How many solar panels would Santa need for a sustainable sleigh ride?
5.56 million solar panels
How many solar panels would be needed to make Santa’s magical journey around the world sustainable? Of course, Santa likes to keep his magic ways secret and no one knows how fast his sleigh might really go, but we tried breaking it down using some estimates.
Santa’s sleigh is a bit of a mystery, but if he needs to zip around the world in one night, he’d be travelling at 77 kilometres per second.[1] That kind of speed would require around 10 million kilowatts (kW) of energy.[2]
An average solar panel produces about 400 watts (0.4 kW) per hour of direct sunlight, so assuming 4.5 hours of peak sunlight per day, one panel can generate about 1.8 kWh per day.
This means Santa would need approximately 5.56 million solar panels to power his sleigh for his trip around the world!
Of course, Santa’s workshop might not have room for a solar farm that big, but we like to imagine a sleigh powered by the sun, zooming across the sky and leaving behind nothing but twinkling starlight.
Happy holidays from Tribe!
[1] Assuming Santa has to travel about 10 million kilometres in 36 hours
[2] Brilliant Source Energy. How Much Energy Does Santa’s Sleigh Take to Fly?.
