Electric cars and the grid..... it has begun.

[minimutly]

How good is solar in Winter in Britain?
London in the South is further North than any city in Canada.
It's only when you look at a globe you realise just how far up we are.
We have had literally months in Wales with total heavy cloud cover. No glimpse of any blue sky and rain for 3 months continuous. I know solar will still be generating but it is a fraction in those conditions - probably 10% or less.

10% of its normal output, which is boogarall....
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for solar, once it's up it costs nothing, just needs free sunlight to work. But pretending that it's 24/7 and 12 months of the year is nuts.

 

[julianthegypsy]

10% of its normal output, which is boogarall....
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for solar, once it's up it costs nothing, just needs free sunlight to work. But pretending that it's 24/7 and 12 months of the year is nuts.

Nobody ever did pretend that it's 24/7, but it is predictable. Sun comes up, sun goes down. We use so little of the idle space (warehouse roofs for example) that if we used half of it, it would certainly solve the EV charging problem. Add a battery bank to a big enough array, such as putting a canopy on a car park and you could easily cover the night until the sun comes up in the morning.

 

[fizzy]

Nobody ever did pretend that it's 24/7, but it is predictable. Sun comes up, sun goes down. We use so little of the idle space (warehouse roofs for example) that if we used half of it, it would certainly solve the EV charging problem. Add a battery bank to a big enough array, such as putting a canopy on a car park and you could easily cover the night until the sun comes up in the morning.

Since when has British weather been predictable?
Sun? Oh yes we get that now and then in Wales

 

[DAPPH]

I understand that the latest panels being developed to scaled up use are a single IR & UV panels so can produce electricity 24/7 . There is also a magnifier on the inside similar to those 1960's picture post cards where the gal in the picture winked at you if you turned the card slightly .

 

[minimutly]

Nobody ever did pretend that it's 24/7, but it is predictable. Sun comes up, sun goes down. We use so little of the idle space (warehouse roofs for example) that if we used half of it, it would certainly solve the EV charging problem. Add a battery bank to a big enough array, such as putting a canopy on a car park and you could easily cover the night until the sun comes up in the morning.

I put the 24/7 in for effect. Of course you’re right, but what of overcast short days? Zilch, nothing, nada will be the output. Charge batteries? Yes, but they won’t be any use...

 

[minimutly]

I understand that the latest panels being developed to scaled up use are a single IR & UV panels so can produce electricity 24/7 . There is also a magnifier on the inside similar to those 1960's picture post cards where the gal in the picture winked at you if you turned the card slightly .

Is this April 1st?

 

[Morrisman]

Nobody ever did pretend that it's 24/7, but it is predictable. Sun comes up, sun goes down. We use so little of the idle space (warehouse roofs for example) that if we used half of it, it would certainly solve the EV charging problem. Add a battery bank to a big enough array, such as putting a canopy on a car park and you could easily cover the night until the sun comes up in the morning.

I was told that modern solar panels just needed daylight, rather than sunshine, to produce power? Obviously not as much power, but still producing during any daylight hours.

 

[fizzy]

I understand that the latest panels being developed to scaled up use are a single IR & UV panels so can produce electricity 24/7 . There is also a magnifier on the inside similar to those 1960's picture post cards where the gal in the picture winked at you if you turned the card slightly .

What?
At night

 

[fizzy]

I was told that modern solar panels just needed daylight, rather than sunshine, to produce power? Obviously not as much power, but still producing during any daylight hours.

Of course they will produce a bit. But a bit is all you get sadly.
Remember in winter it gets dark at 4pm. And can be very dark and murky all day.

 

[DAPPH]

Is this April 1st?

No it's the 24/ 8/2022

IR is hitting or radiating from the earth 24/7 all we need is better or more collector /converters to electricity . It's early days yet but with hundreds of thousand of brilliant minds working on it around the globe , it will eventually be solved to a better solution . or discarded as an interesting dead end that has other branches out of it to be explored .

I'm sure I've read that DARPA has used it on a 24/7 flying observation craft .

