Difference between revisions of "Talk:1924: Solar Panels"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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The flowchart doesn't use standard flowchart symbols - they remind me of cars/trucks, each having a (rounded body) plus two wheels (holding yes and no).  Anyone think this is deliberate?
 
The flowchart doesn't use standard flowchart symbols - they remind me of cars/trucks, each having a (rounded body) plus two wheels (holding yes and no).  Anyone think this is deliberate?
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The reason that you don't want to put solar panels on something that is hot is not because hot things use more power. It's because the efficiency of solar panels decreases as a function of temperature: See here for example http://news.energysage.com/solar-panel-temperature-overheating/ . This is why solar panels on a road are not a great idea (among other reasons). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.76|108.162.219.76]] 01:23, 6 December 2017 (UTC)

Revision as of 01:23, 6 December 2017


Sorry, but who, except the odd American, has *empty space* next to anything that belongs to him? ;-) --162.158.89.199 20:47, 4 December 2017 (UTC)


And really, if it moves, just keep the diesel engine in it, or switch to hybrid if you can. Batteries that are charged from power plants running on fossile fuel are an ecological nightmare. And car batteries are usually charged overnight, when solar panels are dead. --162.158.89.199 20:54, 4 December 2017 (UTC)

You are right that charging batteries from power plants running on fossile fuel doesn't really bring any ecological advantages ... assuming the engine operates close to optimal parameters. Most cars doesn't operate near optimal parameters inside city, but do on highways, hence hybrid. Also, it is much more ecological to have batteries charged by nuclear power plants. -- Hkmaly (talk) 04:15, 5 December 2017 (UTC)
I always thought of the main advantage of electrical battery powered cars (instead of petrol or Diesel powered ones) was not so much the immediate ecological improvement, but rather that (once they are the norm) you don't need to convince EVERY SINGLE CAR USER to get rid of their old car and get a new one (Like you have to do now, when you invent engines which use less fuel or something). Instead, when you change the overall energy production of a country (hopefully to something more sustainable and envronmentally friendly), the cars will just passively follow. 162.158.89.37 14:46, 5 December 2017 (UTC)

I think that the reference to solar panels on roads in the title text could also be talking about the disaster that is solar roadways. 108.162.221.244 22:50, 4 December 2017 (UTC)

I don't think it's appropriate to use rooftops as an example of where solar panels should not go when the title text of the comic specifically uses rooftops as an example of a good place for solar panels. How many people have an empty field near their house? I also think it's worth mentioning Solar Freakin' Roadways YM Industries (talk) 04:08, 5 December 2017 (UTC)

I agree, rooftops are kinda the prime example for good places to put solar panels. Especially because even in small cities, there are tons of flat-roofed buildings (which would make the alignment to the sun possible) and it is often (nearly) unused space, whereas an "empty" (as in not-build-upon) space could be used for lots of other things, not least just some wild nature. I went ahead and changed the explanation accordingly, putting hte emphasis mor on inclined vs. flat surfaces (and this free to select optimal direction)162.158.89.37 14:46, 5 December 2017 (UTC)

The current transcript is not very useful for people who use screen readers, or for any other purpose (e.g. full text search). Could someone please describe the flowchart in a purely textual, "linear" fashion, as was done for other flowchart comics? Thanks very much in advance! Zetfr 15:01, 5 December 2017 (UTC)

I tried to improve it, hopefully it's helpful. Asdf (talk) 18:02, 5 December 2017 (UTC)
Great, thanks a lot! Zetfr 22:06, 5 December 2017 (UTC)

The flowchart doesn't use standard flowchart symbols - they remind me of cars/trucks, each having a (rounded body) plus two wheels (holding yes and no). Anyone think this is deliberate?

The reason that you don't want to put solar panels on something that is hot is not because hot things use more power. It's because the efficiency of solar panels decreases as a function of temperature: See here for example http://news.energysage.com/solar-panel-temperature-overheating/ . This is why solar panels on a road are not a great idea (among other reasons). 108.162.219.76 01:23, 6 December 2017 (UTC)