The Sunball  

WorldChanging has a post on Australian company "Green and Gold Energy"'s SunBall which looks like something every home should have in the back yard and/or on the roof (Update: PeakOil.com has some more links on the SunBall).

The Sunball, a "solar appliance" due out in mid-2006, is an example of something I expect to see quite a bit more of in the coming months and years: a renewable energy system combining a novel design with promises of easy installation and use. I have no idea whether the Sunball will perform up to the claims made by the manufacturers, Australia's Green & Gold Energy, but in many respects that's secondary. What's important is that we're now seeing more kinds of renewable energy systems aimed not at hobbyists and those willing to fiddle with clumsy tech, but at people who want something relatively stylish (whether the Sunball meets that criteria is a matter of taste, of course) and something relatively "plug and play." Building-integrated photovoltaics are another example, albeit a less-radical departure.

The technology of the Sunball is unusual, but not unprecedented. Rather than a flat panel, it uses fresnel lenses to concentrate sunlight onto an arrangement of high-efficiency cells, increasing the amount of light hitting the cells. This allows the Sunball to be less-costly than standard pv, with an estimated cost of AU$1,400 (about US$1,050) per 330 W peak unit. We've talked about solar concentrators before, but the previous examples were clearly meant for larger-scale power generation; one advantage of solar concentrator technology is that it can produce more power in a limited space than normal photovoltaic panels. What's novel about the Sunball is that it's meant for home users, particularly those who don't want to cover their rooftops with black glass panels.

The manufacturers have handy calculators and maps for figuring out whether the Sunball will produce cost-competitive electricity in a given location in the US or Australia. As noted above, the units aren't yet shipping, so early cost estimates -- US$6,000, without rebates, for an installed 4-unit system able to supply half of a typical household's power -- may be way off. And while the Sunball is less-clumsy than traditional flat solar panels, neither is it a particularly wonderful example of industrial design. In short, even if it's a flop, it will blaze the trail for subsequent competitors.

The era of the solar panel is over; long live the age of solar design.