solar panel, definition of

Electrical device consisting of a large array of connected solar cells.

• Cheap Solar Panels - do they exist?
  What the cheapest solar panels are and if its clear you get what you are paying for...

• Solar Batteries Comparison Table is Live
  The new solar batteries Comparison Table is now live.
• Solar Power Installers, what to look for..
  When looking for a solar power installer, it pays to do your homework and double check that you are getting the best.
• Last solar panel manufacturer in Australia, Silex Solar, stops making cells
  The last, of only ever two, solar panel cell manufacturers stops making cells in Australia..
• Solar Panel Calculator
  Solar Panel Calculator, given the size, power and number of panels works out total power, rated voltage and amps.
• Solar Panels for your home, with the reduced feed-in tariff, are they a sound investment?
  We take a more detailed look at solar panels and help you work out if investing your money in solar is the right thing to do for you and the environment.
• Best Solar Panels for home
  We look at what are the best solar panels for home use
• Hot Water Heat Pumps - are they a rip off
  We have a quick look at the cost benefits behind heating hot water using a heat pump...
• Lets the climate models tell the truth we want to see..
  Climate models are just that, a model, based on assumptions and theories. Their accuracy is limited not only through the complexities of the climatic systems they model but also by the conclusions researchers want to see from them..
• More exact monthly means...
  Following up with more data set pairs showing the difference in accuracy between min/max daily monthly means and taking the mean of all hourly measurements in that month..
• What exactly is a monthly mean?
  A lot of climate analysis is done using the monthly mean temperature. Given that data is quite often available for hourly measurements I thought I'd have a look at whether creating a monthly mean straight off all the hourly measurements would produce a difference; initial findings indicate it does.
• Australia has a growing obesity problem
  Australia has a big problem, obesity is now the #1 preventable cause of death..
• Global Warmings unscientific method
  Peer review seems to be more about peer pressure when trying to publish anything that goes against the Global Warming group think.
• Australian Bureau of Meterology tweaking the climatic data?
  Its seems that the Australian Bureau of Meteorology might have been tweaking the data a bit to show false warming..
• Climategate Parliamentary Inquiry in the UK, the whitewash results are in
  The parliamentary inquiry into ClimateGate has just published its report, we have a look.
• heathrow expansion stopped due to climate change?
  It appears that a UK judge seems to have swallowed hook line and sinker the 'settled science' of climate change and stopped Heathrow from being expanded..
• Green Environment Blog Network - a closed blog ring?
  It appears that the Guardian and sites like realclimate.org have been engaging in closed content sharing ring..
• Earth Hour - the flop?
  Although Earth Hour left people with a nice warm glow, did it actually make a difference...
• Climate Change caused an island, erm sand bar to disappear..
  "Climate change sunk my sandbar..." hmm
• Earth Hour - lights out, minds alight
  On March 27th, 115 countries will put their lights out for one hour. We discuss what this means and what you should do long term to help the environment.
• Missing, one weather station
  It seems Australia is having a bit of a problem with missing weather stations.
• WWF's Amazon carbon trading cash cow
  It appears the World Wildlife Fund could be on its way to securing up to $60 billion in carbon credits from 'saving' the Amazon - more like 'cashing in' on the Amazon if you ask me..
• Costs overruns for school buildings
  It appears that the Australian school building program is having its fair share of 'cost overruns'..
• Climate Rage
  Climate Rage - don't get mad - get even.
• The Green Web Directory is Online
  Our Green Directory is up and running
• Solar Power - hidden costs
  Solar power is all the rage at the moment, we had a look at some quotes and found it is not as good a deal as it looks.
• Climate Change killed my cat..
  It seems that everything from Floods through to Fires through to droughts is being blamed on global warming and climate change. I think this is oversimplifying the story and ignoring local changes we have caused.
• Is keeping data private 'normal practise' in climate research?
  It seems Phil Jones thinks its perfectly normal to do research and publish said research whilst withholding data.
• Yet another Climate Change department?
  Seems the AU government are busy producing yet more Co2 via civil servants for climate change.
• Act on Co2 - the advert..
  Ofcom in the UK is investigating a climate change advert which really takes things too far.
• Met Office proposes to make Data Set Verifiable
  The UK Met Office want to put in place a collation of station data that is publicly accessible.
• Cover-More, you drink and its cover-less..
  If you have Cover-More insurance, don't travel and do any drinking if you want to remain insured - thats the finding of a recent Today Tonight special.
• Is ETS a lame duck?
  The Emissions Trading Scheme looks to be stuck in the Senate. Does this mean it will fail?
• A failure to insulate
  It appears the Rudd governments insulation rebate scheme is beyond repair...
• Climate Change bullies?
  Climate Change Scientists seem to believe they are being bulled...
• Sydney transport - oh what a fine mess!
  Yet more politically motivated tweaking of the Sydney transport system..
• National Climate Change Forum response
  This is in response to the National Climate Change Forum being held in Adelaide.
• What is the fuss with biochar??
  Given the sudden interest in the media on biochar one would think a way of really saving the world has been discovered...
• Bush Fires and being Green, can you do both?
  Given that bush fires cause a lot of destruction and environmental damage, can we manage them and be green at the same time?
• Is the Australian Stimulus package green enough?
  

