how much is their power?
2006-12-02 18:20:17 · 2 answers · asked by samira s 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
Depends on how much solar load there is. Near the equator, solar load is approximately 9 kWh/day/m^2. Conversion/storage efficiency to electricity drops that down to less than 1.5 kWh/day/m^2.
A typical house in surburbia draws around 30 kWh/day, so you'd need 20 square meters of solar panel to feed one house at zero margin. For some other place, like Los Angeles, you'd need a minimum of about 200 square meters of solar panel to provide operating margin against overcast days as well as to account for the lowered solar load.
If the panels are not steerable, at least another factor of 2-4 must be included. That would mean that the typical house lot in LA would be completely covered by solar panel to be self sufficient in power.
A Sunsei SE-6000 solar panel is 0.75 m^2 and costs $700 at Fry's Electronics. It would cost about $6.5 million to buy 800 sq m of solar panel at that price.:
http://www.solarcharger.com/s.nl/it.A/id.68/.f?category=62
http://shop2.outpost.com/product/4653568?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
2006-12-02 18:52:24 · answer #1 · answered by arbiter007 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they would generate enough energy for a few small buildings
2006-12-02 18:22:22 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