Last time's answers:

3. The most commonly used element in a solar panel is silicon.

4. False! The surface of a solar panel is not cooler than the air around it when it is generating power. They actually get really hot, so you don't want to touch!

Today's questions are:

5. What type of current does a conventional solar panel produce?

• Alternating current (AC)
• Direct current (DC)
• Photovoltaic current (PVC)
• No current
• None of the above

6. To test a solar panel before installing it on your roof, your friendly neighborhood Run on Sun solar installer will do what?

• Light it on fire to see if it will burn
• Put it in a pool to see if it will float
• Measure its output using an ohm meter
• Measure its output using a volt meter
• None of the above

The previous answers:

1. A typical solar panel weighs as much as a medium size dog.

2. When working on a severely steeped roof, your friendly neighborhood Run on Sun solar installer wears a harness.

Today's questions are:

3. The most commonly used element in a solar panel is...

• Silicon
• Uranium
• Tin
• Antimony
• None of the above

4. True or False: The surface of a solar panel is cooler than the air around it when it is generating power.

• True
• False

1. Stephanie - 2/2 correct

Remember, that even if you haven't tried yet, you can start with the new questions today. You still have a chance! Please participate!

There will be ten questions in all, and each question right adds ten points to your score. Two questions will be posted every Wednesday and Saturday. This will give you a few days to answer, each time. But, make sure to post your answer by my next post, or you won’t get a chance to earn points that week because I will be posting people’s rankings to help keep track and the answers to the previous two questions.

If you come in late (let’s say you miss this post and the next), you can still participate but you cannot earn the points you already missed.

I will ask you not to use Google because most of the information can be found on the Run on Sun website. If you download the Run on Sun Alexa toolbar here, you can search the website, along with some other cool features.

Post your answers in the comments section, please.

Alright, begin! And good luck!

1. A typical solar panel weighs as much as…

• A small car
• A small house
• A medium size dog
• A gigantic goldfish
• None of the above

2. When working on a severely steep roof, your friendly neighborhood Run on Sun solar installer wears…

• A bikini
• Chain mail armor
• A tuxedo
• A harness
• None of the above

To finally destroy the myth of solar panels being very fragile, look at this image on the left. Solar panels are actually strong enough that you could stand on them. I wouldn’t recommend this, though, because you could slip, fall, and hurt yourself easily. Don’t try this at home!

Don’t solar panels wear out in less than a decade? FALSE. Solar modules have performance warranties of twenty or twenty-five years, and guarantee 80% of its original power by the end of that time. If that isn’t crazy enough (for that is more years than I have lived, and maybe more than some of my readers), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (also known as NREL) has panels that have been working for over forty years!

So solar panels are stronger than we thought, even ones made many years ago…still working today.

Behold this marvelous video!

This was what was running through my head at the time: Eesh, that's a hailstone? It is gigantic. Oh no, don't hit the solar panel! What? The panel isn't broken? Not damaged in the least? I don't even see any cracks or anything. Wow, that's really cool. Oh yes, let's watch it again.

The truth of the matter is that solar panels are tested to withstand the impact of a one inch hailstone at  60 mph without any damage. The Conergy panels, offered by Run on Sun, are the ones you saw in this video. The video shows that the Conergy panels were recently certified to withstand a 55 mm (about two and a quarter inches) hailstone going at speeds of 120 km/hr (74.5 mph).

If you aren't already amazed, just stay tuned for the next post! This myth will be put under wraps.

Now I have a big heads up: someone is indeed reading my blog and, wonderfully, is liking it! KACO new energy is one of the biggest inverter makers. Today, their blog featured me in their most recent post, accessible here. I am honored to be featured by such a forward-looking company. Their whole commitment is to creating solar PV inverters whose production is carbon neutral.That is really cool.

Thank you, KACO!