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The Solar Electric House: Energy for the Environmentally Responsive, Energy-Independent Home By: Steven J.Strong and William G.Scheller

Strong, Steven J., and William Scheller. //The solar electric house: energy for the environmentally-responsive, // //energy-independent home //. Still River, Mass.: Sustainability Press, 1993. Print.

Facts
 * 1) Solar panels were first used in space.
 * 2) The first place that solar panels took off at were in third world countries.
 * 3) Farmers far from the power grid benefited from solar panels.
 * 4) Solar panels can cut the average household's annual electric bill.
 * 5) Solar panels can only convert 3/4 of the solar spectrum.
 * 6) The wavelengths with the highest-energy photons help give the most power through the solar panel.
 * 7) 10-15% of solar radiation is absorbed by ozone, water vapor, and carbon dioxide.
 * 8) 30-35% more of the radiation is reflected off the atmosphere.
 * 9) It gets reflected by a theory called "//Earthshine//".
 * 10) The Earth's rotation and tilt have a major impact on the amount of sunlight reaches the solar panels.
 * 11) A Photovoltaic cell is a simiconductor.
 * 12) The energy that solar panels take in is direct current.
 * 13) The device in the solar panel is called an inverter.
 * 14) The inverter converts the direct current into alternating current.
 * 15) The United States uses alternating current for all house holds.