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Is that what it actually comes out to, accounting for the efficiency of current panels and what plants actually use in photosynthesis?
by qppo 6y ago
Is that what it actually comes out to, accounting for the efficiency of current panels and what plants actually use in photosynthesis?
- mlyle 6y agoTwo main factors. First, plants lose about half the energy because of spectrum. There's lots of other losses (e.g. light falling on parts of the plant other than chloroplasts) but they apply to artificial light, too. And then, plants use only about 10% of the mid-day energy after all of these losses, because of saturation effects, but more the rest of the day-- we'll call it like 25% here. So that 50% factor and 25% factors multiplied are what you can try to exceed == 12.5%. Cheap solar panels are about 15% efficient. So you're not going to beat direct sunlight by much.
- imtringued 6y agohttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24093941 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24093941 That comment is using numbers that are overly optimistic. Using 22% panels requires you to construct an unaffordable PV facility for $400 million for a single vertical farm. If you go with lower efficiency panels you might be able to make it cost effective but then you are also consuming more land than a conventional farm. There is also a mismatch in energy demand. Solar panels only work while the sun is up but the yield promises of vertical farms entirely depend on 24/7 lighting.