• Question: how much sunlight could you convert in 1 day in winter

    Asked by 593enek22 to Stephen, Shane, Karla, Emma on 14 Nov 2017. This question was also asked by 682enek22.
    • Photo: Stephen Rhatigan

      Stephen Rhatigan answered on 14 Nov 2017:

      Imagine a 1 meter squared solar panel that is set up to receive the most sunlight possible for Ireland. On an average day in December that solar panel will receive around 1 kWh (kiloWatt-hours) of energy.
      The best solar panels today have an efficiency of around 25% which means that a quarter of the energy received will be converted to electricity. So that means that on a December day in Ireland, one meter square of the best solar panel will provide you with enough electricity to spend an hour or two vacuuming – happy days!
      Normally solar panels will be larger than a meter square and the efficiency is improving all the time (44.5% efficiency reported recently).

    • Photo: Emma Hanley

      Emma Hanley answered on 15 Nov 2017:

      Stephen’s answer sums it up pretty good. Here is a link with some frequently asked questions on solar power: http://www.pet.ie/solar-faqs.html

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