• Solar Panel Calculator
  This solar panel calculator will, given the Watt rating of a solar panel, its dimensions and number of units calculate the total power you can expect and roof space taken up. It will also tell you the rated voltage and ampage, useful for correctly sizing an inverter or regulator.
• Solar Wiring Size Calculator
  Interactive Solar Panel Wiring Size Calculator. Makes sure your wiring is the right size for a given distance, power and voltage drop. Works in metric or imperial.
• Solar Power Calculator
  Calculate the power solar panels will generate each season based on latitude or nearest town or city worldwide. Also works out off grid energy savings of going solar powered..

• Did you know these surprising solar panel facts?
  Solar panels are by far the best applicable technology for converting solar energy to usable electricity today. With the sun available to us around the year, it is only reasonable to consider taping its energy for domestic use. Even so, the currently...

Related Tags: solar, energy

Solar Panel Efficiency is a percentage measure of how Solar Energy from the Sun hitting a solar panel is ideally converted into useful electrical power. This is often given assuming perfect conditions; i.e. no shade, maximum sun and cool. In practice the actual rate of conversion can be somewhat different due to:

• Shading - even partial shading can have a dramatic effect on the energy produced.
• Heat - the hotter a solar panel becomes the less efficient it is at converting solar energy into electrical energy.
• Sun Strength - akin to shading, but if the Sun is behind clouds or low in the sky you will get dramatically less power.
  

• SunPower nabs record for world's most efficient rooftop solar panel
  Solar panel efficiency is the holy grail of the solar power world, and SunPower just propelled the industry further with the "most efficient rooftop solar panel" in the world...
• With a special glass coating, these solar panels can capture sunlight from almost any angle
  When it comes to boosting efficiency in solar panels—that is, increasing the amount of the sun’s energy each photovoltaic cell can harness—researchers have tried a lot of tricks...
• New Software Allows Developers to Create Super Efficient Solar Parks
  In 2012, Siemens developed a software that allowed them to design ultra-efficient solar parks in just a few seconds, but at that time only Siemens had access to the tool...
• Study Discovers That Solar Panels Have a Cooling Effect on Buildings
  It turns out that solar panels can do more than provide you with renewable energy - they can significantly cut down the power needed to heat and cool your building as well...
• Off-the-Shelf Dyes Increase Solar Panel Absorption
  The hippies were the first to push solar energy en masse in the 70’s, so it’s a wonder we haven’t thought of this before — it turns out the same stuff used to tie-dye t-shirts can increase the efficiency of solar panels...

Related Tags: solar power, solar energy, energy efficiency, renewable energy, solar cells, green energy, solar panels