PV Gap

Alan Said:

solar powered residences....?

We Answered:

You have to calculate first the total demand of energy for the house, in Watt/hour.
i.e. a fridge uses 200W, but does not work all day (half of it), so it would require 200W * 12h = 2400Wh
a cooker would be 2kw, but runs 1/2 hour a day, so 2000 * 0.5 = 1kWh.... etc
This gives you the total kWh you need, and this is the amount of energy you must store in your batteries.
Say you arrive at 5kWh.
Divide by the battery voltage (i.e. 5000Wh / 12V = 416A)
You need a total of 420Ah batteries, or 4 or 5 batteries of 100Ah.
(ie A battery of 12V, 100Ah provides 12 * 100 = 1200 W/h.)
Then you need an "inverter" that converts the 12V DC into 220V AC. Choose a "pure sine converter" instead of "quasi sine" (better quality). Choose the power of that converter to be higher than the total of simultaneous current you may need (i.e. the cooker + the fridge + the TV together).
For a whole house, I would suggest to go for a 24V battery set.
(mixture of parallel and series batteries).
Make sure all batteries are connected permanently, so when you charge them, you charge ALL of them equally.
Now, the solar panels...
They are defined as the current or wattage they can supply, i.e. an 85W panel.
You need 120% of your calculated consumption.
Good luck!

Francis Said:

Does anyone have Solar Powered Patio Lights? Are they water proof?

We Answered:

mine are, had them for about two years now, they survive the rain and watering and all, i have some in my planters on my patio, i like them a lot, mine are the whitish glow ones, some are more of an amber glow

Laurie Said:

10 POINTS TO WHOEVER CAN HELP ME OUT THE MOST AND GIVE ME THE MOST DETAILED WEBSITE(s)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?

We Answered:

windows2universe.com has the greatest amount of information, or I think so at least. If you can't find something just search for it, and they will probably will have it.

Maurice Said:

if we as humans were able to creat life on another solar system many light years away, is that creation?

We Answered:

This seems more like a definition of words problem than a science problem. It all comes down to how exactly you define "creation". Since that word isn't a scientifically defined term with strict meaning it isn't easy to answer your question. If you use the word "creation" to mean something created by magic or divine power (which is how I personally interpret that word in this context atleast) then that wouldn't fit, but as I said the word isn't very clearly defined and has several distinct meaning depending upon the context in which it is used.

It would surely be intelligent design atleast - given that someone designed that life intelligently - atleast if we designed it from scratch and didn't use preexisting DNA when making it (of which we don't know the origin of for sure yet). If we did use preexisting DNA as-is, or just tweaked it would fall under the definition of panspermia I think (seeding live from another source).

It it not inconcievable that live on earth could have started from something like this - but then again we have no particular reason or evidence to support that hypothesis either. The short of it is that we don't have many clear answers yet when it comes to the origin of first life. The current theory that has the most evidence and traction in the scientific community so far is the theory of abiogenesis (ie. the theory that first life came about from non-living elements through natural processes). The science in that particular area of study is still in its infancy however so it is far far too early to draw any sort of conclusion yet - but sometime in the future we may have better answers to give.

I hope that helped.

Alexander Said:

I have an alternative fuels aircraft design and I am searching for investment opportunities, any Ideas ?

We Answered:

You could present to the air force but i'm not sure how

Janet Said:

What is the watt-hour of a car battery?

We Answered:

1000-1200 watt-hours is pretty specific, how much more do you need? Look at the specs of the battery you will be using. It may be speced in amp hours, just multiply by 12 to get watt-hours.

Take the lower number, 1000 watt-hour, and that means you can operate a 100 watt bulb for 10 hours.

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Calvin Said:

need some advice/opinions?

We Answered:

That is the big question. How do you make people care? If it was that easy, we wouldn't be in the mess we are in now.
I have been circulating youtube videos of the great pacific dump to show people what can happen to all of the garbage we throw out. I actually get lots of comments on it. I think once people actually SEE what is happening, it hits home a little harder. Sadly, I think most people don't care about stuff like that unless it hits them in their wallet :(

this is the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a4S23uXI…


KUDOS to you for being so responsible and proactive. I know it feels like you can't possible make a difference as one person, but you are. Change starts small. :) Keep up the great work!!