Capacity Factor
Solar panels have a certain power rating.
solar-estimate.org
What does this mean? Is it always putting out the same power? What might the output power depend on?
The RFC solar array
Here are some pretty pictures and facts about the solar array, mounted on the RFC since 2018.
Go to: tiny.cc/gcsolar
Take the total output power, divide by the number of panels, to find the power per panel
STC
Standard Test Conditions:
=1000 Watts per square meter illumination is approximately equal to the intensity of sunlight at high noon on a clear day at an average latitude in the U.S.
"Maximum power" of the panel divided by STC sunlight energy ($\times 100$%)=efficiency.
This is a "best case scenario", or the maximum power you can expect from a panel. You would typically get less power, characterized by a "capacity factor": $$\text{capacity factor (%)} = 100 \% \cdot \frac{\text{average power}}{\text{maximum power}}$$
Google to find typical capacity factors for solar installations, wind turbines, nuclear plants...
- Paul's house has 14 solar panels, each with a maximum power of 300 W. What's the maximum power of the whole array?
- If the typical capacity factor for solar power is 25%, how much power should Paul expect on average over the whole year from this array?
- Compared to the average above, would you expect that his average power during the month of January is:
- more
- about the same
- less