How many watts of solar energy is one trillion

How much solar energy does the Earth use a year?

A total of 173,000 terawatts (trillions of watts) of solar energy strikes the Earth continuously. That's more than 10,000 times the world's total energy use. And that energy is completely renewable — at least, for the lifetime of the sun. "It's finite, but we're talking billions of years," Taylor says.

How many terawatts of energy can a solar system generate?

Taylor says. Solar thermal systems covering 10 percent of the world's deserts — about 1.5 percent of the planet's total land area — could generate about 15 terawatts of energy, given a total efficiency of 2 percent. This amount is roughly equal to the projected growth in worldwide energy demand over the next half-century.

How much energy does a solar panel generate?

The most efficient solar panels on the market convert approximately 22% of solar irradiance to electrical energy. This means that, averaged over an entire 24 hour cycle, the solar electric power which could be generated is 73 W/m 2, which is approximately 5% of the solar constant.

How much solar power does a house need?

To put that number in perspective, the Solar Energy Industries Association (a U.S. trade association) calculates that on average 1 megawatt of solar power generates enough electricity to meet the needs of 164 U.S. homes. Is 200MW a lot? 200MW is 2 million good old 100W bulbs. The plant can light them anytime, for as long as you want.

How many Watts Does the Sun produce per square metre?

It has a value of 1,361 watts per square metre (W/m 2). In fact, the output of the Sun is variable and fluctuates by 0.1% around this value. The total energy hitting the Earth in one hour (in watt-hours) is

How much energy hits the Earth in one hour?

The total energy hitting the Earth in one hour (in watt-hours) is solar constant x surface area of Earth-sized disc 1 361 W/m 2 x 1.2748 x 10 14 m 2 = 1.73 x 10 17 watt-hours. This is often expressed as 173,000 terawatt hours (TWh), where 1 terawatt is 1 trillion (1,000,000,000,000) watts