Solar Power - Revision history

Trevor: Update link to RS datasheet

2021-08-16T08:35:12Z

Update link to RS datasheet

Trevor at 11:39, 28 May 2019

2019-05-28T11:39:46Z

Trevor at 10:44, 25 April 2019

2019-04-25T10:44:34Z

Trevor at 10:28, 25 April 2019

2019-04-25T10:28:49Z

Trevor at 10:28, 25 April 2019

2019-04-25T10:28:07Z

Trevor at 10:24, 25 April 2019

2019-04-25T10:24:36Z

Trevor at 10:22, 25 April 2019

2019-04-25T10:22:39Z

Trevor at 10:18, 25 April 2019

2019-04-25T10:18:19Z

Trevor at 09:55, 25 April 2019

2019-04-25T09:55:14Z

Trevor at 09:27, 25 April 2019

2019-04-25T09:27:37Z

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 Monthly.png
 </gallery>
-The sunlight intensity around noon averaged 700 W/m² over May 2016 making it the sunniest month that year, although individual days had more intense noon sunshine. Sunlight intensity exceeded 1,000 W per square metre on 36 days; but on no day did it reach 1,100 W. Note that the ''rated'' power of a solar PV panel is based on it receiving 1,000 W/m² of sunlight. So for example a 150Wp Solar PV panel [https://docs-emea.rs-online.com/webdocs/1587/0900766b815873b4.pdf RS Components Model 9046156]<ref> RS Pro Datasheet 12V Solar Panels</ref> measuring 1.49m x 0.67m (area of 1 square metre) is rated 150 Wp (p standing for 'peak') with an implied efficiency of 15% (although the brochure states 17%)<br>
+The sunlight intensity around noon averaged 700 W/m² over May 2016 making it the sunniest month that year, although individual days had more intense noon sunshine. Sunlight intensity exceeded 1,000 W per square metre on 36 days; but on no day did it reach 1,100 W. Note that the ''rated'' power of a solar PV panel is based on it receiving 1,000 W/m² of sunlight. So for example a 150Wp Solar PV panel [https://docs.rs-online.com/5c48/0900766b815873b4.pdf RS Components Model 9046156]<ref> RS Pro Datasheet 12V Solar Panels</ref> measuring 1.49m x 0.67m (area of 1 square metre) is rated 150 Wp (p standing for 'peak') with an implied efficiency of 15% (although the brochure states 17%)<br>
 The monthly figures are cumulative and also confirm May to be the sunniest in 2016 with 170 kW-h/m². At 15% efficiency this will have generated 25.5 kW-h/m² of electricity. Multiplying ''this'' figure by 1000 to convert to Watts and dividing by 31 days and by 24 hours the ''average'' power output over the whole month (sunniest of the year), day and night for a "150W" panel is 34W<br>
 Another way to look at the figures: for 4 hours around noon, if the panel received the average 700W of sunlight and produced 15% as electricity (105 W / 0.105 kW) then 4 hours x 31 days x 0.105 W = 13 kW-h/m² which is half the monthly total. '''Half the electricity is produced over a four hour slot (1/6 of a day), the rest over the remaining 5/6.''' To effectively 'smooth' the power over 24 hours you would need to be storing approaching 50% of the energy produced at the peak period<br>

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-So how much sun do we get in the UK? Using this [http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/tools.html tool] <ref>Photovoltaic Geographical Information System</ref> I created graphics for the average mid-day intensity of sunlight month-by-month and also the total monthly sunlight received<br>
+So how much sun do we get in the UK? Using this [http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/tools.html tool] <ref>Photovoltaic Geographical Information System</ref> FLUKE has created graphics for the average mid-day intensity of sunlight month-by-month and also the total monthly sunlight received<br>
 <gallery>
 Noon.png

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 The monthly figures are cumulative and also confirm May to be the sunniest in 2016 with 170 kW-h/m². At 15% efficiency this will have generated 25.5 kW-h/m² of electricity. Multiplying ''this'' figure by 1000 to convert to Watts and dividing by 31 days and by 24 hours the ''average'' power output over the whole month (sunniest of the year), day and night for a "150W" panel is 34W<br>
 Another way to look at the figures: for 4 hours around noon, if the panel received the average 700W of sunlight and produced 15% as electricity (105 W / 0.105 kW) then 4 hours x 31 days x 0.105 W = 13 kW-h/m² which is half the monthly total. '''Half the electricity is produced over a four hour slot (1/6 of a day), the rest over the remaining 5/6.''' To effectively 'smooth' the power over 24 hours you would need to be storing approaching 50% of the energy produced at the peak period<br>
-Compensating for the lack of sunlight at night by using battery storage is therefore technically possible although expensive. However the monthly graphic shows that across seasons there is a '''four-fold''' difference in the energy received from the sun (170 kW-h/m² in May compared to 40 kW-h/m² for December or January). Inclement weather (more dull days in winter) plays a role but the root cause is the geometry of the Earth's orbit about the sun. The 23.5° inclination of the Earth's axis means the North pole point towards the sun in summer and away in winter resulting in:
+Compensating for the lack of sunlight at night by using battery storage is therefore technically possible although expensive. However the monthly graphic shows that across seasons there is a '''four-fold''' difference in the energy received from the sun (170 kW-h/m² in May compared to 40 kW-h/m² for December or January). Inclement weather (more dull days in winter) plays a role but the root cause is the geometry of the Earth's orbit about the sun. The 23.5° inclination of the Earth's axis means the North pole point towards the sun in summer and away in winter resulting in the:
 * short winter days
 * sun low in the sky during winter
-we're all familiar with
+we're all familiar with<br>
 ==References==

