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Yeah but that energy as electricity produces work... which produces waste heat. You end up with the same amount of heat as you do an equally black surface just
by friend_and_foe 3y ago
Yeah but that energy as electricity produces work... which produces waste heat. You end up with the same amount of heat as you do an equally black surface just getting hot.
There's no escaping it, but fortunately all that heat gets radiated into space already on the dark side keeping the heat capture at net neutral, once the thermal reserve increases from decreased albedo of course.
- Retric 3y ago“In terms of >local heat<“ That electricity isn’t producing heat where the panels are, it’s potentially in some laptop on the other side of the planet. The actual energy released by the worlds electricity converted into waste heat isn’t currently meaningful on a global scale. But, assuming it keeps increasing placing floating solar panels over the ocean actually reflects more energy back into space. That would have a net cooling effect even including the electricity produced.
- friend_and_foe 3y agoBut the living creatures in the ocean need the light, cyanobacteria and phytoplankton are keystone species for the main oceanic biome. We were talking about paneling unused dark patches on land.