Solar Empire - Endless War » solar panel

What do I attach my solar panel to so that I can read how much energy it was generated?

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:05:33 +0000

This is for my science fair project, I’m comparing the energy gained with Wind and Solar. I have a solar panel but it didn’t come with anything but alligator clips. What is something I can buy that would tell me how much Energy the panel has harvested? I was thinking something like a 12 volt battery that’s running something we can measure?

You can apply a load, such as a resistor, lamp or other. I am guessing that you have a small panel. This means it will have small current output. If it has to be a small load a resistor would be best.

Then you could measure the voltage and amperage to determine wattage.

How much energy can solar panel produce?

admin — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 04:27:19 +0000

I am doing a project on solar panels.

All information given has to be accurate.

May I know how much energy can monocrystalline, polycrystalline, amorphous, vaporware solar panel produce? I also want to know more about solar panels. For example, how did Americans use solar panels during autumn and winter? Is the solar panel used in their everyday life?

Why can’t S’pore use solar panel even though we experience hot weather all year round?

Normal size Solar panels produce around 100-150 watts, although this is small, this is just having a few small sized panels and not a major investment.

Solar panels will work all year round for most countries because despite the heat or cold there is still sun shining, and that is all that matter for solar panels, that is why they will work all year round for americans, and other countries such as the UK.

Singapore can’t use solar panels because it wouldn’t be worth it for them, because of the amount of industrial units in the country it means that there is artificial fog alot of the time and it is often extremely cloudy because of this, this means no sun can get through meaning no power is made.

How would I run a light bulb off a solar panel?

admin — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 03:34:54 +0000

I am looking to make a demonstration using a large amorphous solar panel that I have lying around. I want to keep this as simple as possible. The solar panel that I have is a 96 Watt 12V solar panel. Thanks for any help or suggestions you can give me.

Good for you that light bulbs aren’t picky, they will run on AC or DC power, so you don’t need a converter. But to make it viable, you will need a step up transformer to convert 12v to somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 to 120 Volts for a regular bulb, Or you would have to use a 12 volt bulb if you want to avoid the transformer altogether, but that would be less impressive. Lucky that a bulb doesn’t need exact voltages either. All you need is enough to light the bulb. OR, if you want to use an LED, you could avoid the transformer all together, but you’d probably need alot of LED’s to make the demonstration a little more successful.

How to use solar panel to generate electricity?

admin — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 01:00:17 +0000

Hi, I want to generate electricity using solar panel at home and I want to follow a simple tutorial.
Could you recommend me a good tutorial?

Photovoltaics are best known as a method for generating electric power by using solar cells to convert energy from the sun into a flow of electrons. The photovoltaic effect refers to photons of light exciting electrons into a higher state of energy, allowing them to act as charge carriers for an electric current. The term photovoltaic denotes the unbiased operating mode of a photodiode in which current through the device is entirely due to the transduced light energy. Virtually all photovoltaic devices are some type of photodiode.
If you want to know more visit http://www.tudorsolar.com

If I had a solar panel hooked into the electricity grid and there was a blackout during the day?

admin — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 01:36:41 +0000

where would the electricity from the solar panel go?
would it just heat up the solar panel until it explodes?

That’s a good question.

When a grid goes down,
and you’re system is still supplying power to it,
it creates what is called "islanding."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islanding

Very dangerous.

That’s why inverters today are wired up
with automatic anti-islanding circuitry built into them.

It shuts down the output if it detects a problem..

How can I connect a solar panel to a power outlet to help power my house?

admin — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 07:54:30 +0000

I Have a small solar panel and Im not so sure about its voltage, so how can I connect it to some power outlet? And no; I am not thinking about using it to recharge batteries or directly powering appliances.

