About 1350 J of electromagnetic energy hits each square meter of the Earth\'s at

Question

About 1350 J of electromagnetic energy hits each square meter of the Earth's atmosphere each second. (This is called the solar constant.) Depending on the clouds, the atmosphere can absorb up to 70% of this before it reaches the surface. Suppose that on a certain day, electromagnetic energy from the Sun strikes a house running on solar energy at a rate of 886 W/m2. If the solar cells operate at 81.4% efficiency, how large must the surface of the solar panels be to run a house using 6430 W of power?
m2
NOTE: To get an idea of how large this is, convert it into square feet; 1 m2 is about 10.76 ft2.

Explanation / Answer

Power = (Solar energy received)*Area Solar Energy = 886 W/m2 Efficient Solar Energy = 886*0.814 = 721.204 So, Area = 6430/721.204 = 8.915 m2

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