Solar panels,
fun-facts edition.
Quick, true, slightly nerdy bites about the sun and the panels that catch it.
Solar is the cheapest electricity in history
In good locations, solar now produces some of the lowest-cost power ever recorded.
Read it →FACTA panel repays its own making energy in a few years
Most rooftop panels generate the energy used to build them back in about one to four years.
Read it →FACTThe first real solar cell was born in 1954
Bell Labs built the first practical silicon solar cell in 1954, at about 6% efficiency.
Read it →FACTSolar panels have zero moving parts
Nothing inside a panel spins or slides, which is why warranties run about 25 years.
Read it →FACTOne hour of sunlight could power the world for a year
The sunlight hitting Earth in about an hour holds roughly a year of global energy use.
Read it →FACTSolar panels actually like the cold
Panels run on light, not heat, and lose a little efficiency when they get hot.
Read it →FACTThe same tech on your roof runs the space station
The ISS and most satellites rely on big solar arrays, the same basic idea as a home panel.
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