What if everything could be a solar panel

Are you one of those people who hate these little crawling things? Or maybe these ones with stingers History Geography Culture Science Technology. About Contact Newsletter Shop. Facebook Twitter Instagram Reddit Youtube. What If We Stopped Recycling. Lights Off. Wouldn't it be a good idea to cover every house with solar panels? Accessed July 15 Johnson, Scott. Ars Technica. Stevenson, Ashleigh, ABC News. Richardson, Luke. Solar News. The Verge. In this case, the solar panel array sends direct current DC electricity to the charge controller and into the battery pack.

The power is then drawn from the battery pack to the power inverter , which then takes the DC current and converts it into an alternating current AC so that can be used for standard appliances and devices powered by normal plug-ins. There are quite a few different varieties of solar panels in existence, but two main types in particular are used the most frequently: polycrystalline and monocrystalline.

Like the name says, crystalline silicon is the crystallized form of silicon. Crystalline silicon has a wide range of uses, and is almost always found in computer microchips. Solar panel cells require a purer version of crystalline silicon, however. Solar cells made from crystalline silicon are single-junction cells, and are often more efficientthan other types.

Panels constructed from monocrystalline have cells that feature a distinct semi-squared look. The cells themselves are made from silicon ingots that have their edges cut off, which gives them their distinct look. Monocrystalline is a more pure form of silicon, which results in a panel with a higher efficiency. The biggest obvious advantage of monocrystalline solar panels is their overall efficiency.

Monocrystalline panels also have the longest lifespan , and can perform better under low-light conditions. As you may have guessed, due to their better performance and efficiency, monocrystalline panels are generally the most expensive.

These panels also tend to breakdown the circuit when in the shade, or covered with objects like dirt and snow. Polycrystalline panels are made from a different process than their monocrystalline counterparts. With these panels, raw silicon is melted down to a liquid form, and then poured into square molds. Once the silicon cools, the panel is created. This results in the blue, almost window-like look often associated with solar panels. Polycrystalline solar panels are cheaper than monocrystalline , making them more affordable for those desiring solar power on a smaller budget.

Those that have large wattage requirements and a smaller roof might find it difficult to provide all the power necessary with the space they have available. Several solar power plants have been built over the last few decades, mostly in dry desert regions such as Nevada and Southern California.

These plants are able to generate substantial amounts of electricity to be added to the grid. Solar power plants utilize hundreds and even thousands of carefully arranged solar panels that are made with quality solar cell materials. There are plans for numerous solar power plants to be added to the grids of several cities over the coming years. More and more homes across the United States are opting to use solar energy for at least part of their energy needs.

Others have solar systems that are used as an emergency backup in the case of an outage, both long and short term. Homeowners that wish to have a constant stream of solar power will often install panels onto their roof , or lay out panels elsewhere on their property if possible. Depending on the town and municipality, homeowners can either opt to power their entire home with their own solar system , or supplement their current standard electrical use.

Many people have chosen to add solar systems to their homes for both environmental and economic reasons. Homeowners living in smog-heavy cities have increasingly moved towards solar energy for their homes, hoping to offset the pollution in their area while also easing the burden on the power grid itself, which can sometimes have failures in cities such as Los Angeles.

Either way, there is almost always a financial incentive for solar energy use at home, as federal tax credits and rebates can help to significantly offset the cost of these systems, leaving homeowners with savings both short and long term. Solar panels have countless uses for agriculture. Several farmers across the United States use solar panels to power a variety of small equipment and appliances in numerous scenarios.

Farmers can use solar energy to power fans for their livestock, water wells and pumps, lighting, and a whole slew of other uses as well. Solar panels are a popular choice for those that live in extremely remote areas , as they may lack access to a regulated power grid in the first place.

Solar panels and generators allow these people to provide a constant stream of energy to their property without having to worry about utility bills, or even faulty service that often results when living remotely. Solar energy systems are also very useful for those that own properties such as vacation and hunting cabins in remote areas.

These cabins and houses offer an escape from city life and densely populated areas, but can also lack basic utilities. Solar panels can thus be used to power either a few smaller appliances such as lights and a fan or two, or be a part of a larger system that provides adequate power similar to a full scale residential solar power system.

This allows the power to be there when the property owner needs it, as they may not be at the property often enough to keep constant service from a utility company. Most people are very familiar with portable generators.

These devices can be used to supply power on the go , or even at home for a select amount of appliances and electronic devices. In the past, portable generators were powered only by gas and propane, or were charged up prior to use via an AC adapter to a wall outlet. However, solar technology through solar panels has provided a way to charge these generators using the sun instead.

Portable solar generators vary in size and powe r, but always require the use of solar panels. Some have solar panels built in to the unit itself, while others have external systems that can sometimes be compacted, folded down, and carried like a briefcase. Solar generators allow for portable energy that never runs out like gas and propane, while also cutting down significantly on noise and emissions.

And given any kind of functioning market for electricity, there will be a strong financial incentive to do this, in the form of a grid that was prepared to pay a great deal for electricity delivered during the early evening. So, does this electricity storage technology exist? But right now, most of it is pretty expensive. Here are the major competitors vs. Pumped hydro needs mountains and reservoirs, whereas compressed air needs the underground caverns like those created from salt extraction.

If you are somewhere with plenty of salt caverns just begging to be pumped full of compressed air, get going on that. Or at least not enough capacity to cover that evening peak.

Depending on the answers to the first four questions, you will come up with a different mix of solutions that will probably involve some transfer from other regions, some peaking generation, some peak flattening, plus a variety of other storage approaches, subsidized or not. But the last one is crucial.

Are we talking about today? It matters because battery technologies are on a cost dive that will swiftly make the numbers on the chart above obsolete. In the last few years, this has resulted in price movements like this NB: the numbers on the vertical axis of this graph should not be compared to the numbers on the last graph, they are measuring very different things. The percentage drop is the thing that matters:. Other battery technologies may be going down even faster Lazard think that Lead acid may be poised to go down fastest of all.

So, in summary — what would happen if you got everyone to install roof-top solar? Three points.