Chapter 16, Problem 69PE

Engineering Application

(a) A photovoltaic array of (solar cells) is 10.0% ef?cient in gathering solar energy and converting it to electricity. If the average intensity of sunlight on one day is $\text{7}00\text{ W}/{\text{m}}^{\text{2}}$, what area should your array have to gather energy at the rate of 100 W? (b) What is the maximum test of the array if it must pay for itself in two years of operation averaging 10.0 hours per day? Assume that it earns money at the rate of 9.00 (¢ per kilowatt−hour.