Question

The Intensity of solar radiation at the Earth's orbit is 1370 W/m2. However, because of the atmosphere, the curvature of the Earth, and rotation (night and day), the actual intensity at the Earth's surface is much lower. At this moment, let us assume the intensity of solar radiation is 750 W/m2. You have installed solar panels on your roof to convert the sunlight to electricity. A) If the area of your solar panels is 4 m2, How much power is incident on your array? Watts Submit Answer Tries 0/2 B) Unfortunately, solar panels are only about 20% efficent... Only 1/5 of the light is converted to electricity. This being the case, how much electrical power are you actually producing for your home at this moment?

Answer 1

a) 3000W

b) 600W

Step-by-step explanation:

A) To solve this problem we have to use

`P=IA`

where I is the intensity of light and A is the area of our solar panels. By replacing we have

`P=(750(W)/(m^2))(4m^2)=3000W`

B) However we know that the panel only absorb 20% of the total power. Hence we have that the real power is

`P_r=0.2IA=0.2(3000W)=600W`

HOPE THIS HELPS!!

Answer 2

A. Power incident on panel = 3000W

B. Electrical power generated = 600W

Step-by-step explanation:

Actual solar intensity I = 750W/m2

A) if area A of panel = 4m2, then,

Power incident on panel = I x A

P = 750 x 4 = 3000W

B) if panel efficiency is 20%,

Then,

Power generates = 0.2 x 3000 = 600W of electricity.