This is done through the use of a grid tie inverter. The inverter turns the DC voltage of the solar panel in to AC voltage that the appliances in your home use. Here is a link to a small one on Ebay that will have no problem handling a single panel. http://cgi.ebay.com/Premium-250W-GRID-TIE-INVERTER-250-WATTS-92-Efficiecy-/180561234974?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a0a49cc1e#ht_2249wt_1101

How would you connect a solar panel to a fan?

admin — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 01:41:21 +0000

I would like to connect a solar panel to a small fan. I am not sure as to what is needed to actually "connect" the two together. Any help is appreciated.

Panels are rated nominally, and you can look at your fan to see what the ratings for the fam are to determine sizing of the panel.

Current multiplied by the volts (rated) gives you the wattage of the motor- just use this as a guide for sizing the panel. You do want a little more power from the panel than the motor draws for purposes of starting the motor and for having the fan operate at lower sun angles as well. You can add a battery if you chose, but it is not a requirement.

Just treat the leads of the panel like those of a battery red (+) and black (-) just connect those to the fan, if you match color for color, no problem. If the markings are not present and no wires are on the fan, try it one way, if it is the wrong way- reverse them.

AC operated fans will require an inverter to convert the DC to AC. These draw a certain amount of power as well. In general the same rules of thumb apply. It is just easier though to stick with a DC motor.

How many watt solar panel do I need to charge a 12v battery that wont be using much electricity?

admin — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 08:08:26 +0000

1. The 12v battery will only be turning a small 12v motor that will be turning very slowly yet possibly or a long time.
2. 1-2 hours max per day it will be running
3. I want it to be fully sufficient on solar power once the energy in the battery runs out.

What specifications for my panel do you think I will need. However, i have limited space so the smaller the better as long as it can do the job

You need to do some calculations. First, what is the "small" motor’s actual rating in current drawn. Second, what is the size of the battery.

"fully sufficient on solar power once the energy in the battery runs out" is not possible, as the sun will set when night comes.

If the motor is 1 amp, and it runs 2 hours, that is 2 amp-hours of capacity you need.

If the battery is 10 amp-hours, it will operate the motor for 5 hours if fully charged.

If you have a 0.5 amp solar panel (at 15 volts), which is 7.5 watts, if will charge the battery in 10 amp-hours/0.5 amp = 20 hours. The question is how many hours of sun do you get daily? if you get 7 hours, the battery will be charged in 3 days. But panels do not put out full power much of the time, and there are losses in the battery, so you should count on 5 days.

Are those numbers OK to meet your expectations? (which you really don’t list) If so, then you need a 15 volt 7.5 watt panel. The 15 volts is because you need that voltage to charge a 12 volt battery. If you expect a lot of days without much sun, I’d bump that to 20 volts.

How to make a solar panel for my house?

admin — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 21:15:45 +0000

I want to learn how to make a solar panel to help lower my energy costs. Any recommendations on where I can start on my solar panel project? Thanks!

Yes, it is possible to learn how to make a solar panel for your house. I was skeptical with all these claims about making your own energy, and I even bought several products.

Most didn’t live up to the hype but there was one guide that really surprised me. I was skeptical about it at first, mainly because of my experience with the other guides, but one stood out to me and showed me exactly how to make a solar panel.

Here’s the website: http://www.diyenergyguide.com

How to prevent shorting out solar panel?

admin — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 12:57:27 +0000

I have a solar panel I bought for a diy project and it has a small plug on the end of it, but I need to remove this plug to expose the positive and return wires so I can solder a bunch of stuff together. How do I cut off the plug without shorting out the solar panel when I make the cut? Can I just leave it in the dark a while before cutting? I don’t think I can remove the wires from the solar panel end before cutting.

A solar panel doesn’t store energy. As soon as the light stops, the current stops instantly.

If it’s a 200-watt panel or more, it won’t be harmed by a short circuit, but it might be good to turn the panel over or cover it with cardboard before working on it. The spark can slightly mar the contacts. Doing the work indoors is enough to cut down the current, too.

For a 60-watt panel or less, I wouldn’t even worry about the spark, the power output is too low to do any damage.