According to this article linked here, “advances in transparent solar cells mean that soon we might be able to install them into windows and greenhouses.” I’m dubious. The parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that solar panels use are 7% ultraviolet, …
Category: Photovoltaics
Solar PV Arrays Face Challenges
My wife and I walk about three miles each morning, far enough for us to pass at least a dozen houses in our neighborhood with solar installations. I sometimes comment: “That guy’s roof doesn’t have the right exposure,” or “During …
Tagged with: Solar PV Arrays Face Challenges
Solar Project Seems To Be a Joke
I’m going to say that this is a joke and not a real concept. Why? a) It’s asinine. Philadelphia is at 40 degrees north latitude, so on average, you’re losing ~24% simply by installing solar on a flat roof, i.e., …
Tagged with: Solar Project
NREL Developing Solar Windows
Here’s a development that’s been a long time in the making: windows that, as they receive heat from the hot, undergo chemical/physical changes and become solar panels. Glass that changes color when light is incident on it has been around …
“Bifacial” Solar Panels
From a reader: Agrophotovoltaic projects are appearing around the world where solar panels and farming go hand in hand. A more common one is where sheep graze within a solar farm to be living grass clippers that are provided with …
Questionable Solar Installation
Are you an expert in solar PV installations? Neither am I. But I think we both know enough about the subject to understand that putting a solar panel under a bridge isn’t a strong idea.
How Smart Is the Smart Flower?
The photoshopped image here features the “Smart Flower,” a solar PV device that tracks the sun through the sky, then (for some reason) folds up at night, only to unfold the next morning. How do I know it’s photshopped? Let’s …
Greentech Media: In Blow to Natural Gas, Puerto Rico Regulators Affirm Solar-Centric Grid Overhaul
Shortly after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, speculation began as to whether or not a newly rebuild grid could be powered with renewable energy. This from Greentech Media: The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority will be required to …
Tagged with: Solar-Centric Grid
Take a Cool Guess—The Fun Quiz on Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability. Today’s Topic: What Is It?
Question: What’s shown in the photo here? Answer: Can be found at Clean Energy Answers.
A Questionable Solar PV Installation
When I walk by a house with a solar PV array, I often think about the specific design. Is it facing the right direction, at approximately the correct angle, etc? In our neighborhood, there is such an array built too …
