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Stuff Happens Hosted by Bill Nye
Solar Energy
Bill Nye explains how solar energy and solar panels work. He also quantifies the environmental benefits of using solar energy over fossil fuels.
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Video Transcript
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on the other side of this roof
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the energy of the largest thermonuclear reactor in the solar system is beating down
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but we can harness that energy we can harness
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the power
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of the sun
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we haven't begun to tap the sun's energy
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right now more solar energy hits the Earth in a day
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than everyone on Earth could use in 27 years
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currently we tap barely 1%
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of the
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is power
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if we could take all the energy
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and all the fossil fuel on and in the Earth today
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the wooden equal the amount of energy that comes from the Sun
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and just 20 days
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hence
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this solar array
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in 1954 scientist discovered that silicon
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the same material that beach sand is made of
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that as just the right
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impurities in it will produce electricity
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when light hits it
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a battery like this makes about one Watts worth of electricity
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each of these panels produces about 180 watts
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in this system there are 24 panels
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and we get about 4,000 watts under perfect sunlight conditions
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that's
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four kilowatts
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it's not bad
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this meter shows how much power the solar panels are producing
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on a bright sunny day like this
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look how fast it's going
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most days this electric meter runs
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backwards
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here in California Department of Water and Power gives you credit or buys back your excess electricity
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now that's not just a good idea
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that's a law
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the federal law
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this little Gizmo does a big job
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it converts the direct current or DC from the solar panels
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into alternating current or AC which ties into the American electrical grid
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and the average American household produces the
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the equivalent of about 10 and a half thousand pounds of CO2
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every year
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so this system with the solar panels and this inverter
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have saved the equivalent of
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fourteen thousand seven hundred seventy seven pounds of CO2
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in the last 15 months
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you got to feel pretty good about that
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how much does a system like this cost
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well anywhere from 10 to over 50,000 dollars
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that sounds like a lot of money but remember many states have
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rebate programs low interest loans and tax incentives
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so that brings the cost way down
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so next time you're in the Attic
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think about what you can do
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on
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the other side
JPJeffries