The Untapped Potential of Solar Panels: A Research Paper to Make Electricity More Affordable and Environmentally-Friendly

Tejas Chinni

Abstract

With the innovation of solar panels, many homes around the world can now make electricity at their own house, saving them money and reducing harmful carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere. But there are still ways to increase the productivity of solar panels, along with all the benefits they bring. My solution to this issue is a new electricity billing plan that uses predicted weather data and average electricity consumption in California, the state I live in, to predict days in which solar energy is high. During these days, the model will send a notification out to customers, telling them that electricity prices will be decreased during certain times of the day because of excess electricity produced by solar panels. This allows customers to put off high-electricity activities such as washing clothes when electricity is cheaper, saving them money and using more solar panel generated electricity than before. The data I used in this research paper includes Accuweather’s weather forecasts, PG&E’s electricity data, and various other sources to calculate solar panel production. Using this plan, we can greatly increase solar panel productivity, reduce electricity costs, and reduce harmful greenhouse gasses contributing to the never-ending climate change.