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Home Solar Sheat 1500G/S Two-Pack Solar Collectors, Model# SH1500G-BL-2Pak 
Dual solar air collector system is designed to provide supplemental heat for rooms up to 1500 sq. ft. Includes Item#s 456300 and 456301. Requires no electrical connections and is completely self-powered. This system can help reduce your heating bill. Reduces about 3/4 ton of CO₂ greenhouse gases per year. Easy mounting on a south-facing wall or roof. Extruded aluminum construction with tempered glass panels. Each unit is 87in.L x 43in.W x 3.8in.D
Solar-Powered Floodlight
with Motion Sensor
Guards your home or RV against thieves and vandals. Solar floodlight uses the suns energy to power the two 10 watt bulbs at night — at no electrical cost to you! No wiring messes. Automatic temperature control reduces false triggering. Lights automatically turn off 1 1/2 minutes after motion stops.Senses motion up to 75ft. away and turns ONSolar panel has a 15ft. cord for easy mounting on the roof of your house or RV 6 volt system
with Motion Sensor
Guards your home or RV against thieves and vandals. Solar floodlight uses the suns energy to power the two 10 watt bulbs at night — at no electrical cost to you! No wiring messes. Automatic temperature control reduces false triggering. Lights automatically turn off 1 1/2 minutes after motion stops.Senses motion up to 75ft. away and turns ONSolar panel has a 15ft. cord for easy mounting on the roof of your house or RV 6 volt system
Sunforce Wireless
Solar Motion Light
“Guard your home, yard, garage or RV with 3 bright, long-lasting LEDs — without installing wires or plugging into an outlet! Amorphous solar panel collects sunlight during the day, even on cloudy days.Three adjustable controls (Darkness, Time and Sensitivity) activate the LEDs at nightProvides additional security and lighting to the most remote locationsWeather-resistant design for use anywhere outdoors”
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Solar Installation
Links to Solar Energy WebSites
The following is a list of links to Solar Energy Websites and Solar Product Recommendations. Suggest your favorite Solar Energy related links, and solar product recommendations; send them in an e-mail to –
Newest Solar Energy Links
Northern Industrial Tools High Wattage Solar Panels — 15 Watt
Solar-Powered Floodlight with Motion Sensor
Northern Industrial Solar Shed Light
BatteryMINDer Solar Charging System — 12 Volt, 15 Watt Panel, Model# SCC-015
Northern Industrial Tools Solar-Powered Trickle Charger — 5 Watt
Pre-screened contractors bid on your Solar project!
All kinds of Chicago fun at Mad Chicago.
A site dedicated to answering your computer security questions.
Free online computer troubleshooting service.
Help the Blind .com; dedicated to blind and low vision Internet users
Solar Powered
Solar Energy Photo Gallery
Photos and details of various Solar Applications.
Photovoltaics
Solar Heated Liquid
Example of Solar Panels powering a House
Example of Solar Panels Heating a House
Example of Solar Panels on a House
Detail of in Floor Solar Heat
Solar Panel for Powering a Business
Solar Panels come in Many Sizes
Solar for Business Applications
Off Shore Wind Turbines
Solar Powered Space Station
Residential Rooftop System
First Solar Powered Church (Switzerland
Contacts
Solar Energy Industry Contacts
Here’s where you can learn more about the broader issues; voice your opinion on the current topic; and take part in a discussion today that could help shape the world’s energy needs for tomorrow.
Solar Light
Solar Lighting
Research at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is leading to new, highly energy-efficient ways of lighting buildings using the power of sunlight. This new technology, called Hybrid Solar Lighting, (HSL) uses sunlight to simultaneously light interior spaces and generate electricity. Hybrid solar lighting makes better use of the sun in its natural form and focuses on the energy consumed by electric lights; the largest consumer of electricity in commercial buildings. Electric lighting represents more than a third of the electricity consumed for commercial use in the United States. HSL uses a special collector to focus natural, full-spectrum sunlight into optical cables while simultaneously converting otherwise wasted infrared energy into electricity. The optical cables then deliver the full-spectrum sunlight to the light fixtures throughout a building. HSL converts sunlight to electricity much more efficiently than conventional solar technologies. In solar lighting and power systems, roof-mounted concentrators collect sunlight and distribute it through the optical fibers and to hybrid lighting fixtures inside the building. A HSL system can produce electricity for supplemental lighting too.
