crystal cells have been in use since 1955 and their life expectancy appears to be limited by the materials sealing them from the elements. Today's high quality PV modules are a permanent investment- future improvements will NOT render them obsolete. PV technology has significant advantages to the small-scale user: 1) PVs are BENIGN. In use, it consumes only sunlight and presents no significant hazards or environmental alterations. There is almost no way to abuse PV energy. Even short-circuiting the modules will not harm them. 2) PVs are UNIVERSAL. The world's largest megaWatt arrays are made up of small modules, similar to those used in remote homes. PVs are an energy technology where progress in utility/industrial scale systems trickles down to the small, independent user. PV modules produce energy from light, not from heat. In fact, they're most efficient when they are cold! We have sent PV systems as far north as the Arctic Circle. People simply don't live where the sun never shines. Everyone has PV potential! 3) PVs are MODULAR. You can start with a small array and expand as you wish. 4) PVs are virtually MAINTENANCE-FREE. You need not be technically talented to clean off leaves, snow or bird droppings. As PVs Get Less Expensive... Retail prices of PV modules have been dropping by Å15% per year since the last big price breakthrough in 1979, when prices dropped 300%. Many people continue to wait for another big break to happen, and are quite unaware of the gradually decreasing cost of PVs. Technical innovations, reported as potential breakthroughs over the past ten years, are available NOW. The prices just never dropped suddenly enough to make front page news. While we all anticipate continuing price drops, please keep in mind that the costs of the PVs themselves is only 20% to 40% of an installed cost of a typical PV home system. The general public continues to buy and use appliances and lighting that are so inefficient that even if PVs were free, few people could afford the huge battery bank, inverter, etc. required to power their homes. To continue present trends in energy abuse and waste, while waiting for price breakthroughs in PVs, is to completely miss the point of energy independence. The point is to pay attention to the design of an entire system, not just the price of the PVs. As PV prices continue to drop, we foresee the use of more powerful solar arrays as a more significant trend than reduced system costs. Oversized PV arrays on homes will allow them to perform like the popular solar calculators, reliable even in dim light and affordable in cloudy climates. What you see in this magazine-- efficient and reliable batteries, inverters, controls, appliances, and the techniques of energy management- - are the result of over 20 years of quiet revolution in energy technology. Right NOW, an estimated 30,00 American homes are powered primarily by PVs. In fact, you are already a PV user. Many of the radio/TV broadcasts you receive and the phone calls you make are relayed by PV powered satellites. The Home Power Magazine you are now reading is composed and illustrated using PV powered computers. An increasing number of appliances, from watches to yard lights, are PV powered. PVs have found many commercial uses-- radio repeaters, livestock watering, electric fencing, ocean navigation buoys, billboard & sign lighting, and the monitoring of remote pumps, pipelines, and the weather. The uses of PVs are only limited by our audacity and imagination. PV technology stands ready to economically and reliably serve the greater public. All that stands between us and a healthier, solar powered society is OUR understanding, acceptance and support. PVs are ready for us. One purpose of this magazine is to get US ready for PVs. Windy Dankoff is the Owner and Operator of the Windlight Workshop. He's been doing it right since 1977. You can write him via POB 548, Santa Cruz, NM 87567.