David Roden wrote:
On 24 Aug 2007 at 15:11, Darryl McMahon wrote:solar panels are the most efficient way of converting radiant sunlight energy into electricity (approaching 20% vs 1% ormuch less for plants).Where do they get this number? I think I've read that mass-produced PV is around 10% efficient at normal operating temperatures.
It depends. Thin film is about 7% efficient, polycrystaline is around 14%, single-crystal about 18%.
I have 1.8kw of single crystal Shell 75 watt panels on the house and about 800 watts of Solarex polycrystaline on the shed. The Solarex 80 watt panel is *much* heaver and larger than the Siemens 75, and the one thin film panel is bigger than both and only 43 watts.
I may have missed it, but they also don't seem to have figured battery amortization into the operating costs. For road EVs, this is the largest contribution to per-mile expense, and I'd bet that this will also be true for an electric tractor in daily service.
Mmmm. Maybe. If you get 8 years out of a set of T105's, that's not unusual for an Elec-trak with a stupid charger. How long does the average B&S engine last these days (seems to be about 6-8 years)
Chris