The Cellar  

Go Back   The Cellar > Main > Technology
FAQ Community Calendar Today's Posts Search

Technology Computing, programming, science, electronics, telecommunications, etc.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 10-19-2011, 06:05 PM   #1
HungLikeJesus
Only looks like a disaster tourist
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: above 7,000 feet
Posts: 7,208
Here are some calculations to get started:

Typical peak insolation is about 1000 W per square meter. Current solar module efficiency is about 12% (but this could go much higher with some of the multi-junction cells under development). Typical capacity factor for solar is about 15-18% (unless you're in PDX, apparently) - you can calculate your expected annual output by multiplying the nameplate rating by 8760 hours per year and multiplying that by the capacity factor.

Now you just need to know annual load to determine the required surface area of the panels (of course, you also need to de-rate for the average angle of incidence, since the panels won't be perpendicular to the sun most of the time). This assumes that you have sufficient battery capacity to store the electricity produced.
__________________
Keep Your Bodies Off My Lawn

SteveDallas's Random Thread Picker.
HungLikeJesus is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:00 PM.


Powered by: vBulletin Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.