Does Full Moonlight Create Any Energy Solar Panels

The voltage increased as the moon rose directly above the array.

Does full moonlight create any energy solar panels.

Silly little experiment i wanted to try. Unlike the sun the moon does not generate its own light energy. But the moon s not very reflective about 3 of the sun s light so you d have to have a really efficient concentrator to concentrate all that light coming back from the moon. Well with 3 kilo watts worth of panels we are getting a whopping 0 0000007 watts or 7 micro watts.

The amount of solar energy that hits the earth amounts to approximately 1 368 watts per square meter and solar panels are designed to work with this level of energy. It is to prevent draining the batteries at night. Solar pv panels do convert moonlight to electricity. The main reason standard solar panels cannot charge in the moonlight is the nature of the moon s light.

So in theory the only way for a solar panel to generate electricity at night time would be to stick it on the moon. It can be used to power pv cells at a cost of 345 1 meaning a panel that would normally produce 3450 w at high noon would produce only 10 w of power during the full moon. At night even with moonlight solar panels drain not produce electricity. The solar panels are located at some distance from each other and such position makes it possible to use spherical lenses that focus the light into a directional beam.

The answer is a definite yes because moonlight is nothing but reflected sunlight. It can be used to power pv cells at a cost of 345 1 meaning a panel that would normally produce 3450 w at high noon would produce only 10 w of power during the full moon. 20 micro amps x 0 35 volts 7 micro watts. Owing to such design the panels can generate energy even in the bright moonlight.

What people see on earth is the sun s light energy reflecting off the moon s surface. The moon can only reflect light and does not emit light as the sun does. If you were to put a solar panel on the moon itself it would generate electricity from the sun s light but only during earth s night time hours because the sun lights up the moon when the sun has gone down. The moon produces no photons and none of its own light so unfortunately it is not able to charge solar panels.

Solar pv panels do convert moonlight to electricity. The answer is a definite yes because moonlight is nothing but reflected sunlight. We measured the voltage produced by the solar panels during the historic november 14 2016 supermoon rising to find out. This variance is the difference between a supermoon and a regular full moon.

So does the supermoon reflect enough light to power solar panels. That s why they put diodes between the solar panels and the batteries that they charge.