PV Gap

Allison Said:

help on lab! efficiency of solar cells?

We Answered:

The only way to graph the color data is to have taken that data.(voltage and current wont be enough)
Your experiment is going to have considerable error since there will be no way to calibrate the intensity of the light.

The point of the exercise is to show you that solar cells can only capture a certain wavelength of light. I believe the largest power will be in the green wavelength(just a hunch). So to do your lab simply shine a bright light though some translucent colored objects and take readings. One color will be substantially greater than the others. Record your data and graph it in excel. Voltage will increase as wavelength decreases while current will decrease as wavelength decreases. This gives you your maximum power production somewhere in the middle(probably green 510nm).

Commercial panels are about 12-15% efficient. The rest goes into heat. I doubt your panel is 30% efficient unless you got a substantial donation from nasa :)

However as will all engineering labs, if you are within 100% your doing pretty darn good :)

Best of Luck

Nelson Said:

IF PEOPLE ARE SO INTRESRED IN PROTECTING THE PLANET WHY ARN THY MAKING DOLAR ENERGY MORE AFFORDABLE?

We Answered:

Like everything else that's new it always takes time. Supply and Demand.

Perry Said:

Does anyone have a real solution to America's and the world's energy problems?

We Answered:

Solving anything begins at the source, and the source of energy waste, is waste! A building wastes more energy per year than a jumbo jet uses for flying. Weatherizing a building won't work until the frames are safe from disasters, Green Products the same. No matter how many salespeople convince us different, 300,000 buildings polluted the land and ocean after hurricane Katrina, for example. Toxins of all types and volumes also polluted, from cars and buildings, like oil, gas, aerosol cans, paints, and any kind of detergents, cleaners, etc. Solve the building frames, next hurricane hits the area, and all the toxins stay with the building, which doesn't get blown away or washed away. That is your real solution starting block, and despite there is an affordable way to do this now, with a new innovation in strapping systems, nobody in the Construction Industry wants to lose the sales of rebuilding homes after disasters. I find it hard to believe that both the Builders and the Customers don't want these buildings surviving hurricanes, etc; but two-and-a-half-years of turning this new technology down is proof enough for me. If they think they can do them without having to payfor the rights to using the technology, they'll have quite a surprise when they get turned down for building permits! This new technology is licensed and righted to the developer of them, by the U.S. Gov; who will make sure the original righted developer gets his cut, or they'll block the contractors, etc.

Jordan Said:

What is the Solar Powered fan that you put on your car window to keep it ventilated? I saw it on TV?

We Answered:

It's called the Auto Cool Solar Powered Car Fan. From what I read, it doesn't work very well, though.
http://www.infomercialratings.com/produc…

Tracy Said:

Idea for a gum commercial?

We Answered:

There's an old Boy Scout Skit where someone comes walking in chewing gum, sits on a park bench and sticks the gum underneath it. Another person comes by sometime later and finds the gum, looks disgusted and wipes it on the back of the bench, later someone else comes along and puts his hand in it and throws it on the ground, where it is stepped on, then scraped back onto the bench. The original person comes in and says, "oh, there's my gum and starts chewing it." you could add the line, "mmmm still has that out of the package flavor!"

Sam Said:

what are the prospects of solar energy as an alternative commercial source of energy today ?

We Answered:

Solar energy is being used today on small scale applications. Only, time will tell if man can harness the sun energy through better technology to power the industry