PV Gap

Angel Said:

Does anyone here install or work with solar panels and/or wind turbines?

We Answered:

/i became a solr tech by starting with in house training/self training. it was a start up company, now getting bigger. if i was not exp. and wanting to start out, i would look for a renewable energy diploma. here in NC, they offer it at NC State. its 3-week long courses that cover thermal, pv, radiant floors, and business aspects of the solar industry. show this diploma to any solar comp, and your ahead of the game.

(a benefit would be if your skilled in electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and carpentry) Good Luck

Gloria Said:

ow many solar panels do I need to power my house?

We Answered:

The array size you need depends on your average electrical usage, climate, roof angle, shading problems and many other factors. To approximate the array size you need, multiply your average daily electrical demand in kilowatt-hours by 0.25. The result is the approximate size of solar array, in kilowatts, needed to meet your electrical demand.

So assuming you are in a sunny climate you would need around 6 panels assuming 1 kw/panel system.

Bonnie Said:

How many solar panels would be needed to power an 11,000 sq. ft. school?

We Answered:

It depends on the assumptions you make.

- Does the school have to be used when it's dark out?  (If so, you'll need batteries and extra power to charge them.)
- Is all the light electric, or will windows provide light?
- Do you also have to power air conditioning, swimming-pool filters and so forth?
- How much sun is available where this is located?

Just for the lighting, you need to calculate how much time you'll be able to use daylight.  For the time you can't, you need to know how much light is required per square foot (lumens/ft²).  Multiply by square footage, then divide by the lumens/watt for the lights you want to get instantaneous demand in watts.  Multiply by average hours/day to get watt-hours/day (out of the batteries), divide by storage efficiency to get energy needed to go INTO the batteries, divide by your average hours/day of sunlight to get the wattage you need, THEN you divide by the wattage of your solar panels to get the number of panels.

It's not simple.