Does Temperature Affect Solar Panel Efficiency

Install factors like how close the panels are installed to the roof can impact the typical heat of your solar system.

Does temperature affect solar panel efficiency.

Many of our customers in massachusetts want to know exactly how changes in heat can affect solar panel performance. As the temperature of the solar panel increases its output current increases exponentially while the voltage output is reduced linearly. Even though the strength and duration of sunlight matters more temperature also plays a large role in your solar panels efficiency. The decrease in the band gap of a semiconductor with increasing temperature can be viewed as increasing the energy of the electrons in the material.

How heat affects solar panel efficiency. For example when the temperature coefficient is minus 0 5 percent it means that efficiency decreases by 0 5 percent for every degree above 25 c or every 33 8 degrees above 77 f. 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. The amount of energy produced by a solar panel is calculated by multiplying the current and the voltage.

Common sense might indicate that since solar panels rely on sunlight to function warmer air would help solar panels run more efficiently or with more power but that s not the case. Solar panels are tested at 25 c 77 f under the standard test condition stc and thus going beyond that temperature affects energy output. The energy production efficiency of solar panels drops when the panel reaches hot temperatures. However solar panels can get as hot as 65 c 149 f at which point solar cell efficiency will be hindered.

Suppose your solar panel has a rating temperature coefficient rating as 0 5 then for every one degree rise in the temperature the solar panel efficiency decreases by 0 5. Like all other semiconductor devices solar cells are sensitive to temperature. Solar panels are generally tested at about 77 f and are rated to perform at peak efficiency between 59 f and 95 f. The temperature coefficient tells us the rate of how much will solar panel efficiency drop when the temperature will rise by one degree celsius 33 8 f.

It may seem counter intuitive but solar panel efficiency is affected negatively by temperature increases. Although solar panels use sunlight to produce energy they do not require heat in any way. Increases in temperature reduce the band gap of a semiconductor thereby effecting most of the semiconductor material parameters. While an increase in heat doesn t affect the amount of solar energy a solar panel receives it does affect how much energy they output.

How hot air affects your solar panels.