Solar Lighting in Use
There are currently two proposed applications for hybrid solar lighting systems.
Hybrid lighting systems are being developed for use in commercial buildings to displace electric lighting, which consumes a large portion of electricity in commercial buildings.
Researchers are investigating the use of HSL as a key component in new hybrid solar photobioreactors that sequester carbon through enhanced photosynthetic-based bio-processing at power plants.
Solar Lighting Research and Development
HSL doesn’t waste any of the sunlight it collects. It collects the visible portion of sunlight and delivers into the building providing interior lighting, then the remaining (invisible) part of the sunlight is used to generate electricity. Besides converting sunlight into electricity, HSL collectors concentrate sunlight into flexible optical fibers. Sunlight is then routed into buildings using these flexible cables. The sunlight is then combined with electric light in specially designed “hybrid” light fixtures. The natural and electric light sources work together to illuminate the inside of a building. Lighting controls automatically reduce the amount of electric light used in accordance with the amount of sunlight available. In addition to being more efficient than commercially available solar options, hybrid solar lighting brings highly preferred, full-spectrum sunlight inside buildings. Full-spectrum sunlight is preferred over incandescent or fluorescent light because it can help realize performance and health benefits for people of all ages The remaining “invisible” energy in the sunlight, mostly infrared radiation, is directed to a concentrating thermo-photovoltaic cell that very efficiently converts infrared radiation into electricity. The resulting electric power can be directed to other uses in the building. The overall affordability of solar energy could be doubled or tripled using this new hybrid approach. There is a multidisciplinary R&D effort under way consisting of several industrial and university partners. Compared to earlier light collection systems for solar lighting applications in buildings and photobioreactors, the proposed hybrid collector design provides several advantages:
Fewer, easily assembled, system components integrated into a smaller, less costly, and more compact design configurations
Improved IR heat removal and management
Improved optical fiber placement and articulation (bundled and pivoted on a radial axis)
A longer optical path for light and lower entrance angles for visible light entering large-core optical fibers. This results in much lower overall transmission losses in the accompanying light delivery system
Centrally-concentrated IR radiation, allowing for convenient implementation of IR-TPVs
Solar Heat
Glossary of Solar Heating terms -
Absorber The blackened surface in a collector that absorbs the solar radiation and converts it to heat energy.
Absorptance The ratio of solar energy absorbed by a surface to the solar energy striking it.
Active System A solar heating or cooling system that requires external mechanical power to move the collected heat.
Air System Solar domestic hot water systems employing air-type collectors are available. Hot air generated by these collectors is fan forced through an air-to-liquid heat exchanger with the potable water being pumped through the liquid section of the exchanger. The heated water is then circulated through the storage tank in a similar fashion to the liquid collector system. Air does not need to be protected from freezing or boiling, is non-corrosive, and is free. However, air ducts and air handling units require greater space than piping, and air leaks are difficult to detect.
Air-Type Collector A collector that uses air as the heat transfer fluid.
Altitude The angular distance from the horizon to the sun.
Ambient Temperature The temperature of the surrounding air.
ASHRAE Abbreviation for the American Society of Heating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
Auxiliary Heat The extra heat provided by a conventional heating system for periods of
cloudiness or intense cold when a solar heating system cannot provide enough.
Azimuth The angular distance between true south and the point on the horizon directly below the sun.
British Thermal Unit (BTU) The quantity of heat needed to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.
Calorie The quantity of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree Celsius.
Coefficient of Heat Transmission The rate of heat loss in BTU per hour through a square foot wall or other building surface when the difference between indoor and outdoor air temperatures is one degree Fahrenheit.
Collector A device that collects solar radiation and converts it to heat.
Collector Efficiency The ratio of usable heat energy extracted from a collector to the solar energy striking the cover.
Concentrating Collector A device which concentrates the sun’s rays on an absorber surface which is significantly smaller than the overall collector area.
Conductance The rate of heat flow (in BTUs per hour) through an object when a 1° F. temperature difference is maintained between the sides of the object.
