[BatFastard]

Does converting sunlight to electricity reduce the amount of heat absorbed by the earth? If so, how many solar panels would be required to reduce the temp by 1 degree?

[lcvw]

No because when the electricity is used it creates heat.

[BatFastard]

Heat is just a frequency in the spectrum right? What percent of emissions in an LED comes out as infrared?

[mallets]

All will be heat after X amount of time. Where the X can be a few seconds or decades or centuries.

The more interesting thing would be the light reflected by the panels (albedo factor). This could be lower or higher than the surface these panels are placed on.

[pfdietz]

Also, the emittance of the panels at thermal wavelengths is important. What you want is a panel that converts wavelengths shorter than the bandgap cutoff at high efficiency, reflects near and mid IR at longer wavelengths, but has high emissivity in the far IR at wavelengths where the atmosphere isn't too opaque.

[morepork]

Depending on the surface being covered it may actually increase the heat. Any electricity produced will eventually become heat. Solar panels will absorb more heat than surfaces with a high albedo where a lot is reflected back into space.