Now taking into account the fact that solar do sent work during storms or night and greatly reduced during winters, what % do you think would be needed to supply a “majority” of our power needs as a nation?
*Mispelling*
Now taking into account the fact that solar “does not” work during storms or night and greatly reduced during winters, what % do you think would be needed to supply a “majority” of our power needs as a nation?

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Answer by hipp5
While I think efficiency is one aspect of the equation I think cost and finding a decent storage medium will be much more important. No matter how efficient solar panels are, they simply cost too much right now. Add to that the need for reliable power at all times of the day and you have got some hurdles to overcome. I think as hydrogen energy matures it’ll become a great storage medium for solar energy and we will see a lot more wide-scale solar.

Answer by Starbuck
Supplying the entire nations power grid by solar could not be accomplished with this centuries technology. Solar power will be a minor energy producer for decades to come and comes with much drawbacks on environmental costs of production, battery systems and many other issues not resolved.

Answer by g.aidonopoulos
I believe the question should be put as: What should be the price of solar panels in order to replace coal.

If the price go down enough then there will be no problem with the commercial efficiencies already achieved.

The huge challenge for the solar industry is to achieve the famous grid – parity. We should notice however that the grid parity will not come at the same time to all countries in the world since there are several irradiation levels and electricity prices as well.

As so the answer to the altered question is that very soon (2-3 years) if the solar industry continue to expand at this day rates we will achieve the grid – parity at many places in the world

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Answer by bwamp
solar power could be used for electricity. our electric power stations are fueled mostly on coal so it would lessen the demand of that and reduce the pollution coal produces when used to produce energy. comparing to nuclear power plants, they require a lot of water to remain at optimal temperatures and lets just face it, water is something we already take for granted, you can purchase a bottle of it for a dollar yet a candy bar is more expensive. solar energy can help dramatically but it just requires a lot of money to produce these panels and even at that we need to find ways to make them even more efficient so that it makes a superior investment.

Answer by Jack
well obviously solar power is an alternative-if more people had solar panels for example certain energy plants would close down and there would be less pollution who knows

Answer by adaviel
Looking just at the operation, not construction, of (electric) solar panels, they replace any source of electricity. That might include electricity produced by burning fossil fuels or from nuclear power. The pollution problems from fossil fiuel are various – ash, unburned hydrocarbon, nitrous oxides, sulphur oxides, and carbon dioxide etc.
Unburned hydrocarbons and nitrous oxides are responsible for photochemical smog
Ash and particulates are dirty and can cause cancer and respiratory problems.
Carbon dioxide is responsible for the greenhouse effect and climate change.
Pollution from nuclear planrts includes local thermal pollution, accidental release of radioactive material, and long-term radioactive waste which represents a storage problem

There are also thermal solar panels and plants, which can provide residential heating (replacing fossil fuels or biomass like wood, which generates pollution when burned), and sometimes industrial processes like smelting (replacing other soruces of power)

Right now, we do not have a good way to store electricity overnight or efficiently send it right around the world to the nightside, and we do not have a good portable way to store energy for use in airplanes.

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Answer by Babu Ram
It is good ways to replace oil with solar energy but it is possible establishing solar energy project.

Answer by Bud
Actually it would take a major effort to just to replace oil as a source of electrical generation. You might rephrase your project by citing ways to replace fossil fuel use by utilizing solar power. I state this because oil accounts for a very small percentage of electrical generation in the USA and many countries. Coal, natural gas, nuclear and hydroelectric are the main sources of electrical generation. Only about 1% of electricity in the US is generated by the use of oil as a fuel. Most of the oil is used for transportation fuel. Cars, trucks, airplanes, trains etc. In the USA we consume 3.873 trillion KW/hr per year of electrical energy. Using the most efficient solar panels, on average it takes from 4.5 to 8 acres of solar panels to produce one megawatt of electricity. If you were to take an average of 4.5 acres of land dedicated to solar panels per megawatt (1,000 KW) , it would take far more than all the land area of North America converted to solar electrical energy production. Of course this is impossible. The only areas that would be near practical for solar generation of electricity are the sunshine says such as Florida, California, Arizona, etc. Without a major increase in efficiency of solar panels it would be overly optimistic to estimate that even 1% of our total electric power could be generated by solar energy. The website below is one source for your project. If you do a search for solar electrical generation you will find dozens more.

Answer by Ajaykumar Sah
To replace oil with solar energy solar instruments like solar cooker, solar light, solar heater etc should be used.

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Answer by extex_cop
A 1/2 hp motor is going to need a really huge solar panel to keep a battery charged to run it all day.

