How Environmental Factors Impact Solar Systems
When you begin your solar journey, there are three environmental factors you will probably ask about immediately: shade, clouds, and rain. Living in the Sunshine State involves a fair amount of thunderstorms, but how does that impact your solar efficiency?
Many common questions and misconceptions exist about how environmental factors impact solar systems. Solar panels still work in shady areas, in cloudy conditions, and even when it’s raining. However, there are a lot of complicated factors that will vary depending on the intensity of each environmental condition.
It is critical to get an honest assessment of how environmental factors impact solar systems before you choose the size and scope of your home solar system.
Do Solar Panels Work in an Area with Lots of Trees and Shade?
Solar panels work in areas with many trees and shade, but performance will decrease. In the past, a solar panel’s output would decrease massively when only a small portion was covered by shade. Modern panels have built-in protection today, so only a portion of a panel will underperform under shade instead of the whole panel.
If a solar panel is fully covered by shade, your performance will decrease by a maximum of about 10%. Remember that a solar panel typically produces around 80% of its max kilowatts potential on a sunny day due to ambient air temperature, panel direction, sun angle, and more.
While we don’t recommend going solar if your home is completely covered in trees, we also try to avoid recommending cutting down a bunch of trees. We have had many customers with 50%-70% tree coverage and still see excellent performance and return on their system.
Do Solar Panels Work When it’s Cloudy?
Like in shady conditions, the answer is yes, but performance will decrease when it’s cloudy. Solar panels in cloudy conditions will still produce power. The impact on the solar system’s performance will be similar to that of full shade. You can expect a 10% decrease in the maximum energy production when it’s cloudy.
Do Solar Panels Work When It’s Raining?
Solar panels will work when it’s raining, like when it’s cloudy or in full shade. There will be performance decreases, but they will still produce energy. Rain marginally improves solar panels’ energy production due to the reduction in temperature. Solar panels are more efficient as their temperature decreases. Solar panels get a boost in winter due to the cool weather, but unfortunately, the days are shorter, and the sun is lower in the sky.
Measuring How Environmental Factors Impact Solar Systems
If you’re considering going solar, consider how environmental factors impact solar systems and get an accurate assessment. Be careful not to get oversold based on your solar system’s expectations. We utilize software to model environmental factors and their impact on solar systems to give you an accurate prediction of what your tier 1 or tier 2 home solar system can produce. This design tool is accurate to within 5% of your home’s actual solar energy production, and we typically see accuracy to within 1%. With a precise assessment of how much energy your home solar system can produce and the impact that it will have on your power bill, you can take the first steps on your solar journey.