Conduction The flow of heat due to temperature variations within a material.
Conductivity A measure of the ability of a material to permit conduction of heat flow through it.
Convection The motion of fluid such as gas or liquid by which heat may be transported.
Cover Plate A sheet of glass or transparent plastic placed above the absorber in a flat plate collector.
Degree Day A unit that represents a 1 degree F. deviation from some fixed reference point (usually 65°F.) in the mean daily outdoor temperature.
Design Heat Load The total heat loss from a house under the most severe winter conditions likely to occur.
Design Temperature The temperature close to the lowest expected for a location, used to determine the design heat load.
Diffuse Radiation Indirect sunlight that is scattered from air molecules, dust and water vapor.
Direct Radiation Solar radiation that comes straight from the sun, casting shadows on a clear day.
Drain down System Potable water is circulated from the storage tank through the collector loop. Freeze protection is provided by solenoid valves opening and dumping the water at a preset low temperature. Collectors and piping must be pitched so that the system can drain down, and must be assembled carefully to withstand 100 psi. city water line pressures. Pressure reducing valves are recommended when city water pressure is greater than the working pressure of the system.
Drain back System The solar heat transfer fluid automatically drains into a tank by gravity. Drain back systems are available in one or two tank configurations. A heat exchanger is necessary, because the city inlet pressure would prevent draining. The heat transfer fluid in the collector loop may be distilled or city water if the loop plumbing is copper. If the plumbing is threaded galvanized pipe, inhibitors may be added to prevent corrosion. Most inhibitors are non-potable and require a double wall heat exchanger. The pump used must be sized to overcome static head.
Emittance A measure of the propensity of a material to emit thermal radiation.
Eutectic Salts A group of materials that melt at low temperatures, absorbing large quantities of heat.
Flat Plate Collector A solar collection device in which sunlight is converted into heat on a plane surface without the aid of reflecting surfaces to concentrate the rays.
Forced Convection The transfer of heat by the flow of fluids (such as air or water) driven by fans, blowers or pumps.
Galvanic Corrosion A condition caused as a result of a conducting liquid making contact with two different metal which are not properly isolated physically and/or electrically.
Getters A column or cartridge containing an active metal which will be sacrificed to protect some other metal in the system against galvanic corrosion.
Glaubers Salt Sodium sulfate a eutectic salt that melts at 90°F. and absorbs about 104 Btu per pound as it does so.
Gravity Convection The natural movement of heat that occurs when a warm fluid rises and a cool fluid sinks under the influence of gravity.
Headers The pipe that runs across the edge of an array of solar collectors, gathering or distributing the heat transfer fluid from, or to the risers in the individual collectors. This insures that equal flow rates and pressure are maintained.
Heat Capacity A property of a material denoting its ability to absorb heat.
Heat Exchanger A device, such as a coiled copper tube immersed in a tank of water, that is used to transfer heat from one fluid to another through a separating wall.
Heat Storage A device or medium that absorbs collected solar heat and stores it for use during periods of inclement or cold weather.
Heat Storage Capacity The amount of heat which can be stored by a material.
Heating Season The period from early fall to late spring (in the northern hemisphere) during which additional heat is needed to keep a house comfortable for its occupants.
Heat Pump A mechanical device that transfers heat from one medium to another, thereby cooling the first and warming the second.
Heat Sink A medium or container to which heat flows.
Heat Source A medium or container from which heat flows.
Hybrid Solar Energy System A system that uses both active and passive methods in its operation.
Indirect System A solar heating or cooling system in which the solar heat is collected exterior to the building and transferred inside using ducts or piping and, usually fans or ducts.
Infrared Radiation Electromagnetic radiation from the sun that has wavelengths slightly longer than visible light.
Insolation The total amount of solar radiation direct, diffused and reflected-striking a surface exposed to the sky.
Insulation A material with high resistance (R-value) to heat flow.
Langley A measure of solar radiation; equal to one calorie per square centimeter.
Liquid Type Collector A collector using a liquid as the heat transfer fluid.
Natural Convection See Gravity Convection.
Nocturnal Cooling The cooling of a building or heat storage device by the radiation of excess heat into the night sky.