Can Solar Panels Use Ultraviolet or Infrared Light? | | Epic Energy

A majority of solar panels are made of materials that convert primarily visible light. But some work best with ultraviolet or infrared light.

www.thinkepic.com

I also find this is interesting :-

Could solar panels work at night? These researchers say yes

Researchers at University of California, Davis, have published a new paper that says "anti-solar panels" can generate night solar electricity

electrek.co

 

[fizzy]

No it's the 24/ 8/2022

IR is hitting or radiating from the earth 24/7 all we need is better or more collector /converters to electricity . It's early days yet but with hundreds of thousand of brilliant minds working on it around the globe , it will eventually be solved to a better solution . or disgarded as an interesting dead end that has other branches out of it to be explored .

Can Solar Panels Use Ultraviolet or Infrared Light? | | Epic Energy

A majority of solar panels are made of materials that convert primarily visible light. But some work best with ultraviolet or infrared light.

www.thinkepic.com

IR produces heat. It gets cold at night so no output then either.
Even if solar panels were 100% efficient we would still need vast arrays of solar panels as not that much energy hits the earth due to atmosphere and distance from the Sun. And despite the silly theories they will NEVER work at night!

 

[DennisCA]

What?
At night

Above the polar circle, why not?

 

[DAPPH]

Have a read of my last post Fizzy .

 

[Greeves246]

IR produces heat. It gets cold at night so no output then either.
Even if solar panels were 100% efficient we would still need vast arrays of solar panels as not that much energy hits the earth due to atmosphere and distance from the Sun. And despite the silly theories they will NEVER work at night!

In Spain when solar farms started the government paid whenever electricity was generated. So the “farmers” put floodlights up so they generated very small amounts at night. The payment was way more than the cost of the lighting.

 

[fizzy]

Have a read of my last post Fizzy .

They are talking about IR energy being given off by planet Earth at night. Using panels in orbit. I won't hold me breath. How do you get the energy back to Earth? Our atmosphere is very good at attenuating any sort of beam. Too much water vapour.

 

[minimutly]

No it's the 24/ 8/2022

IR is hitting or radiating from the earth 24/7 all we need is better or more collector /converters to electricity . It's early days yet but with hundreds of thousand of brilliant minds working on it around the globe , it will eventually be solved to a better solution . or discarded as an interesting dead end that has other branches out of it to be explored .

I'm sure I've read that DARPA has used it on a 24/7 flying observation craft .

Can Solar Panels Use Ultraviolet or Infrared Light? | | Epic Energy

A majority of solar panels are made of materials that convert primarily visible light. But some work best with ultraviolet or infrared light.

www.thinkepic.com

I also find this is interesting :-

Could solar panels work at night? These researchers say yes

Researchers at University of California, Davis, have published a new paper that says "anti-solar panels" can generate night solar electricity

electrek.co

I wouldn’t argue that you. Could harvest IR light, but the useful amount is tiny, and the physics of this will never change, even if the conversion rate or efficiency will improve.

 

[minimutly]

Above the polar circle, why not?

Sorry @DennisCA , but there aren’t such a lot of you living up there, relatively speaking of course.

 

[Maker]

They are talking about IR energy being given off by planet Earth at night. Using panels in orbit. I won't hold me breath. How do you get the energy back to Earth? Our atmosphere is very good at attenuating any sort of beam. Too much water vapour.

Who came up with that? If you're gonna put solar panels in orbit, why would you **** about trying to harvest IR from the earth when there's a great big sun up there, it's always sunny in space. Then you just run a bit of SWA down from the satellite.

 

[minimutly]

Who came up with that? If you're gonna put solar panels in orbit, why would you **** about trying to harvest IR from the earth when there's a great big sun up there, it's always sunny in space. Then you just run a bit of SWA down from the satellite.

Not as daft as you might think - I knew someone who was working on a project to harvest the jet stream winds.
Can’t say who, but his dad is on here occasionally.

 

[fizzy]

Not as daft as you might think - I knew someone who was working on a project to harvest the jet stream winds.
Can’t say who, but his dad is on here occasionally.

Does it involve giant kites by any chance?