Solar Powered Bike Lights

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Dave 123

Legendary Member
It's never bloody sunny though!
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
Problem is that it's in the darkest months that you want to use them the most. We had some of those garden solar lights, and in summer they get charged up enough to last quite a few hours, in the depth of winter some days it would barely manage 40 mins... of weak light.
 

Bollo

Failed Tech Bro
Location
Winch
Solar panels use the energy from daylight, as opposed to sunlight, to produce electricity so panels do not need direct sunlight to work. It is photons in natural daylight which is converted by solar panels cells to produce electricity. Heat has no effect on the production of electricity.

https://www.theecoexperts.co.uk/do-you-need-install-solar-panels-direct-sunlight
That's an odd quote, bordering on the misleading.

Light (any light) is photons, it doesn't 'contain photons'. The total energy flux of a light source on a surface is determined by the frequency of the light (its 'colour') and it's intensity (number of photons). Sunlight and daylight aren't special, they're just different photon intensities, with maybe a slightly different mix of frequencies.

Crudely, solar panels are tuned to a specific frequency of light, somewhere in the infrared from memory. Below this, no matter how intense the light, the panel won't generate any current. Above this frequency threshold, the current will increase as the intensity increases up to a limit imposed by the cell design.

Current is affected by heat, as solar panels become less efficient as they warm up. Managing heat dissipation can be an issue for some large installations.
 
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Dirk

If 6 Was 9
Location
Watchet
That's an odd quote, bordering on is misleading.

Light (any light) is photons, it doesn't 'contain photons'. The total energy flux of a light source on a surface is determined by the frequency of the light (its 'colour') and it's intensity (number of photons). Sunlight and daylight aren't special, they're just different photon intensities, with maybe a slightly different mix of frequencies.

Crudely, solar panels are tuned to a specific frequency of light, somewhere in the infrared from memory. Below this, no matter how intense the light, the panel won't generate any current. Above this frequency threshold, the current will increase as the intensity increases up to a limit imposed by the cell design.

Current is affected by heat, as solar panels become less efficient as they warm up. Managing heat dissipation can be an issue for some large installations.
Semantics.
I was merely trying to point out that solar panels do not need direct sunlight to produce electricity as @Dave 123 seemed to infer.
 

Dirk

If 6 Was 9
Location
Watchet
Semantics matter.

I think you read far too much into it TBH.
:tired:
 

pjd57

Veteran
Location
Glasgow
Nothing to do with bikes , but the cemetery near us now has loads of solar lights on graves. Spooky going by at night seeing them twinkling
 
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