Question

Household solar panels typically have an efficiency of 15.0%. If the intensity of sunlight is assumed to be a constant 9.80 ✕ 102 W/m^2, what should be the total area of rooftop solar panels on a house in order to supply an average of 19.2 kW each day? Efficiency denotes the percentage of incident solar energy that is converted to electricity by the solar panel. (Assume the power is only needed during the day, when the sun is up, and that sunlight is always incident on the solar panels when the sun is up.) answer in meters squared

Answer 1

The total area of rooftop solar panels is 130.61 m².

Step-by-step explanation:

Given that,

Efficiency = 15%

Intensity of sunlight
`I=9.80*10^(2)\ W/m^2`

Power = 19.2 kW/d

Let sun's power need be P.

We need to calculate the power

`P*(15)/(100)=19.2*10^(3)\ W`

`P=(19.2*10^(3)*100)/(15)`

`P=128000\ Watt`

We need to calculate the total area of rooftop solar panels

Using formula of power

`P=IA`

Where, I = intensity

A = area

P = power

Put the value into the formula

`128000=9.80*10^(2)* A`

`A=(128000)/(9.80*10^(2))`

`A=130.61\ m^2`

Hence, The total area of rooftop solar panels is 130.61 m².