solar cells
Your Questions About Solar Energy Materials And Solar Cells
Maria asks…
How much fossil fuel does it take to make solar cells (energy ratio)?
Count the energy the solar cell can harvest over its lifetime. For the fossil-fuel side, you can use the chemical energy in the material, or the amount that could be obtained with heat engines, but in either event specify which measure you used.
admin answers:
I don’t think the Information on this page entirely answers your question, but it gets you a lot closer…
Http://www.jc-solarhomes.com/solar_energy_facts.htm
Paul asks…
How do solar cells work?
Hi, can anyone please tell me how solar cells work? Not in too much detail with alot of compicated terminology. I just need to know how they convert solar energy into electrical energy without all the complicated stuff.
Thanks alot!
admin answers:
Detailed Version: A solar cell is composed of a semiconductor with n-type and p-type material, that has a built-in potential at the junction. When light photons hit the semiconductor, they are absorbed and convert the photons energy into an electron and hole pair. These carriers are split by the built-in electric field of the junction in the semiconductor which outputs a current and voltage that can be used for energy.
Less complicated version: light hits a solar cell and the light is converted into a voltage and current similar to a battery which can be used to supply electrical power.
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Your Questions About Solar Energy Generators India
Donna asks…
Why is solar energy generators are so costly (India)?
When the whole world is speaking about global warming, extinction resources like charcoal for electricity why is the Solar energy generating equipments are so costly ? It roughly takes 15000 INR for 1 fan, 1 tube light, 5 9W CFL bulbs for 1 hour back up.
admin answers:
Solar energy itself may be considered clean and easy to harness, but the materials needed to transduce sunlight into electricity are very expensive.
Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cell
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refined_silicon#Purification
Silicon wafers, needed to produce solar cells, are difficult to manufacture. The silicon must be of high purity, which is achieved by a lengthy and expensive process.
There are other possible ways being researched, such as polymer solar cells that don’t require silicon.
Joseph asks…
Where exactly are Obama’s Green Jobs going to come from?
Why build a solar panel here when China can pay their workers $1/day to build the panel?
China controls 95% of rare earth metals to make the generators.
70% of the Green Energy components are already being imported.
So exactly what are blue collar workers going to build here that China can for much less?
We might need a few service techs to check on things but I don’t see millions of new jobs.
admin answers:
He is creating thousands of jobs in China and India.
Sheesh. Everyone is so demanding!
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Your Questions About Solar Generators Lowes
Helen asks…
how much solar power do i need to run a small frig and heater?
admin answers:
Get the wattage ratings off the name plates, double the wattage rating of the frig and add that to the wattage ratting of the heater and you have you answer. Enough solar cells to power this would cost a LOT more than a generator from Lowe’s.
Lisa asks…
Homework Help! 10 pts to the best!?
What are some businesses that use alternative energy. Like Sunships uses solar.
Does it use solar,nuclear,wave power,etc.
admin answers:
Caterpillar utilizes solar powered electrical generators. Lowes uses vast banks of skylights to offset their energy demand. The United States Navy uses nuclear power for many of their large ships.
Am pretty sure its any alternative to petroleum 😉
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Your Questions About Solar Energy Materials And Solar Cells
Charles asks…
what is the prospect of solar cells becoming really succesful?
Solar cells have two problems: 1 high cost 2. low efficiency What are the prospects that either of these is going to change ?
admin answers:
Pretty good. The real question is how long will it take for either to change.
First off, the efficiency of solar cells has already grown by leaps and bounds, with the disadvantage being that the methods with the greatest efficiency are very expensive.
There’s a couple of ways to improve the efficiency, perhaps without the associated increase in cost.
1) Increase the spectrum of light that can be converted to electricity. Currently, solar cells only convert a very small range of light frequencies to electricity. You could theoretically expand that range by combining different materials in a solar array, but if the crystal lattices of the different materials differ too much efficiency also suffers.
A new development, discovered during development of LEDs rather than solar cells, could expand the range of frequencies that could be converted to electricity without increasing the cost. Indium gallium nitride holds the promise of increasing efficiency to 50 to 70 percent (the best current solar cells run around 30%). The material is very defect tolerant, meaning the crystal lattices don’t have to match so precisely, decreasing the cost of production, plus it has a high heat capacity. Of course, a p-type version compatible with indium gallium nitride still needs to be developed, but if one is found, the efficiency of solar cells would leap while the cost would plummet.
2) Increase the number of electrons emitted in response to being struck by photons of light. Current solar cells can convert one photon of solar energy to one electron with the rest being lost as heat. Nanotechnology could increase that to three electrons per photon of solar energy, increasing solar cell efficiency to around 65%.
Richard asks…
How does surface area affect energy solar cells?
Can someone explain to me how surface area affects energy solar cells in a simple way?
Thanks!
admin answers:
Likely in the same way acreage area affects farming. More space, more potential.
But productivity isn’t necessarily a linear logical thing. I mean what if the farmer doesn’t water his plants enough? And in the same light, what if less efficient material is used in solar cells?
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Your Questions About Solar Energy Materials And Solar Cells
Mary asks…
What role does information technology play in the solar energy industry? and how is IT used in this industry?
Appreciate any information the areas in the solar energy production or solar cell manufacturing where IT plays a role? IT firms providing solutions or technology to solar companies or case studies?
Thanks.
admin answers:
Any manufacturing is going to need control of inventory, process control, and procurement of materials at best prices.
Large solar facilities will need to track the output of each panel and each inverter individually, or at least track groups of them, so that if something breaks, the company can go and fix it. They can also notice a slight percentage drop in output, possibly indicating that the panels need to be cleaned.
Selling the electricity is a financial transaction. The kind of bidding and selling that Enron did still goes on, but is more regulated now. As such, it’s the similar to a stock market, and lots of IT is needed.
Mark asks…
What is the difference between a panel of solar cells and a solar heating panel?
What is the difference between a panel of solar cells and a solar heating panel?
Its for my physics homework :/
admin answers:
The cells produce electrical current. The panels produce heat.
Cells are made of photo electric material (like variations of silicon). So when photons (light) strike the material, electrons are bounced off their outer orbitals and become free electrons. The free electrons drift through connecting wires towards ground level and that creates the current to power your computer.
The panels are infused with small pipes that carry a fluid. As the photons strike the pipes, the fluid is heated by the radiant energy. And that fluid is propelled by the heat gradient, high heat runs toward low heat, and that creates a fluid current. The fluid then travels through pipes, usually embedded in the floor, to heat the room.
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