I have a question on solar cells, they're being sold by the watts. About their watt rating, are these in watt hours?
Does a 100 watt solar panel have an output of 100watts every hour?
- posted
16 years ago
Solar cells in solar car
Loading thread data ...
- Vote on answer
- posted
16 years ago
The watt is energy per unit time, with energy in joules and time in seconds.
I suppose a 100 watt solar cell delivers 100 joules of electrical energy every second and 100 x 3600 (sec/hour) or 360 000 joules of electrical energy every hour.
Ken Johnson
- Vote on answer
- posted
16 years ago
Yes, assuming the sunlight stays the same. That is a max figure, so around noon, it gathers 100 watt-hours every hour. Later in day the energy converted will drop of course.
- Vote on answer
- posted
16 years ago
No. They produce rated power at all times when they are in full sun. Note that the actual power diminishes well below rated power as the illumination drops.
No, it has an output of 100 watts instantaneously. Watts is a measure of power, not capacity.
--scott
- Vote on answer
- posted
16 years ago
No, the wattage rating is a maximum flow capability rating, usually at full noon direct sunlight. It is not an absolute amount of energy without the duration of the flow, usually in hours, then the energy is in watthours.