Thus understanding insolation (the amount of energy that hits an area) is important in maximizing the output of solar panels which absorb and convert this energy. This is the case in photovoltaic cells used on solar panels. However in some cases, the incident energy can be absorbed and converted into another form of energy. Generally the absorbed solar radiation is converted to thermal energy, which causes the object to heat up. When solar radiation hits an object, some of the energy will be absorbed while the rest is reflected. For more information about why these values are so much lower than the incident 1367 W/m 2 click here The top image shows the insolation levels at the top of the atmosphere, the bottom image is solar insolation values at ground level. Two maps showing where solar insolation is the greatest. There are many factors that help determine how much sunlight actually reaches a given area, but some of them include sun angle, air mass, day length, cloud coverage, and pollution levels. After this reflection, a certain spot on the Earth might see almost all or almost none of this sunlight. Although 1367 W/m 2 of sunlight strikes the outer atmosphere, about 30% of it is reflected back into space. Not all of the solar energy that reaches the Earth actually reaches the surface of the Earth. Another form is watts per square meter (W/m 2) which represents the average amount of power hitting an area over an entire year. One unit is kilowatt-hours per square meter (kWh/m 2) per day which represents the average amount of energy hitting an area each day. Generally insolation is expressed two ways. Specifically, it is a measure of the solar energy that is incident on a specified area over a set period of time. Insolation is the incident solar radiation onto some object. This term is sometimes confused with insulation.
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