What, if any, improvement in efficiency per square foot or meter is realized by a solar panel in space vs. being mounted on the ground where the light is attenuated by the atmosphere?
In passing, I found a site that gives an output of .89 watts / 4 in. sq for a particular home-mounted panel.
2 thoughts on “Solar Panel Efficiency In Space?”
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Solar panels on spacecraft are a lot more efficient than ones made for home use. That doesn’t include the effect of the atmosphere.
I’m not sure on the exact numbers of solar panel efficiency, however i do know that at the radius of the Earth we should be receiving about 1000W of power per square meter.
This value is lessened by the atmosphere to a value closer to 600W per square meter on the Earth’s surface. (on a really hot day)
That’s a 40% drop in power due to the atmosphere. I’m assuming that the solar panels being in space don’t affect it’s efficiency (as in mechanically). So its power generation should increase by about 40% when in space compared with a ground based panel of the same design.
Hope this helps, Sorry it’s kinda sketchy info…