Good Luck

Answer by Irv S
You’ll need about 6 panels to run a 1/2 HP motor,
only when the sun shines.
They will not sell them to you for your own good.
What you are planning simply will not work for you.

Answer by roderick_young
If the motor is really 1/2 HP, then that is about 400 watts, maybe realistically 300 when running.

Many motors of that size are actually “universal” motors, and will run just fine off DC. I will not give you any guarantees that it will work, and most likely no one will. You would also need to develop about 100 volts DC, which is 4 grid-tie type panels in series. To give margin when the sun is not totally brilliant, you’d probably want 5 or 6 panels. But I do not know what would happen at sunrise, when there will be a very low voltage across the motor. Possibly it would be ok. If not, you’d need a controller to disconnect the panels when the sun is not bright enough. Also, you would want to have some sort of protection for the panels against the inductive kick that the motor might produce.

This is starting to sound like it would cost a sizeable fraction of $ 5000 already, with the bulk of the cost in the panels, which would be $ 500-$ 1000 each, depending on what kind you get.

It could work, if your goal is to save energy. If your goal is to save money, that sounds difficult.

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Answer by Mike D.
Not at all, because of the cost of wind turbines, they are strategically put based on fluid dynamics. Also, solar panels are not efficient, and mass produced versions only harness 20% of their energy input.

Answer by J.
It would not work.

The complaints from the people living near the poles would be intense. Then maintenance. And liability.

One reason there are not as many wind turbines as people would like to see- or not see- is due to a number of factors, NIMBY is one, but also not many areas are conducive to wind power. As for solar, Panels produce DC, again, aestetics. Panels also have a wind load- which can snap typical power poles in high winds. Do you want one falling on your car, or getting lift and carrying into your house?

The thing is, the “Smart Grid” is being promoted, and it is being promoted in a way that your appliances make the service calls autonomously, your appliances and Air Conditioning get controlled by the power company, and that you become dependent upon it. They do NOT want people getting off the grid- because they can’t quantify carbon dioxide if you are off grid, and there are groups who went to a lot of effort and expense to develop carbon calculation schemes on behalf of the frauds who promote AGW.

Here are are some sources that should help.

http://www.awea.org

http://www.builditsloar.com

http://www.wepower.us

‘http://www.sandia.gov/bus-ops/partnerships/tech-access/facilities/photovoltaic.html

Answer by Carlos Ramirez
Solar Panel’s are still too costly to replace all utility electricity. In fact, most solar panels implemented across the world are subsidized which means that the government or other private corporations are covering a part of the costs. Wind turbines are not only costly but can only be used in choose areas based on wind currents.

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Answer by classicsat
You would use a switching buck converter.

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Have you replaced the regular light bulbs in your home, and if so, how many have you replaced?

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Answer by Pundit Bandit
Most of our lights have been replaced with florescent energy saving bulb. The few that still have incandescent are seldom used.

Answer by Kt
I have not replaced them yet, but I would really like to! I just saw “An inconnvenient Truth” and am now really interested in reducing greenhouse gases.

Answer by LittleLady
2

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Answer by Aviator1013
The swift answer is 2400kwh would probably need close to a 20kw generator but if you want to get an average for the year maybe 1600kwh average you might get away with 10kw.
Very windy is a relative term so you will need to look at a wind map. Go to http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/wind_maps.asp and choose your say and then find your area.
You will need to take that information and check it against a power curve for different wind turbines. This is one for a few turbines in the 10 to 20kw range. http://www.windturbine.net/performance.htm This will give you an annual output for this brand of wind turbine. If you look at the chart the left column is the 20 and the far right is the 10 and notice how different the outputs are from just 12 to 15 mph wind speed, that is why an accurate wind speed is important.
Also I do not know about your place but where I live we have much superior winds in the winter than summer so for me average through the year is what I go by.

Answer by blawgg@ymail.com
For a wasteful family of 5, you need to make about 180 watts an hour each hour of the day, 365 days a year.. Your ‘padding’ for windless days will either be batteries (mildly expensive) or solar PV (exceptionally expensive).
Look up your local wind data and use that average wind speed and various prop sizes to compute what type of system you want. Simply change the prop diameter and wind speed to see the approximate wattage and amperage you can anticipate for a 12 volt system from any reasonable airfoil. If you see a claim of more power from a smaller blade diameter, it probably is not accurate.
If you are running a 24 volt DC system, divide the amps by 2. If you are running a 48 volt DC system, divide the amps by 4.
1KW=1000 watts
1 HP=746 watts
Below is an article I found that you might find interesting.

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