[About the energy everybody really needs, and where to find it]

The most important question when talking about SoLar energy is for many people  “How much solar energy is actually really out there?” or asked in a more specific way “How much solar energy reaches the surface of the earth on every single day?”

The precise values depend on a vast number of factors, are different for every location and subject to constant changes.

Despite this, it is not too difficult to come up with a rough answer to this question, the result however will be quite baffling for many.

The answer, though not precise and not valid for many locations, still reveals the enormous solar potential, just sitting out there - ready for the taking.

Today’s best photo voltaic panels are labelled to produce up to 150 Watt of electricity for every square meter of ‘silicone’, but at a very poor transformation rate of not much more than 15%, according to their manufacturers fabrication labels.

Which means at the same time however, that it will need 1000 Watt of solar energy on a square meter, to drive such a panel up to its maximum energy yield.

More than 80% of the potential go wasted, either lost as a reflection of sunlight, absorbed by the panels’ material, or they are being converted into all sorts of conventional heat.

But, 1000 Watt of solar energy on square meter of ground is not such a rare occurrence on our planet, and there it is our magic number, which is that there are 1,000 Watt or 1 kW of solar energy on an area of one square meter on a nice and very sunny day.

But you haven’t seen the half of it!

Everybody living in Europe today uses an average of 5 kWh or 5,000 watt hours of electrical energy on every given day. This means that the solar energy from 5 hours of good sunshine, shining on just one single square meter, is theoretically sufficient to cover the energy need of anyone person for the length of an entire day.

This sentence is so amazing and important, that I have to repeat it once more.

“The energy from just 5 hours sun shine on an area of one square meter is theoretically enough, to cover the daily energy need of a human being living in our western civilization.”

This factor is a very important index for SoLenium technology and that is why we have given it its very own name;

“SoLar 0-energy footprint”

If you are located in a region with a SoLar 0-energy footprint of exactly [1], you should be able to generate all your daily electric energy needs theoretically from just 5 kW worth of sunshine a day on an area not bigger than a single square meter.

The SoLar 0-energy footprint is thus an approximate measure for the necessary size of the area which will cover those daily needs on any given location.

(Like the UK with 1.9m2 area compared to the south of Spain with 1.0m2)

Today’s solar panels, with their meagre level of efficiency, are of course not able to convert all this potential energy, but their technology is constantly improving. Meaning, that with only 15% of efficiency, one needs four modern 250 watt panels to achieve the 1,000 Watt necessary, or a footprint of just about 6.5 solar square meters.

This times your local SoLar 0-energy footprint factor, is all that anyone should ever really need*, so what makes it all so difficult?

To find out, and get more of our SoLar ideas, stay connected and as always “read on!”

* In Western Europe

Additional maps you can find here; solargis.info/doc/71