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If the average power requirement in your home is 2. 0 kW and you can convert solar power to electric power with 11 % efficiency, how large a collector area will you need to meet all your household energy requirements from solar energy?

2 Answers

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Final answer:

To meet the household energy requirements from solar energy, a collector area of 14.0 square meters is needed.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the area of collector needed to meet the household energy requirements from solar energy, we need to first find the total power required by the household. The average power requirement is given as 2.0 kW. However, the solar power can only be converted with 11% efficiency. So, to find the power obtained from solar energy, we divide the average power requirement by the efficiency. 2.0 kW / 0.11 = 18.18 kW.

Next, we need to find the power per square meter of solar energy. From the provided information, the maximum power per square meter reaching Earth's surface is 1.30 kW/m². Therefore, the area required can be calculated by dividing the power obtained from solar energy by the power per square meter.

Area = Power obtained from solar energy / Power per square meter = 18.18 kW / 1.30 kW/m² = 14.0 m².

Therefore, you would need a collector area of 14.0 square meters to meet all your household energy requirements from solar energy.

User MikO
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5 votes

Final answer:

To meet household energy requirements from solar energy, you will need a collector area of approximately 18.18 square meters.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the area of solar collectors needed to meet your household energy requirements, we can use the formula:

Collector Area = Power Requirement (kW) / (Solar Power Conversion Efficiency)

Given that the average power requirement in your home is 2.0 kW and the solar power conversion efficiency is 11%, we can calculate:

Collector Area = 2.0 kW / 0.11 = 18.18 m²

Therefore, you will need a collector area of approximately 18.18 square meters to meet all your household energy requirements from solar energy.

User Alexjohnj
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8.0k points