Distance of OX-Stat-PD Photovoltaic Panel

[Wcmille]

Does the distance of the OX-Stat-PD Photovoltaic Panel produce the same amount of Power Units, regardless of its distance from Kerbol?

[Zhetaan]

8 hours ago, Wcmille said:

Does the distance of the OX-Stat-PD Photovoltaic Panel produce the same amount of Power Units, regardless of its distance from Kerbol?

No.  The power production falls off with the square of the distance, as it does in reality.

Electric charge production is also affected by the panel's orientation, naturally, its temperature, and whether it is an atmosphere.  This means that a solar panel that is close to the sun will produce less electricity than the inverse-square intensity calculation would predict because the increased temperature reduces its efficiency and partly offsets the increased insolation.  It doesn't completely negate the effect of solar intensity--panels closer to the sun will still produce more EC--but it can be important to know if you want to have a solar-powered station or something operating in that volume of space.

This also means that a panel on Kerbin's surface will produce less than one in space at Kerbin's orbit.  Keep that in mind if you want to use solar at Eve.

Edited September 28, 2021 by Zhetaan

[Streetwind]

@Zhetaan He's asking specifically about the Breaking Ground surface deployed solar panel, which does not generate EC. It just generates power for one connected device, or more than one, depending on the level of the deploying engineer.

I've never gotten around to put any of them down outside the Kerbin system, mostly because by the time my first mission to another celestial body arrives at its destination, I've already long since unlocked the whole tech tree. So I don't actually know the answer.

@Wcmille Your quickest way to finding out is probably cheating a vessel with the parts in question to Eeloo and seeing what you get.

[AHHans]

10 hours ago, Wcmille said:

Does the distance of the OX-Stat-PD Photovoltaic Panel produce the same amount of Power Units, regardless of its distance from Kerbol?

Yes, it does. The amount of power that the OX-Stat-PD does not depend on the celestial body it is placed on. (Yes, yes, it doesn't make sense. Just go with it.)

[Zhetaan]

On 9/28/2021 at 9:35 AM, Streetwind said:

@Zhetaan He's asking specifically about the Breaking Ground surface deployed solar panel, which does not generate EC. It just generates power for one connected device, or more than one, depending on the level of the deploying engineer.

Good catch.  I don't have Breaking Ground, so I missed it.