Are Solar Panels Efficient In Winter

An average day of solar generation in winter.

Are solar panels efficient in winter.

Unfortunately solar is not going to provide all your energy needs in winter but people are sometimes surprised by just how much you can get out of some of these systems during the colder months. Don t rely on your panels in winter to heat your hot water or run your electric heating but remember that the savings over the whole year should pay for the system in less than 10 years. Solar panels are most efficient when it s cold and sunny outside so they ll still be able to produce energy as long as you re not living in the arctic circle or somewhere else that gets very little sun in the winter. Yet the cons are primarily due to infrequent heavy snows and the shorter days.

However the impact temperature has on solar panels mainly depends on the voltage of your units. Here in buffalo an average day in winter is just grey. Since the days are a bit shorter you won t produce energy for as long as you would during long summer days. The efficiency and energy production of solar panels diminish somewhat in winter conditions.

This is what that looks like. Like most electronics solar panels function more efficiently in cold conditions than in hot. Winter months are actually good for solar energy production as long as your panels aren t covered by snow. As long as there is light your system will convert it into clean energy.

It doesn t snow every day and most days my solar panels are clean. If every day was like this i d get 120 kwh for the month which is pretty exactly what my 5 year average was. If you choose sunpower solar panels over other conventional panels you ll have a system that is proven to hold efficiency much better in low light conditions.