Tag: solar panels

How are solar panels made? How do they work? Can solar panels layed out on a rooftop power a house?

I want to do a little project this year, and that is to make solar panels of my own. I want to see the pros and cons of how effective solar panels are. Also what are good websites where I may obtain more information on blueprints of how they are made.

Why is it better to have solar panels face west rather than east?

Solar Panels should face west or south. Facing a solar panel south makes sense since we’re in the Northern Hemisphere. Why west though? Is it because the air in the west is warmer (having been warmed by more daylight) and therefore absorbs less sunlight, letting more energy get to the solar panel???

Can you remove solar panels to another home?

So we will be moving to a home out in CA, the desert part where its usually 100* Degrees. So we definitly want to get solar panels to reduce energy costs considering we will have AC all day and heating in winter. But we only to plan to live there about 2- 3years. Can you move solar panels to another house?

How to connect solar panels to batteries?

I have two solar panels that were going to be trashed at work. I want to use them to charge batteries on my RV but i noticed they put out around 20 volts in direct sunlight. So i am wondering:
-isn’t this way too much voltage for a 12 volt system?
-do a need some sort of a regulator connected to keep them from overcharging?

Are solar panels more effective than using the heat energy of the sun to power a turbine?

Practically all you ever hear about is solar panels… are they really so much more effective then other methods, such as using energy from the sun to power a steam-powered turbine enclosed in a system with a vacuum so that the water evaporates at a much lower temperature to power a turbine?

Converting to Solar Panels- If I wanted to convert my home to solar energy, what would the cost be?

Would I have to change the current wiring in my home, or just hook up to the solar panels? How much are solar panels? How do you determine what kind, size panels do get?
Would doing this really cost me less than using my local electric company, or is this mainly used for "Going Green"?

Can one buy wind deflectors for solar panels?

I’ve installed some solar panels near the ground, but even though they’re protected from the wind, snow is building up on them. I’d like to install some deflectors to channel the wind up and over the back end of the panels so that less snow builds up on the surface. The strip of panels is about 70′ long.

Any ideas?

Thanks very much.