Solar Energy

If the energy is obtained from the sun, is it obtained from the heat or UV rays of the sun? Also, after it obtains the energy, how does it transfer that into usable energy? Lastly, is it immediately usable or is it stored until its use is required?

Solar electric panels (photovoltaic panels) use the light of the sun to produce electricity. They are made out of semiconductor materials like silicon (the same stuff that’s in your computer), which is treated so it’s positively charged on one side and negatively charged on the other.

When light energy strikes this "solar cell", electrons are knocked loose from the semiconductor material, and at this point they can be captured in the form of an electric current so they can be put to work.

Solar panels produce DC electricity which must be converted to AC by a solar power inverter before it can be used to power household appliances.

If you have a battery bank, the power can be stored for later use.

Now that scientists can look at events the happen on a femtosecond time scale, they will be able to fully understand how plants convert sunlight into energy. Will this improve our solar energy technology?

Photosynthesis is considered to be 5% efficient.1 Solar photovoltaic panels to convert sunlight to electricity that you can buy are from 8 to 22% efficient.2 In the lab they have gotten up to 42% efficiency.3 Solar thermal panels used to heat hot water are from 60 to 80% efficient.4

How many solar panels would you need to equal the energy output of 1kg of U-235?

if 1kg of U-235 can produce 80 trillion joules (8×10^13 J) of energy how many solar panels would you need to equal this amount of energy?

Any info would be very much appreciated!

Unless the student is supposed to be able to calculate how long it takes the U-235 to produce that amount of energy, there is not enough information. If that is within the scope of the course, the question is way out of my league.

But assuming you just left out the time when stating the problem, divide that into 80 trillion to get joules/sec.

Let’s say the time is 40 billion seconds* for the U-235 to generate 80 trillion J. Divide 80 trillion by 40 billion, that’s 2,000 J/sec. You would need 10 panels. (A typical panel produces 200 Joules/sec.)

*That’s a LOT of seconds, even a lot of centuries. By then the solar panels would have worn out and crumbled into dust, so it’s a silly question in that sense. Is the teacher trying to make a point about the futility of solar power?

how does one connect an outlet to a solar panel

and

how do you store solar energy?
recommended products please…

You store power in lead acid batteries (heavy duty car batteries). You use a diode with it so when sun goes down the power from batteries doesn’t go back to solar cells.

Then you have to run an inverter that switches power from 12V DC (if you use car batteries) to 120V AC to run household appliances. The inverter is the same thing that you can use in your car if you want to plug laptops etc into your car. It uses your car battery for power and has a receptacle in the inverter identical to want is in your house. You can buy inverters about anywhere, Autozone, Harbor Freight tools , Northern Tools, etc
inverters:
http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=inverter&Submit=Go

and solar panels:
http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=solar+&Submit=Go
This can be very expensive for home use energy.

And you need a charge controller, which controlls the charge to your battery ( takes the place of the diode above so use this instead)

Google "homemade solar power" and you’ll get lots of info

Solar panels gather _______ energy from the sun.

solar , which is later converted to different forms of energy.

Solar panels in houses will definitely reduce energy usage as it does not involve ongoing dependence on non-renewable energy sources such as coal-burning power plants. These coal power plants generate tremendous amounts of electricity through the burning of coal though it heavily pollutes the environment. Solar panels are a much cleaner renewable alternative as it is utilises the sun’s energy and converts it into electricity. The great thing about solar panels is that when used with conventional electricity it reduces your electricity bill hugely and when used alone you have no electricity bill to pay as it using the sun’s free energy. It can also be used for generating hot water.

PS-I wrote it by myself

The use of photovoltaic technology for producing power is environmentally friendly. Is uses naturally occurring sunlight as its source and gives off no emissions. It doesn’t pollute the air by releasing carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide or mercury into the atmosphere like many traditional forms of power generation. The passive energy created is both economical and abundant.

Also, what’s the solar panel’s rate of producing electricity?

Solar panels really can’t compete with fossil fuels of any kind.

They’re great for low power consumption applications, but I doubt we’ll ever see solar powered steel refineries or heavy manufacturing plants.

A solar panel that produces 175 watts is about 62" x 33" (5 feet by almost 3 feet). 175 watts is enough to power a couple light bulbs; you’d certainly never cook anything on it.

On the other hand consider how much heat and light is produced by a small natural gas fireplace or stove burner. It would take a lot of those 5 foot long solar panels to equal that.

looking for alternative ways to save energy money and thinking about solar panels. anyone know anything about it and how expensive it is to install them?

Installing solar panels is now much more affordable than most people realize. Depending on where you live, new financing mechanisms such as the Sungevity Solar Lease, PACE (property-assessed clean energy) and PPA (Power Purchase Agreements) allow you to get solar with zero money down–you pay off the system on a monthly basis, and your monthly payments are likely to be less than you’re paying for electricity right now. Also, if you go with one of these financing mechanisms, you’ll be guaranteed a fixed rate for 10-15 years so you won’t have to worry about utility rate hikes. Last but not least, there are some great rebates and tax credits available right now for PV systems and solar hot water heaters–check out http://www.dsireusa.org/ for details. I’ve had solar panels on my roof for years but wish this kind of creative financing had been available to me (oh well). I’m going to see if I can find an installer who will put up panels on my son’s school using some kind of PPA. (Oh, and if you live in New Jersey, check out this article about how installing solar can actually be a get-rich-quick (while saving the planet) scheme because of an amazing incentive program mandated by the state–http://solarpowerrocks.com/new-jersey/im-moving-to-new-jersey-just-to-buy-homes-and-put-solar-on-them-seriously/).

What’s the best deal going on companies leasing out Solar Panels in California?

Solar Power Purchase Agreements, or PPA, have historically been for large systems for commercial and municipal customers. However, they are starting to venture into the residential sector.

Buying the power from the panels instead of the panels itself can help with the upfront costs and lock you in to a lower per kwh cost than buying from the electric company. However, you would not qualify for the rebates available if you bought the equipment yourself, so you would continue to pay for electricity after the equipment was paid for if you bought it outright.

I don’t know anything about these companies, but a quick search for California Solar PPA turned up:

Heliomu PPA www.heliomu.com
Solar City Lease www.solarcity.com
SunRun PPA. www.sunrunhome.com

i am doing a hw assinment and have not been able to find the answer to this question

Can u plz help me

Wolfe island off Kingston in Lake Ontario