Questions tagged [solar-energy]
Use for questions about non-photovoltaic solar energy applications, such as passive solar heating or concentrated solar thermal power. For PV applications, use the photovoltaics tag instead.
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Are two solars panels more efficient than only one of twice the power output?
Is there any advantage to use two 50 W solar panels in parallels instead of one 100 W panel?
As we know, the effect of partial shadow on a solar panel can make the whole panel ineffective. We want to ...
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Mirror specification used in Solar Fresnel Collector systems
Im designing a Linear Fresnel collector system, and wanted to know what type of mirrors would be suitable for use as the reflectors. Thickness, type, coating etc. I couldnt find a manufacturer of ''...
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Internal Tent Temperature
Here is the problem I am working on:
"Consider a perfectly sealed polygonal tent with the sun directly overhead. The solar irradiance of a surface 90° to the sun’s rays is 1,000 W/m2. However, ...
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What are the design trade-offs between Parabolic Dish (Scheffler) and Parabolic Trough (Euro Trough) Solar Concentrators?
Two types of prevalent medium-to-large-scale concentrated solar thermal fields use:
Parabolic trough or
Parabolic dish
Since 1986, hundreds of sites around the world have built arrays of Scheffler ...
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Why do solar cells need to be square-shaped?
There were circular solar cells 30 years ago. Why do we have square-shaped solar cells now? Why square?
Furthermore,
Why do monocrystalline solar cells have rounded/cropped edges?
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For a given surface area of sunshine are the latest solar panels more or less efficient than a Stirling engine?
I was wondering if the efficiency of current solar panels are better or worse than the current state of the art Stirling engines. I understand the former isn't a static variable and solar panels are ...
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Adding a black plastic layer to increase retained heat in compost
I have some invasive climbing weeds to break down into compost. I don't want to discard the biomass, but I do want to thoroughly kill all the weeds and ideally the seeds over a period of months.
The ...
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Can we use an open expansion tank in solar water heating system?
We all know that in an indirect (closed loop) hydronic system, an expansion tank is needed ,to deal with thermal expansion of the circulating water, that can be either open expansion or closed ...
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Is it economical to use solar energy to manufacture solar panels?
Estimates of area needed to be covered by solar panels to power all of the US using only solar are about equal to a 100 mile by 100 mile tract of land. But solar panels have a lifespan of only a few ...
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Hybrid Energy Monitoring Systems
I have been doing research on renewable energy systems and I must admit that I am a newbie in this specific area. I have noticed that stand-alone systems have their own specific monitoring system ...
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Charging a Li-po battery (battery output current)
I would like to design a buck converter to use a PV panel to charge a 11.1V 3000mAh 3S 30C Lipo battery.
I want to choose the minimum inductance for a CCM ($L=\dfrac{V_{out}T_s}{2I_{out}}$), what is ...
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Most energy efficient way to decrease pressure
I'm currently working on a solar still design to enhance solar desalination productivity. One of the ways to increase productivity was to decrease humidity and pressure. I simply want to know the best ...
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What is the effect of reducing the active and reactive power rate for an inverter?
Many solar inverters which can be controlled remotely have the option to reduce the active and reactive power rate (inductive, capacitive) below 100%. An additional option is the export limit in a ...
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Find an empirical formula that relates the output voltage of a solar panel to irradiation and temperature
I want to determine the output voltage of a solar panel based on irradiation and temperature.
I have a dataset spanning three years of irradiation and temperature in Dubai, recorded every 30 minutes.
...
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Is exceeding the maximum power an issue for solar panels and inverters?
Say I have a solar panel setup which can produce a total of 16 kW peak. With an inverter that has a maximum PV input of 6kW, would this be an issue that could lead to defects? Or is it just ...
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Estimating the effective area and temperature coeffecient of a solar panel
I have a bunch of solar panels, each one is connected to an inverter.
For each solar panel I have two sensors, a wind and a west sensor.
From every inverter, I collect the power output.
The readings ...
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Heat handling in BIPV System
In a BIPV System, how is the heat handled? I mean the cells absorb the solar radiation and along with that the heat. So how is this heat handled? I was reading that the conventional solar system is ...
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How can I transport sunlight (with UV, IR etc...) across space?
I currently have a tiny vertical farm which I am trying to make as energy efficient as possible.
A big chunk of my power consumption comes from LED lights which are powered by solar panels/batteries, ...
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Solar bimetal/dilation power generator
What attempts are there been at converting on Earth's surface, night/day temperature differences, so that the dilation of a large bimetal is converted into mechanical work ?
At small scale it would ...
user12750
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Can a grid connected PV system deliver power backwards through the distribution transformer?
If there is no local load demand can a residential roof top grid connected PV system deliver power across distribution transformer [up to the higher voltage grid]?
Suppose my grid connected solar pv ...
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Correct wind Weibull distribution for wind+solar system
I'm trying to forecast the peak power output for a wind + solar system. The solar output as a function of time of day and month can be forecasted easily. I also have the historical wind speed for a ...
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Solar power, Battery power to mains voltage
My question is what is the most efficient way to convert 48V D.C. to 220V A.C. Not the easiest or most cost efficient but the most efficient electrically?
Also if anyone has any cheats on the best ...
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Can a Tesla Powerwall 2 be rate limited?
Can a telsa powerwall 2 be rate limited (discharge/charge)?
I have access to realtime electricity rates (30 min update interval) and also access to 12 hour predicted look ahead. So I wish to limit ...
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Capacity credit vs capacity factor
What is the difference between capacity factor and capacity credit? I know that capacity factor = annual generation / (installed capacity * 8760) but I don't understand how capacity credit is ...
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Would using activated carbon in a solar air collector help due to increased surface area?
Basically put a light coat of activated carbon on the collector, because surface area is so great, but I cant find info on its ability to collect solar energy, esp. compared to other materials. Im ...
