Solar panels as heaters.

Author	Message
phil99 Guru Joined: 11/02/2018 Location: Australia Posts: 3321	Posted: 11:07pm 21 Jun 2023       An interesting idea. From a thermal perspective input could go way over the normal output. In normal use if a panel is 20% efficient the other 80% of the solar input is turned to heat, so I guess they could take 4 times as much. However how much current the cells can handle I don't know. Current regulation may be needed as the cells are forward biased diodes with a negative temp. coefficient. A constant voltage supply could result in thermal runaway. If the cells are in a single series string it should work with a single current regulator. If there are multiple strings each may need its own regulator.