Bizarre Solar Question

[Living Large]

I'm running a pump - and yes I bought 10... Are you saying I need 10 Ballasts?! These say 1000watt.

Yep, gas discharge bulbs like sodium, metal halide, etc require a ballast. One for each bulb. That's why I asked - I thought you may have not been aware.

[cjpritch88]

Yep, gas discharge bulbs like sodium, metal halide, etc require a ballast. One for each bulb. That's why I asked - I thought you may have not been aware.

Ok - reality strikes again. Thanks for the heads up - I knew that about florescent bulbs - but man am I in over my head. I think I'm going to haft to semi "fake it" by tending the battery before the show and then use some regular light bulbs to mock it or something of that nature.

Thanks again.

[sensij]

I'm running a pump - and yes I bought 10... Are you saying I need 10 Ballasts?! These say 1000watt.

Ok, just making sure. A 35 Ah battery has 420 Wh of capacity at 100% discharge, as long as the discharge rate is low (< 2 A), less when the discharge rate is higher. A 65 W pump will only run for a few hours at best before that battery dies.

[priya]

Solar power

Solar power is one of the most promising sources of energy for the 21st Century. The amount of sunlight striking earth in any given hour contains light energy equivalent to the world’s total energy consumption for one year.

[J.P.M.]

Solar power is one of the most promising sources of energy for the 21st Century. The amount of sunlight striking earth in any given hour contains light energy equivalent to the world’s total energy consumption for one year.

I seem to have heard something similar only for the 20th century. That didn't seem to pan out quite as much as hoped. Maybe the 21st will show more progress.

[SunEagle]

I seem to have heard something similar only for the 20th century. That didn't seem to pan out quite as much as hoped. Maybe the 21st will show more progress.

Until an economical energy storage system can be invented or very low resistance power distribution system (super conductivity) can be installed between the sunny side and electrical users, my guess is it will still be at least a few more decades before the power of the sun is better utilized.