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 </gallery>
 The sunlight intensity around noon averaged 700 W/m² over May 2016 making it the sunniest month that year, although individual days had more intense noon sunshine. Sunlight intensity exceeded 1,000 W per square metre on 36 days; but on no day did it reach 1,100 W. Note that the ''rated'' power of a solar PV panel is based on it receiving 1,000 W/m² of sunlight. So for example a 150Wp Solar PV panel [https://docs-emea.rs-online.com/webdocs/1587/0900766b815873b4.pdf RS Components Model 9046156]<ref> RS Pro Datasheet 12V Solar Panels</ref> measuring 1.49m x 0.67m (area of 1 square metre) is rated 150 Wp (p standing for 'peak') with an implied efficiency of 15% (although the brochure states 17%)<br>
-The monthly figures are cumulative and also confirm May to be the sunniest in 2016 with 170 kW-h/m². At 15% efficiency this will have generated 25.5 kW-h/m² of electricity. Multiplying ''this'' figure by 1000 to convert to Watts and dividing by 31 days and by 24 hours the ''average'' power output over the whole month (sunniest of the year), day and night is for a "150W" panel is 34W<br>
+The monthly figures are cumulative and also confirm May to be the sunniest in 2016 with 170 kW-h/m². At 15% efficiency this will have generated 25.5 kW-h/m² of electricity. Multiplying ''this'' figure by 1000 to convert to Watts and dividing by 31 days and by 24 hours the ''average'' power output over the whole month (sunniest of the year), day and night for a "150W" panel is 34W<br>
 Another way to look at the figures: for 4 hours around noon, if the panel received the average 700W of sunlight and produced 15% as electricity (105 W / 0.105 kW) then 4 hours x 31 days x 0.105 W = 13 kW-h/m² which is half the monthly total. '''Half the electricity is produced over a four hour slot (1/6 of a day), the rest over the remaining 5/6.''' To effectively 'smooth' the power over 24 hours you would need to be storing approaching 50% of the energy produced at the peak period<br>
 Compensating for the lack of sunlight at night by using battery storage is therefore technically possible although expensive. However the monthly graphic shows that across seasons there is a '''four-fold''' difference in the energy received from the sun (170 kW-h/m² in May compared to 40 kW-h/m² for December or January). Inclement weather (more dull days in winter) plays a role but the root cause is the geometry of the Earth's orbit about the sun. The 23.5° inclination of the Earth's axis means the North pole point towards the sun in summer and away in winter resulting in:

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 </gallery>
 The sunlight intensity around noon averaged 700 W/m² over May 2016 making it the sunniest month that year, although individual days had more intense noon sunshine. Sunlight intensity exceeded 1,000 W per square metre on 36 days; but on no day did it reach 1,100 W. Note that the ''rated'' power of a solar PV panel is based on it receiving 1,000 W/m² of sunlight. So for example a 150Wp Solar PV panel [https://docs-emea.rs-online.com/webdocs/1587/0900766b815873b4.pdf RS Components Model 9046156]<ref> RS Pro Datasheet 12V Solar Panels</ref> measuring 1.49m x 0.67m (area of 1 square metre) is rated 150 Wp (p standing for 'peak') with an implied efficiency of 15% (although the brochure states 17%)<br>
-The monthly figures are cumulative and also confirm May to be the sunniest in 2016 with 170 kW-h/m². At 15% efficiency this will have generated 25.5 kW-h/m² of electricity. Multiplying ''this'' figure by 1000 to convert to Watts and dividing by 31 days and by 24 hours the ''average'' power output over the whole month, day and night is 34W<br>
+The monthly figures are cumulative and also confirm May to be the sunniest in 2016 with 170 kW-h/m². At 15% efficiency this will have generated 25.5 kW-h/m² of electricity. Multiplying ''this'' figure by 1000 to convert to Watts and dividing by 31 days and by 24 hours the ''average'' power output over the whole month (sunniest of the year), day and night is for a "150W" panel is 34W<br>
 Another way to look at the figures: for 4 hours around noon, if the panel received the average 700W of sunlight and produced 15% as electricity (105 W / 0.105 kW) then 4 hours x 31 days x 0.105 W = 13 kW-h/m² which is half the monthly total. '''Half the electricity is produced over a four hour slot (1/6 of a day), the rest over the remaining 5/6.''' To effectively 'smooth' the power over 24 hours you would need to be storing approaching 50% of the energy produced at the peak period<br>
 Compensating for the lack of sunlight at night by using battery storage is therefore technically possible although expensive. However the monthly graphic shows that across seasons there is a '''four-fold''' difference in the energy received from the sun (170 kW-h/m² in May compared to 40 kW-h/m² for December or January). Inclement weather (more dull days in winter) plays a role but the root cause is the geometry of the Earth's orbit about the sun. The 23.5° inclination of the Earth's axis means the North pole point towards the sun in summer and away in winter resulting in: