6 ms·

Do keep in mind that while they are "cost effective" - it takes a few years to recoup the initial investment. A more efficient panel will repay its value sooner

Do keep in mind that while they are "cost effective" - it takes a few years to recoup the initial investment. A more efficient panel will repay its value sooner, or will require lower initial investment. Second, the possible applications - Low efficiency cells will support low power appliances, Or you'll need more of them / storage for more power hungry applications. A more efficient cell enables new applications where weight is an issue.

polskibus 8y ago
Is there a calculator that can take into consideration the weather over entire year?
- ip26 8y ago
  Have you examined PVWatts?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- DoctorOetker 8y ago
  I'd also like to know where I can find decent insolation maps
  - FlyMoreRockets 8y ago
    https://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar.html https://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar.html
Retric 8y ago
In terms of power / weight solar can already beat many IC engines. The only thing more efficient solar brings is less packaging and use in extremely confined spaces like the roof of a car. PS: The car thing should start taking off in a few years. A Tesla model 3 is 4.6 meters long 1.85 meters wide so 8.7 meters square. At 40% your talking about around 30kwh per day which could really extend the range and for less used cars minimize recharging.
- gpm 8y ago
  Woah, 30kwh =~ 210 km... that could eliminate charging on even moderately used cars.
- microcolonel 8y ago
  > In terms of power / weight solar can already beat many IC engines. What? That is an extremely strange oranges-to-bananas comparison but rolling with it: a Honda B16A7 (not considered a particularly weight-efficient, or weight-inefficient IC engine) weighs ~183kg and produces 118,000W continuously in the standard configuration. A Talesun TP660P-235 (a reasonably efficient, reasonably light solar panel) produces maybe 212W intermittently under reasonable conditions, and weighs 20kg. So, charitably, 212W / 20kg = 10.6W/kg, and 118,000W / 183kg = 645W/kg. For a newer Toyota 2AR engine, it's something like 133,000W / 150kg = 887W/kg Again, I have no idea how you thought of this comparison, but a common IC engine produces around 60x more power per kilogram than a solar panel.
- rightbyte 8y ago
  Why is weight an issue when we are talking power plants for housing? Here's a 8.3 kW diesel generator (6.3 kW generator) from Home Depo: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Boss-Precision-Products-Inc-Portable-Generator-2-Speed-12-HP-120-240-Volt-Diesel-Motor-with-Single-Cylinder-Vertical-4-Stroke-Air-Cooled-DY8500LN-D/306061038 https://www.homedepot.com/p/Boss-Precision-Products-Inc-Port... 3900 USD. 367 lbs + fuel = 180 kg + fuel http://www.nordensolar.se/produktdetaljer/solceller-luxor-solar-265w-poly/ http://www.nordensolar.se/produktdetaljer/solceller-luxor-so... One random 265W solar panel, you need 31 off them, one is 18,6 kg gives 582 kg of solar panels to get to 8.3 kW (obviously you wont get 8.3 kW cont. from them). Not counting inverters, mounting rackets etc. So for equal weight and way more power you have one 8,3 kW diesel generator and 402 kg of diesel. 1 kg diesel is ca 12 kWh energy. Lets guess 30% efficiency gives 1447 kWh electricty for the same weigth. That's about as much as the solar panels will produce in 2,4 months assuming 129 kWh/m2/year. According to this site it's 3,14 USD per watt solar panel installation for consumers. https://news.energysage.com/10kw-solar-systems-compare-prices-installers/ https://news.energysage.com/10kw-solar-systems-compare-price... 8300 * 3,14 = 26 000 USD. So, you can buy a generator and 22 000 USD of diesel (about 22 000 litres or 22 000 litres * 10kWh * 0,3 efficiency = 66 000 kWh electricty) for about the same price. Or about what the same dollar in solar panels will produce in 8 years with way lower peak power.

polskibus 8y ago

Is there a calculator that can take into consideration the weather over entire year?

ip26 8y ago
Have you examined PVWatts?
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
DoctorOetker 8y ago
I'd also like to know where I can find decent insolation maps
- FlyMoreRockets 8y ago
  https://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar.html https://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar.html

Retric 8y ago

In terms of power / weight solar can already beat many IC engines. The only thing more efficient solar brings is less packaging and use in extremely confined spaces like the roof of a car. PS: The car thing should start taking off in a few years. A Tesla model 3 is 4.6 meters long 1.85 meters wide so 8.7 meters square. At 40% your talking about around 30kwh per day which could really extend the range and for less used cars minimize recharging.

gpm 8y ago
Woah, 30kwh =~ 210 km... that could eliminate charging on even moderately used cars.
microcolonel 8y ago
> In terms of power / weight solar can already beat many IC engines. What? That is an extremely strange oranges-to-bananas comparison but rolling with it: a Honda B16A7 (not considered a particularly weight-efficient, or weight-inefficient IC engine) weighs ~183kg and produces 118,000W continuously in the standard configuration. A Talesun TP660P-235 (a reasonably efficient, reasonably light solar panel) produces maybe 212W intermittently under reasonable conditions, and weighs 20kg. So, charitably, 212W / 20kg = 10.6W/kg, and 118,000W / 183kg = 645W/kg. For a newer Toyota 2AR engine, it's something like 133,000W / 150kg = 887W/kg Again, I have no idea how you thought of this comparison, but a common IC engine produces around 60x more power per kilogram than a solar panel.
rightbyte 8y ago
Why is weight an issue when we are talking power plants for housing? Here's a 8.3 kW diesel generator (6.3 kW generator) from Home Depo: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Boss-Precision-Products-Inc-Portable-Generator-2-Speed-12-HP-120-240-Volt-Diesel-Motor-with-Single-Cylinder-Vertical-4-Stroke-Air-Cooled-DY8500LN-D/306061038 https://www.homedepot.com/p/Boss-Precision-Products-Inc-Port... 3900 USD. 367 lbs + fuel = 180 kg + fuel http://www.nordensolar.se/produktdetaljer/solceller-luxor-solar-265w-poly/ http://www.nordensolar.se/produktdetaljer/solceller-luxor-so... One random 265W solar panel, you need 31 off them, one is 18,6 kg gives 582 kg of solar panels to get to 8.3 kW (obviously you wont get 8.3 kW cont. from them). Not counting inverters, mounting rackets etc. So for equal weight and way more power you have one 8,3 kW diesel generator and 402 kg of diesel. 1 kg diesel is ca 12 kWh energy. Lets guess 30% efficiency gives 1447 kWh electricty for the same weigth. That's about as much as the solar panels will produce in 2,4 months assuming 129 kWh/m2/year. According to this site it's 3,14 USD per watt solar panel installation for consumers. https://news.energysage.com/10kw-solar-systems-compare-prices-installers/ https://news.energysage.com/10kw-solar-systems-compare-price... 8300 * 3,14 = 26 000 USD. So, you can buy a generator and 22 000 USD of diesel (about 22 000 litres or 22 000 litres * 10kWh * 0,3 efficiency = 66 000 kWh electricty) for about the same price. Or about what the same dollar in solar panels will produce in 8 years with way lower peak power.