Somehow, our gene pool has gotten smarter, as they have recently discovered that Solar Panels, in addition to generating Electricity, have an extra benefit of cooling the house or workplace on which they are mounted!
Gee - anyone ever heard of a SHADE TREE?
A study conducted by a team at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, led by Jan Kleissal used thermal imaging to monitor the temperature of buildings. Apparently they found that that during daylight hours the ceiling of a building with solar panels was five degrees Fahrenheit (2.8 degrees Celsius) cooler than the ceiling of an equivalent building without solar panels.
So, we needed a group of Engineers to learn that it is cooler in the shade?
Remind me not to send my kid to UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering! I don't need some college professor and a lot of expensive test equipment to teach him what ought to be common sense.
Wait - even the test equipment wasn't that expensive, when you consider that you can buy a Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer with Laser Targeting from Harbor Freight for $40.
What the team really discovered is that the cooling effect of the solar panels decreased the building's total energy costs, which amounted to a 38 percent reduction in "annual cooling load". This of course, required 38% less cooling, smaller air conditioners needed, less electricity used, etc.
Ok, so something good came of it - they were able to put numbers to it, but so far what is missing is HOW MUCH less cooling is needed PER SQUARE FOOT of SOLAR PANEL.
But then, hey, I could do the same thing with a white tarp and for a lot less money than solar panels cost, right?
I'm not saying that their "study" is a total waste of time, but I think the students could gain more practical knowledge and experience by studying how to create MORE electricity using a satellite dish coated with chrome paint, focussed at a water pipe that turns a steam operated turbine generator!
Your Thoughts?
(To learn MORE about Electronics - go to ElectronicsTheory.Com
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