{"id":21842,"date":"2019-05-20T10:17:46","date_gmt":"2019-05-20T04:47:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greenworldinvestor.com\/?p=21842"},"modified":"2019-05-20T10:17:46","modified_gmt":"2019-05-20T04:47:46","slug":"are-solar-panels-effective-in-the-cold-weather","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iiec-india.org\/greenworld\/2019\/05\/20\/are-solar-panels-effective-in-the-cold-weather\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Solar Panels Effective in The Cold Weather"},"content":{"rendered":"

Solar energy is gaining more recognition from customers across the globe. Solar panels are the best form of making use of solar energy. The Solar Industry Research Data (<\/span>SEIA<\/span><\/a>) predicts that the growth rate of solar power would exceed 12 GW in 2019. The number of homes and commercial spaces that are installing solar panels is growing every year. <\/span><\/p>\n

However:<\/span><\/p>\n

There are still some misconceptions about solar panels, their working, and maintenance. <\/span><\/p>\n

The main advantage of solar energy is that it is <\/span>clean <\/b>and can be safely suited for <\/span>domestic purposes<\/b>. There are many customers who are even producing surplus solar power and exporting back to the grid and making a sizeable amount of money too. <\/span><\/p>\n

Hence, it is important that customers understand the do\u2019s and don\u2019ts associated with solar panels. As you move ahead in this post, you will understand the working of solar panels in cold weather. <\/span><\/p>\n

How do solar panels work?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Before digging deep into the working of solar panels in cold weather, let us have a brief discussion on how solar panels work. Solar panels are made of dark-colored cells that absorb sunlight to the maximum and generate electrical power to meet domestic and commercial needs. <\/span><\/p>\n

When light falls on the solar panels, the electrons in the panels get excited and contribute to the flow of current. In any other case, higher the energy falling on an atom, easier is the excitation of electron and hence higher the current produced.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, in the case of solar panels, it is not always correct. Solar panels are <\/span>power tested around 25\u00b0C (77\u00b0F)<\/span><\/a>. When the ambient temperature gets hotter than design specifications, the power generated from solar panels decreases. Hence, the notion that one can obtain more power from solar panels when the sun is hotter is wrong!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Solar<\/a><\/p>\n

How cold weather impacts solar panels?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Solar panels need sunlight for the production of solar power<\/b>. They are not affected even if the temperatures are lesser, as long as the sunlight is present. It means if you are living in a place that has more snowfall, and the sunlight, you could still be a happy owner of solar panels and can obtain solar power as other customers in sunny areas do.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you know that colder temperatures are actually good for electronics? The same holds true for a solar panel too. In fact, solar panels work at higher efficiencies during colder temperatures.<\/span><\/p>\n

Solar panels and snow<\/b><\/h3>\n

Another concern that people living in snowy regions face is if snowfall and accumulation of snow on solar panels would affect the performance of solar panels. Strictly speaking, solar panels are designed to withstand the weight of snow accumulated and can work as usual as long as there is enough sunlight. <\/span><\/p>\n