One-Tank Closed-Loop System A conventional DHW tank, usually electrically heated, is converted to a solar DHW storage tank by installing an external heat exchanger coil. The lower electrical element is removed, leaving the uppermost of the usual two elements to provide auxiliary water heating and to achieve good stratification (layering of hotter water over progressively colder water).
Open System Some part of the System is open to the atmosphere, or system contains fresh or changeable water.
Passive System A solar heating or cooling system that uses no external mechanical power to move the collected solar heat.
Percentage of Possible Sunshine The percentage of daytime hours during which there is enough direct solar radiation to cast a shadow.
Photosynthesis The conversion of solar energy to chemical energy, by the action of chlorophyll in plants and algae.
Photovoltaic Cells Semi conductor devices that convert solar energy into electricity.
Pyranometer An instrument for measuring solar radiation.
Radiant Panels Panels with integral passages for the flow of warm fluids, either air or liquids. Heat from the fluid is conducted through the metal and transferred to the rooms by thermal radiation.
Radiation The flow of energy through open space via electromagnetic waves, such as visible light.
Reflected Radiation Sunlight that is reflected from surrounding trees, terrain or buildings onto a surface exposed to the sky.
Refrigerant A liquid such as Freon that is use in cooling devices to absorb heat from surrounding air or liquids as it evaporates.
Resistance, or R Value The tendency of a material to retard the flow of heat.
Retrofitting The application of a solar heating or cooling system to an existing building.
Risers The flow channels or pipes that distribute the heat transfer liquid across the face of an absorber.
Seasonal Efficiency The ratio, over an entire heating season, of solar energy collected and used to the solar energy striking the collector.
Selective Surface A surface that absorbs radiation of one wavelength (for example, sunlight) but emits little radiation of another wavelength (for example, infrared); used as a coating for absorber plates.
Shading Coefficient The ratio of the solar heat gain through a specific glazing system to the total solar heat gain through a single layer of clear double-strength glass.
Solar Constant The average intensity of solar radiation reaching the earth outside the atmosphere; accounting to two langleys or 1.94 gram-calories per square centimeter, equal to 442.4 BTU/hr/ft.², or 1395 watts/m².
Solar Radiation (Solar Energy) Electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sun.
Solar Rights A legal issue concerning the right of access to sunlight.
Specific Heat The quantity of heat, in BTU, needed to raise the temperature of one pound of a material 1°F.
Standby Heat Loss Heat lost though storage tank and piping walls.
Sun Path Diagram A circular projection of the sky vault, similar to a map, that can be used to determine solar positions and to calculate shading.
Thermal Capacity The quantity of heat needed to warm a collector up to its operating temperature.
Thermal Mass or Thermal Inertia The tendency of a building with large quantities of heavy materials to remain at the same temperature or to fluctuate only very slowly; also the overall heat storage capacity of the building.
Thermal Radiation Electromagnetic radiation emitted by a warm body.
Thermistor Sensing device which changes its electrical resistance according to temperature. Used in the control system to generate input data on collector and storage temperatures.
Thermosyphoning The process that makes water circulate automatically between a warm collector and a cooler storage tank above it. (See Gravity Convection).
Tilt Angle The angle that a flat plate collector surface forms with the horizontal plane.
Trickle Type Collector A collector in which the heat transfer liquid flows through metal tubes which are fastened to the absorber plate by solder, clamps or other means. (See Collector).
Tube-in-Plate-Absorber A metal absorber plate in which the heat transfer fluid flows through passages formed in the plate itself.
Tube-Type Collector A collector in which the heat transfer fluid flows through metal tubes that are fastened to the absorber plate with solder, clamps or other means. (See Collector).
Ultraviolet Radiation Electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths slightly shorter than visible light.
Photovoltaics
Photovoltaic Basics
How is electricity is produced by a photovoltaic — what we often call a PV or solar electric — system? To help you understand, SolarFAQs.com covers the basics of PV technology, which includes the underlying physics, how various PV devices are designed and become fully functional systems, and what’s happening today in PV research and development.
The Solar Energy Technologies Program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its partners are adding to our fundamental knowledge and expertise in this area while improving the technologies that put the abundant energy of sunlight to work for us.
