Solar Energy » solar energy panel

How much would a solar energy panel cost to install in a 3 bedroom house (roughly)?

admin — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 10:12:27 +0000

I would like solar electricity opposed to solar hot water and was wondering if any of you knew how much it would likely cost

Since you’re asking about price, I’m assuming you’re interested in saving money. Just so you know, your best payback is investing in conservation measures, like insulation, efficient lighting, and efficient appliances The next best payback is solar hot water. And now, about the solar electricity:

The vast majority of modern solar electric (photovoltaic) systems do not use batteries. They tie to the electric grid, driving the meter backwards during the day, and letting the meter run forwards at night. At least, conceptually, that’s how it’s supposed to work. How much a system costs really depends on how much electricity the house uses, and what fraction of it you want to replace with solar (it doesn’t have to be 100%). At the low end, a solar install will be maybe $15,000, and the largest common system will be in the ballpark of $50,000. That’s before state and federal rebates, which return as much as 2/3 of the cost in some areas.

Our house is 1800 square feet, in a mild climate with no A/C, no electric heat, no electric stove, no pool. A 3 kW array supplies substantially 100% of our electricity, and cost $12,000 net after rebates.

which company provides solar energy systems in California with solar panel installation?

admin — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 22:07:29 +0000

I am living in California.I want to install solar panel in my home.Please anyone guide me about which company provides solar energy systems in California, USA.
thanks

You can see a list of NABCEP (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners) certified installers at http://www.nabcep.org/. Using a NABCEP certified installer insures that the installer has had the proper training and experience.

Does a 60 watt solar panel provide enough energy for a 60 watt light bulb if I keep the light on all daytime?

admin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 11:28:28 +0000

When the term 60 watts is used does this mean 60 watts per hour or total or what?

A solar panel that is 60W can output 60W under standard test conditions (STC). The amount of sunlight through a day may equal about 5 hours total of the strength of sunlight equal to the STC. So 60W x 5 hours = 300 watt hours.

If you run the 60W lightbulb for 24 hours, that’s 60W x 24 hours = 1440 watt hours. Way too much for the panel to handle. However, if you were to run a compact fluorescent lightbulb (CFL) the same brightness, that uses 11W. 11W x 24 hours = 264 watt hours. Now we’re talking! With system losses, it may still be too small of a panel, but it’s in the realm of possibility now. This is why everyone is pushing the CFL, same brightness, a fraction of the power.

where does the solar energy go to when it hits the solar panel?

admin — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 06:57:01 +0000

I mean when light hits the solar panel where does the energy go and what does it become? Be specific.

Visible light from the sun is in the form of photon before hitting the solar panel. In a silicon solar panel, the photon is caught by the semiconductor material. Energy equivalent of the photon is then used to excite an electron from the semiconductor molecule. The aggregate of free flowing electrons form the current in a closed electric circuit.

The efficency of conversion from sun light to electricity is not 100%. The majority of light energy hitting the solar panel is dissipated in the form of heat. As technology advances, the conversion efficiency is improving, hence reducing the cost of solar energy.

multiple choice – Solar Incorporated wants to know which solar panel collects energy in the most efficient way?

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 10:37:39 +0000

Solar Incorporated wants to know which solar panel collects energy in the most efficient way. Three different brands are placed in the sun and voltage readings are taken every 15 minutes for three hours. This is an example of which step of the Scientific Method?

analyze the results

conduct the experiment

form a conclusion

research the question

experiment

Solar Energy Panel VS. Energy Efficient Bulbs?

admin — Sun, 23 May 2010 06:46:57 +0000

I have a solar energy panel that works in every room except mine. I have those severely bright, energy efficient bulbs and it doesn’t work at all.
What do I do? Is the bulbs really causing this? Why?

You should still get some output but you do expect less under an energy efficient bulb even though it looks brighter. This is because old bulbs give out a lot of ‘light’ in the infrared that you can’t see. Which is completely wasted if you want it as a light bulb, but a solar panel may still harvest some of this energy!

Your solar panel is probably made of silicon. This has a ‘band gap’ of about 1.1 eV so any light with a wavelength shorter than about 1.1-1.2 microns be able to generate electricity. (shorter wavelength means higher energy)

Energy efficient bulbs give off the vast majority of their energy in the visible light range, which is about 0.45-0.8 microns. The spectrum looks something like this:
http://holeman.org/spectra/fluorescent%20-%2065%20watt%20CFL%20-%20%20spectrum.jpg

It’s hardly giving out any energy in the range from about 800-1100 nm, which is where the solar panel is most efficient at converting light into electricity (each photon can make 1 electron, which will give a specific amount of output power – any excess photon energy is wasted heating up the panel). The panel should still catch those photons and turn them into electricity, but it’ll make far less current.

By contrast a non energy efficient light spectrum looks like this:
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/project_ideas/Phys_img039.jpg

It’s giving off a good chunk of its energy as light in the range 800-1100nm which the solar panel can efficiently harvest into electricity. As a lightbulb though, this energy is being wasted because you can’t see light of those wavelengths!

Does a solar panel get more energy on hotter or brighter days?

admin — Thu, 20 May 2010 05:25:42 +0000

I was just thinking about it. A solar panel cannot get energy from sunlight at night because there is MUCH less light. If there is an overcast, the same concept should apply. If the sun appears to be shining brighter than usual, would the panel be able to receive more energy?

As indicated in the reference sites I’ve listed, there is actually very little variation in the sun’s intensity on a day to day basis. However, scientists claim that over the last 60 years or so, that the sun has been at the hottest temperatures and burning the brightest than it ever has.

But the real solar energy is in the light, not the temperature. Hence, the PHOTOvoltaic cells that are a part of today’s solar collectors and panel. They say that solar energy can actually be collected at the North Pole as long as the Sun is shining.

can we use solar panel around the rocket so that it can work using solar energy?

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:37:16 +0000

NO we can use solar panel for satalites not for rockets. A rocket or rocket vehicle is a missile, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust by the reaction of the rocket to the ejection of fast moving fluid from a rocket engine. Chemical rockets work by the action of hot gas produced by the combustion of the propellant against the inside of combustion chambers and expansion nozzles. This generates forces that accelerate the gas to extremely high speed and exert a large thrust on the rocket (since every action has an equal and opposite reaction). Now the funny answer 4 u please send rockets only on sunny day…….. tks

Does Solar Energy Panel on our steel roofs really helps in cutting down our energy expenses?

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 01:12:08 +0000

Not really.

Your monthly costs will go down but it requires a large upfront investment.
The overall costs to produce energy via solar panels are slightly greater.

There are other benefits though.

Solar Panel costs and energy generation?

admin — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 01:09:10 +0000

If I buy a 60W solar panel is that how much electricity produces? In what time period? And if so how many kWh’s would that be equal to?

60W would be the RATE at which it produces electricity (W, watt, is a measure of power not energy).

kWh is the measure of energy which is equal to 1000W of generating power running for 1 hour.

that means it would take your 60W generator (assuming that it is running at that level based on environmental factors) 16 2/3 hours running at that level to general 1 kWh. (that would probably be about 2 days assuming 8 hours of good sunlight per day)