Does a solar panel produce the same amount of electricity in a cold environment as it does hot one?
611192
It depends on the type of solar panel. Those that merely work in temp differential naturally preform worse. However, for those that work on radiation wavelength, the colder the temp the greater the voltage produced. The hotter the panel, the less efficient it is.\n\nNow why is this? Because both resistance and resistivity increase with temperature, thereby making the panels less efficient. This is why ultrafast and ultramodern computers are often liquid cooled.\n\nSo, provided that you can get enough of the correct wavelength of light to hit the panel (the same as in the summer) you'll actually produce a higher voltage.
672976
Are you certain it's not a temperature effect?  Most of the unrechargeable batteries I'm familiar with do have decreased power output at low (like around 40 F or less) temperatures.  I can't think of why a lower ambient pressure would cause the low power.
502624
Different materials conduct heat at different rates.\n\nMetal, for example, is generally an excellent conductor of heat, meaning that when you place your hand on a metal doorknob, the metal conducts heat away from your hand at a much higher rate than of you were to grab an object made of less conductive material, such as wood.  The sensation you're calling "cool" or "cold" is simply heat being conducted away from your skin.  \n\nRemember, just as darkness is nothing more than the absence of light, cold is nothing more than the absence of heat.  So when you're touching a cold object, nothing is being imparted to your skin; all you're feeling is the heating leaving.\n\nRegards,\n\nKevinb671, Ph.D.\nSertufied Science Person
647621
Photosynthesis is about 1% efficient while we can make PV cells about 20% efficient.\n\nThis is yet another case of nature being inferior to human technology.
1154190
radiation? do you hear yourself?\n\nit looses heat b/c it doesn't get enough energy to keep it warm!  a solar cover is a good way to create that needed energy as it uses the suns rays and not weighing down your electricity bill.
229343
It depends on the type of machine you're using and the heat ratue it's exposed to. The electrical power has losses that's emitted neither as heat or electrmagnitic energy. If the machine contains microchips and sensitive electronic components it might burn if the heat is too much for it. If you have more questions about the specific type of what you're using please ask. Hope I helped...
674011
The sunlight dislodges electrons from the material making up the solar panels (mostly silicon).  These electrons create an electric potential, hence current can be created.  Panels are installed where there is direct sunlight and pointed toward the average position of the sun (local south, at some angle above the horizon) or on a device which follows the course of the sun.  The panels create direct current, so can be thought of as batteries, but they do not store electricity.  The current can be used to 1)power a device, 2)recharge a battery, or 3)create alternating current by means of an inverter.
283480
If you're storing them then it will improve their life because it slows down the rate of chemical reaction but it won't improve their power.\n\nA warm battery works better than a cold one because the chemical reaction is quicker.  If you take a torch out on a cold night the light will fade much quicker than if you took it out on a warm night.\n\nFreezing won't recharge a battery , once the energy's been used it's gone for good.  The law of energy conservation tells us that "Energy can never be created or destroyed only converted from one form to others".
970880
Power requirements for a room are determined by the total heat load. This heat load consists of solar load (if the room has an exterior window), people load (how many people use the room at a time, and how active are they), appliance loads (lights, equipment, etc.) and the ambient conditions surrounding the room and insulation (r-value for walls separating room from hot and cold areas).\n\nIf you need more specific help for a commercial project - e-mail me.
333197
Yes, there is.  It's a silicon chip that becomes cold on one side and hot on the other.  However, they use a lot of energy compared to environ compressors.
536971
Solar photovoltaic panels contain arrays of solar cells that convert light into electricity. Solar cells, or PV cells, rely on the photovoltaic effect, which describes how certain materials can convert sunlight into electricity to absorb the energy of the sun and cause current to flow between two oppositely charged layers. Individual solar cells provide a relatively small amount of power, but electrical output is significant when connected together as an array making up a panel.\n\nOn a bright day, the sun delivers about 1 kW/m² to the Earth's surface. Typical solar panels have an average efficiency of 12%, with the best commercially available panels at 20%, and recent prototype panels at around 30%. This would result in 200 W/m². However, not all days have bright sunlight, and therefore not enough solar energy can be captured.\n\nA solar water heater uses the sun's energy to heat a fluid, which is used to transfer the heat to a heat storage vessel. In the home, for example, sanitary hot water would be heated and stored in a hot water cylinder. Panels on the roof have an absorber plate to which fluid circulation tubes are attached. The absorber, usually coated with a dark selective coating, assures the conversion of the sun's radiation into heat, while fluid circulating through the tubes carries the heat away where it can be used or stored. The heated fluid is pumped to a heat exchanger, which is a coil in the storage vessel or an external heat exchanger where it gives off its heat and is then circulated back to the panel to be reheated. This provides an effective way of harnessing the sun's energy.
463667
If you're talking about electricity generated from solar panels, it's not widely done because of how expensive it is to build and construct panels. The material (Germanium or Silicon) alone costs a lot to synthesize.\n\nWind power turns out to be a better alternative, if you consider the costs and benefits. Ocean-tide power may be good source of power too.\n\nNow look up "Dyson Sphere." This is another aspect of tapping solar power; Solar power tapped to the extreme, not for electricity, but for life; A solution for the evergrowing population of mankind. A Dyson Sphere is impossible to construct, but a few hundred years from now it may be possible to create a Dyson Belt, a collection of inhabitable planetoids built and placed in orbit 93 million miles from the sun (the same distance as the Earth).
1014979
The power output is smaller than the power input as most of the energy usually has been converted to heat in the process...
1102710
Probably you would not notice much of a difference. In fact if you used electric heat you wouln't notice any difference at all (at least in the winter). The reason is the amount of electricity an appliance uses is pretty much proportional to the amount of heat it generates. If you really want to save electricity get rid of your oven, refrigerator, toaster, hair dryer, basically any appliance which generates a lot of heat.
808740
It depends on how much you use the electricity.
866700
electricity produced due to flow of charges/electrons
628635
increases because there is electricity used for working the fridge and it is transformed into heat