• SootySootySoot [any]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    edit-2
    21 days ago

    In a weird way this is the wildest bit. It’s because they don’t have moving parts that really makes them incredibly portable, incredibly easy to mass produce, little-to-no maintenance, magic endless electricity squares. Anything with a turbine is basically impossible to both mass-produce and install on unattended/domestic properties.

    From another science is neat perspective, we’ve actually reached insane levels of efficiency. Average panels get about 20% nowadays, degrading to about half that after a couple decades. Top-end commercial panels are about 25% efficient. Experimental panels have claimed up to 40% efficiency in real-world conditions. Plant photosynthesis solar->usable energy is, depending on how you calculate it, somewhere between 3 and 11% efficiency.

    • scrungus [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      21 days ago

      I knew they were getting more and more efficient, but seeing the hard numbers is wild! Like literally enough to help push back on my ever present climate related doomery, ty comrade fidel-salute