PV Gap

Charlie Said:

Questions about DV volts to AC volts conversions and how this applies to wattage?

We Answered:

The watt (symbol: W) is the SI derived unit of power, equal to one joule of energy per second. It measures a rate of energy conversion.

You can calculate Watts by multiplying Volts by Current.

Solar cells produce power proportionate to the amount of sunlight and the area of the cell. For this reason, the time of the day is important. Midday, the sun is directly overhead and the sunlight is strongest. Late in the day, the rays from the sun are oblique and are absorbed by the atmosphere. As well, the construction of the cells is also a factor in how much energy they can produce. Some cells are more efficient than others.

Those Solar lawn lights use cheap, inefficient cells with very small area. Don't expect too much from them. They are only just sufficient for the job they do.

Solar panels are constructed of many cells. Some are made to work with 12v batteries. With an inverter, you could produce 120v directly of the battery. Sixty Watt inverters are quite inexpensive and easily available. Limiting factor on how much power you can consume is how much power you generate. Sixty Watt panels are fairly big (not huge). However, you will need several (or larger panels). Sixty Watts for 24hrs is 1440 Watt/hours. Since you can only generate power for about 8 hours a day, you will need about 180 Watts of panels (but preferably a lot more to give you a reserve and allow for overcast days.

Sylvia Said:

Series or Paralell? In terms of Power.?

We Answered:

I think what you are talking about is voltage, not power. Anytime you wire any DC power sources in series the total voltage is equal to the sum of the individual solar panels added together (i.e. if each solar panel put out .02 volts and you wired 4 panels in series you would have 4 x .02 = .08).

It's like stacking a one foot block on top of another one foot block (series) versus setting the two blocks side by side (parallel). When one block is on top of the other the two blocks together are 2 feet tall. But when the two blocks are side by side you still only have one foot of height.

If I misread your question and what you meant my the use of the word power was in regards to current or wattage if you update your question I will amend my answer.

On another note what kind of class is this for?