CACHE Modules on Energy in the Curriculum Energy Topic: Solar Energy Module Title: Output and savings from Solar panel installation Module Author: Niraj Palsule and Jason Keith Author Affiliation: Mississippi State University Key concepts: Power output, electricity consumption, interest over deposit. Introduction: The cost of a solar panel lies in the range of $200/panel to $400/panel depending upon the power output of the panel and the material it is made from. The entire kit for solar energy utilization includes components like batteries, AC-DC converters, wires, mount racks etc. depending upon off-grid or grid-based utility. It costs about $15,000-$40,000 for providing energy equal to the national monthly household average electricity usage of 948 kW-hr through such installation. Before investing, it is always better to perform an economic analysis of your investment. This module will help you to calculate the power output, determine whether investing in installation is better than that in a certificate of deposit and find the payback period of your investment. Problem Statement: 1) Assuming an illumination of 5 hrs of sunlight per day and a monthly consumption of 948 kW-hr, calculate the number of panels required and compare the prices for the following panels and tell which is cheaper to suffice the average monthly consumption. a)140W , $210/panel b)240W, $260/panel Formulae: To calculate the number of panels required, we would have to find the total output given by a single panel in kW-hr per month assuming an illumination of 5hrs per day. (Eq.1) For an average monthly consumption of 948kW-hr, (Eq.2) To find the total cost of panels we can use, (Eq.3)
CACHE Modules on Energy in the Curriculum Energy Topic: Solar Energy Module Title: Output and savings from Solar panel installation Module Author: Niraj Palsule and Jason Keith Author Affiliation: Mississippi State University Key concepts: Power output, electricity consumption, interest over deposit. Introduction: The cost of a solar panel lies in the range of $200/panel to $400/panel depending upon the power output of the panel and the material it is made from. The entire kit for solar energy utilization includes components like batteries, AC-DC converters, wires, mount racks etc. depending upon off-grid or grid-based utility. It costs about $15,000-$40,000 for providing energy equal to the national monthly household average electricity usage of 948 kW-hr through such installation. Before investing, it is always better to perform an economic analysis of your investment. This module will help you to calculate the power output, determine whether investing in installation is better than that in a certificate of deposit and find the payback period of your investment. Problem Statement: 1) Assuming an illumination of 5 hrs of sunlight per day and a monthly consumption of 948 kW-hr, calculate the number of panels required and compare the prices for the following panels and tell which is cheaper to suffice the average monthly consumption. a)140W , $210/panel b)240W, $260/panel Formulae: To calculate the number of panels required, we would have to find the total output given by a single panel in kW-hr per month assuming an illumination of 5hrs per day. (Eq.1) For an average monthly consumption of 948kW-hr, (Eq.2) To find the total cost of panels we can use, (Eq.3)