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Question: Solar/wind power question?
(Posted by: thatsgranderful on 2008-01-28 11:02:27)
Does anyone know (on average) how much energy solar power creates per one hour of sunlight (like one hour of sunlight creates an X amount of kilowatts)...and also the same thing for wind power (like how much wind is needed to create 1kilowatt of energy...? |
Answers:
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Posted by: GABY on 2008-01-28, 17:45:02
It is not that easy to answer your question because it is a function of size and type of wind turbine or solar panel. An average Home Solar Panel is about 3 ft. X 4 ft. and will produce maybe 30-40 Watts when the sun is around peak position. Remember, this peak is only a few hours a day. Lets say each panel would produce 50 Watts for 5 hours a day and less for another 5 hours, and the average is 30 watts/ hr over the 10 hours it can produce any power. I would need 1000/ 30, or about 34 panels to average 1 KW that period. Of course, I still have 14 hours with no power. Wind Turbines can be just about any size up to 1.5-2.5 Million Watts for most of the large ones used by electric companies. I've heard of a few larger, but not many. Most good wind turbines only require 6-10 MPH of wind to produce at peak power. They just need to spin at a certain speed, and the blades rotate to catch more or less wind as the wind speed changes. This is primarily to protect the equipment from overspeeding and damaging the reduction gear and motor. Her again, they produce nothing when the wind dies down. Both Solar and Wind require a lot of area to produce much power. The wind turbines a large with over 40ft. blades and are on an enormous stand that is about 100 ft high. The turbines must be spaced pretty far apart. |
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Posted by: Mike S on 2008-01-28, 11:10:33
I think most of this has to do with the type of solar collector or wind generator that you have along with environmental conditions like where you live, how much sun/ wind you get in an average year. en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Solar_energy I would love to offset my electrical bill with solar and wind power, but the start up costs for me are prohibitive. Great specific question! I hope you find the answer you are looking for. |
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Posted by: 2littleiggies on 2008-01-28, 11:20:18
That all depends on the solar cell and the size of the panel. As for the wind it depends on the size of the turbine and how fast the wind is blowing. |
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Posted by: campbelp2002 on 2008-01-28, 11:41:46
Sunlight arriving at Earth contains about 1,366 watts per square meter of light energy. The atmosphere reduces that some by the time the light reached the ground. Then solar cells can only convert a small fraction of it to electricity. Maybe 15% or so. |
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Posted by: spartaworld.combat on 2008-01-28, 11:53:59
Hi: A 1,000 watt is equal to 1 kilowatts. 100 watts = 10 volts. The amounts of energy still depends on how large an array of solar cells and panels being used. Wind management also has to take into account the generator motor being used. These calculations are based upon the accepted measurements of the standard electrical conversion now used. Hope this gives some idea for your question. Spartawo... |
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Posted by: Arby on 2008-01-28, 12:48:29
If you are talking about domestic applications the amount will be different from commercial applications like sun or wind farms. I would have to do research, but I think most individual application generators are rated for a 22 mile per hour wind. They generally have something like 8 kilowatts a day in a constant wind. A slower wind would, of course, reduce the kilo I haven't checked solar for a long long time, so my information would be out of date. The hubby is actually doing the research on the wind generator right now. Edited to eliminate my obvious error - kilo, not mega |
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Posted by: aerostar64 on 2008-01-28, 14:34:51
Far more electricity is generated by wind than by sunlight. Solar panels require a large area and depend upon daylight and reasonably good weather. Wind blows day and night, in good and bad weather. A single commercial size windmill generates upwards of 4 million watts*. It would take a solar panel the area of a manufacturing plant to equal that. * In one hour. |
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Posted by: julesoriginals on 2008-01-28, 16:19:07
Check out jointhesolution.com/ sagebgreenenergy There is a solar estimator on there based on your location and some data about the orientation of your house and your utilities. Check out the NREl website - nrel.gov/ solar/ - there's lots of good information on there on solar and wind. The amount of energy expended depends on many inputs specific to your location. |
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Posted by: paul h on 2008-01-29, 08:32:49
New form of solar panels using cadmium telluride...half the cost of silicone panels. welcome.colostate.edu/ features/ ava-solar.aspx |
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