PV Physics
What is meant by the word photovoltaics? First used in about 1890, the word has two parts: photo, derived from the Greek word for light, and volt, relating to electricity pioneer Alessandro Volta. So, photovoltaics could literally be translated as light-electricity. And that’s what photovoltaic (PV) materials and devices do — they convert light energy into electrical energy (Photoelectric Effect), as French physicist Edmond Becquerel discovered as early as 1839. Commonly known as solar cells, individual PV cells are electricity-producing devices made of semiconductor materials. PV cells come in many sizes and shapes — from smaller than a postage stamp to several inches across. They are often connected together to form PV modules that may be up to several feet long and a few feet wide. Modules, in turn, can be combined and connected to form PV arrays of different sizes and power output. The size of an array depends on several factors, such as the amount of sunlight available in a particular location and the needs of the consumer. The modules of the array make up the major part of a PV system, which can also include electrical connections, mounting hardware, power-conditioning equipment, and batteries that store solar energy for use when the sun isn’t shining. PV systems are already an important part of our lives. Today, PV systems provide power for many calculators and wristwatches. More complicated systems provide power for communications satellites, water pumps, and the lights, appliances, and machines in some people’s homes and workplaces. Many road and traffic signs along highways are now powered by PV. In many cases, PV power is the least expensive form of electricity for performing these tasks.
PV Devices
Photovoltaic devices can be made from various types of semiconductor materials, deposited or arranged in various structures, to produce solar cells that have optimal performance. The three main types of materials used for solar cells are—
PV Systems
A photovoltaic (PV) or solar cell is the basic building block of a PV (or solar electric) system. An individual PV cell is usually quite small, typically producing about 1 or 2 watts of power. To boost the power output of PV cells, we connect them together to form larger units called modules. Modules, in turn, can be connected to form even larger units called arrays, which can be interconnected to produce more power, and so on. In this way, we can build PV systems able to meet almost any electric power need, whether small or large. PV systems can be classified into two general categories: flat-plate systems or concentrator systems. We will talk about the differences between these two types of systems later on. By themselves, modules or arrays do not represent an entire PV system. We also need structures to put them on that point them toward the sun, and components that take the direct-current electricity produced by modules and “condition” that electricity, usually by converting it to alternate-current electricity. We might also want to store some electricity, usually in batteries, for later use. All these items are referred to as the “balance of system” (BOS) components. Combining modules with the BOS components creates an entire PV system. This system is usually everything we need to meet a particular energy demand, such as powering a water pump, or the appliances and lights in a home, or, if the PV system is large enough, all the electrical requirements of a whole community.
Energy Payback Times for Photovoltaic Technologies
Energy payback time (EPBT) is the length of deployment required for a photovoltaic system to generate an amount of energy equal to the total energy that went into its production. Roof-mounted photovoltaic systems have impressively low energy payback times, as documented by recent (year 2004) engineering studies. The value of EPBT is dependent on three factors: (i) the conversion efficiency of the photovoltaic system; (ii) the amount of illumination (insolation) that the system receives (about 1700 kWh/m2/yr average for southern Europe and about 1800 kWh/m2/yr average for the United States); and (iii) the manufacturing technology that was used to make the photovoltaic (solar) cells.
With respect to the third factor, i.e., manufacturing technology, there are three generic approaches for manufacturing commercial solar cells. The most common approach is to process discrete cells on wafers sawed from silicon ingots. Ingots can be either single-crystal or multicrystalline. However, in either case, the growing and sawing of ingots is a highly energy intensive process. A more recent approach which saves energy is to process discrete cells on silicon wafers cut from multicrystalline ribbons. The third approach involves the deposition of thin layers of non-crystalline-silicon materials on inexpensive substrates. It is the least energy intensive of the three generic manufacturing approaches for commercial photovoltaics. This last group of technologies includes amorphous silicon cells deposited on stainless-steel ribbon, cadmium telluride (CdTe) cells deposited on glass, and copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) alloy cells deposited on either glass or stainless steel substrates.
