You have to think about it the other way around: The constituents don't have binding energy. That energy becomes available when you let them bind, and you have to pay it back if you want to unbind them.
Example: If you have a proton and an electron, making a hydrogen atom will release about 13.6 eV (if it goes to the lowest energy state). You have to spend that 13.6eV to ionize the hydrogen, i.e. to get the electron far away from the proton again.
To me, it looks like the place where there is a strong potential for early mover advantage: i.e. it's a zero.
Solar system installation is a commodity market inside a larger commodity market of general power systems. Residential sales are individual and high touch (even higher touch at the higher end). Construction projects have long timelines and often substantial local regulatory overhead, especially for electrical power systems at the scale of buildings.
On the other hand, low voltage power for digital devices can scale outward from small partial installations, e.g. one solar panel, one battery, one outlet. Low voltage power already has DIY components for applications such as landscape lighting. And it's not directly in competition with Seimens, Caterpillar, GE, and the local power company. And it can be delivered via DHL or UPS or the local retailer.
After 25 years in the industry, I don't believe that construction scales except for linearly. Of course that may be your goal and it's a good one.
Thanks, all really good points. Initially I'll be targeting the high end residential and commercial market to get cash flow going and sustain the business. Residents in major cities such as Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad purchase their houses for US$500k+ with cash. The goal is to sell them on solar electric systems ranging from US$5k to 15k with the promise they can completely or mostly eliminate their electric bills, and get their ROI in 5-7 years while getting uninterrupted electricity for 25 years. The market is ripe and I have seen residential installations worth US$35k with upfront cash.
Generators and UPS are current alternatives. However Generators, very loud and expensive to purchase, are dependent on fossil fuel (dirty) prices, which are very low at the moment but fluctuate routinely. UPS devices produce square wave outputs that damage appliances permanently. Convincing the market to go solar instead because of these reasons is the eventual sales challenge for sure.
Transmission losses (including electricity theft) are part of the sales pitch. They are a big reason why Supply doesn't meet Demand and Load Shedding has to be enforced.
I would focus on incremental systems. Something like 10$ cellphone, 100$ for lighting, 1,000$ for PC, 10,000$ for AC.
Also, midrange UPS don't output square wave, I fact solar systems include a UPS for night time power. So, you could sell a ~3k, UPS system with bult in solar hookups where people can add pannels over time.
Thanks and completely agree. I'm going back home with an open mind. There's lots I will learn on the ground and will fine tune my approach according to the realities. I reckon Energy Efficiency will also play a big part in my approach down the road. Wanted to initially target a high end market segment with the least barriers to entry.
Would like to understand that why does having constituents with binding energy reduce the total energy of the system instead of adding to it?