Do Solar Panels Work Better In Hot Weather

Although they work better on sunny versus cloudy days solar panels don t work best in particularly hot climates. But there s an interesting twist. Solar panels work by using incoming photons to excite electrons in a semiconductor to a higher energy level.

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Because of this solar panels work better in certain areas than others.

Do solar panels work better in hot weather.

At that point for every degree increase in temperature above 77 degrees a solar panel loses efficiency by the rate of its temperature coefficient. The energy production efficiency of solar panels drops when the panel reaches hot temperatures. In fact overly hot climates can cause solar panels to overheat. On the other hand if the weather is pleasant the run will be more effective.

Photovoltaic modules are tested at a temperature of 25 degrees c stc about 77 degrees f and depending on their installed location heat can reduce output efficiency by 10 25. It s almost like asking a person to run 5 miles in hot weather conditions. Surprisingly they perform worse as the temperature rises. Most likely the person will end up sweaty tired and dehydrated.

In fact solar panel output begins to fall if the temperature rises above 77 degrees fahrenheit 25 degrees celsius. It turns out that you might get your best solar energy output in the spring and not the summer as you might think. Generally solar panels don t begin to lose efficiency until their temperature rises to 77 degrees. But the hotter the panel is the greater the number of electrons that are already in the excited state.

Impact of different weather on solar panels most solar panels are built to handle a wide range of climates and conditions including heavy rain hail wind heat and cold. It may seem counter intuitive but solar panel efficiency is affected negatively by temperature increases. So very hot weather isn t the best condition for them. Cells work because of electrical processes but those processes can become sluggish or inefficient when the panels get hot.

This reduces the voltage that the panel can generate and lowers its efficiency. Panasonic s efficiency rate is 21 6. In fact many solar panels demonstrate better output when the weather is a little chilly outside. This is because that solar panels produce less electricity when it s hot.

Time to do some math. This is good news for areas that are impacted by storms rain and snow. We may assume that solar panels thrive in hot sunny weather but too much heat can actually reduce solar panel output 10 25. This is a well known phenomenon and you will see it listed in the specifications on your solar panel datasheet.