Recent research has established battery-free, grid-tied EPBT system values for several (year 2004-early 2005) photovoltaic module technologies (see Table 1). In Table 1, the values in the last column are the reciprocals of the respective values in the third column. It is seen that, even for the most energy intensive of these four common photovoltaic technologies, the energy required for producing the system does not exceed 10% of the total energy generated by the system during its anticipated operational lifetime. Future research will extend the table to include amorphous silicon and CIGS alloys.
Table 1. System Energy Payback Times for Several Different Photovoltaic Module Technologies.
(1700 kWh/m2/yr insolation and 75% performance ratio for the system compared to the module.)
| Cell Technology | Energy Payback Time (EPBT)1 (yr) | Energy Used to Produce System Compared to Total Generated Energy 2 (%) |
Total Energy Generated by System Divided by Amount of Energy Used to Produce System2 |
| Single-crystal silicon | 2.7 | 10.0 | 10 |
| Non-ribbon multicrystalline silicon | 2.2 | 8.1 | 12 |
| Ribbon multicrystalline silicon | 1.7 | 6.3 | 16 |
| Cadmium telluride | 1.0 | 3.7 | 27 |
1. V. Fthenakis and E. Alsema, “Photovoltaics energy payback times, greenhouse gas emissions and external costs: 2004-early 2005 status,” Progress in Photovoltaics, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 275-280, 2006.
2. Assumes 30-year period of performance and 80% maximum rated power at end of lifetime.
Concentrating Power
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) researches and develops a clean, large-scale solar thermal technology known as concentrating solar power (CSP). This research and development (R&D) focuses on three types of CSP technologies: trough systems, dish/engine systems, and power towers. These technologies are used in CSP plants that use different kinds of mirror configurations to convert the sun’s energy into high-temperature heat. The heat energy is then used to generate electricity in a steam generator.
CSP’s relatively low cost and ability to deliver power during periods of peak demand when and where we need it mean that CSP can be a major contributor to the nation’s future needs for distributed sources of energy.
DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Program works in CSP R&D to provide clean, reliable, affordable solar thermal electricity for the nation. Sunlab is a collaboration of Sandia National Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, two of DOE’s premier renewable-energy research facilities. The program’s goal is to ensure that solar thermal technologies like CSP make an important contribution to the world’s growing need for energy.
Solar Dish-Engine System
This solar dish-engine system is an electric generator that “burns” sunlight instead of gas or coal to produce electricity. The dish, a concentrator, is the primary solar component of the system, collecting the energy coming directly from the sun and concentrating it on a small area. A thermal receiver absorbs the concentrated beam of solar energy, converts it to heat, and transfers the heat to the engine/generator. (Credit: Sandia National Laboratories)
Solar Thermal Power Plant
This solar thermal power plant located in the Mojave Desert in Kramer Junction, California, is one of nine such plants built in the 1980s. During operation, oil in the receiver tubes collects the concentrated solar energy as heat and is pumped to a power block (in background) for generating electricity.
Home Solar Sheat 1500G/S Two-Pack Solar Collectors, Model# SH1500G-BL-2Pak
Dual solar air collector system is designed to provide supplemental heat for rooms up to 1500 sq. ft. Includes Item#s 456300 and 456301. Requires no electrical connections and is completely self-powered. This system can help reduce your heating bill. Reduces about 3/4 ton of CO₂ greenhouse gases per year. Easy mounting on a south-facing wall or roof. Extruded aluminum construction with tempered glass panels. Each unit is 87in.L x 43in.W x 3.8in.D
Solar FAQs
Solar FAQ’s
Find the answers to your solar energy questions!
Check out the archive here–
Solar Energy frequently asked questions to get the facts on Solar Energy savings!
This site is loaded with answers to the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to the four solar technologies: Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, Solar Heating and Solar Lighting. Each technology is broken down into different categories to make it easier for you to search. If you can’t find your answers here, please contact us so we can help you or go to the Industry Contacts page to do more research.
Concentrating Solar Power
What is CSP?
How and where is CSP used?
Why should I use CSP?
What are the cost issues?
Concentrating Solar Power FAQs
Concentrating solar power technologies use reflective materials such as mirrors to concentrate the sun’s energy. This concentrated heat energy is then converted into electricity.
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