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Does temperature affect the received solar energy? Does it matter if it is hot or cold as long as there is the same amount of sun energy?
Question Date: 2007-03-29
Answer 1:

It depends on the temperature of what you're talking about. Also, how are you receiving the solar energy? Solar cells? Photosynthesis? It all depends. If you mean how cold or hot it is outside and the amount of solar energy you receive, that depends. It's colder outside in the winter because we receive less solar energy in our region. However, it's summer in the southern hemisphere of the earth when it's winter in ours, since they're getting more direct sunlight (we get only glancing sunlight, due to the tilt in the earth's axis). If you're asking about how solar cells receive energy, temperature does matter. They use semi-conductors, and if there's a marked temperature difference in the semi-conductor, it affects the conductive properties and how much we can usefully get out of a solar cell (although not how much the sun provides). I hope Ive covered your question, but I guess I don't really understand exactly what you're asking. If you want to ask again, submit your question with a few more details, and hopefully I can answer!


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