Solar Panel Efficiency For Your Dollar

The solar panel efficiency rating covers what portion of sunlight hitting a panel gets turned into electricity. High efficiency doesn’t mean sounder, it just suggests you use less space for the solar array. Efficiency isn’t usually a significant anxiety producer unless there is an extraordinarily small space for the solar panels. The common solar panel efficiency rating is around 14-18% efficient. That might not sound like much, but this average will produce enough power with the common roof space.

Factors that Affect Solar Panel Efficiency

Besides solar panels efficiency and size, other factors affect how much power your solar panels will produce. Living in Arizona will get more solar focus than someone who lives in the midwest. Solar energy production is also affected by weather and seasonal variations. The angle of the sun to the solar panel changes with the time of day and seasonal variations. Cloudy and rainy days also contribute to less effectiveness of the sunlight collection.

Solar Panel Angle

Non-tracking PV arrangements in the Northern Hemisphere should face true south. The positioning angle directly correlates to the angle of latitude, if you live at 35.2 degrees North of the equator (Flagstaff, AZ), your panel should face straight South at a 35.2-degree angle. Remember that if the solar panels are being placed on a roof, take into account the angle of the roof.

For best performance adjust your solar panels double a year. In the summer months the sun is high overhead, intercept more sunlight by tilting the solar panel at a lower angle. During the winter, the sun moves across the sky at a lower angle, angle solar panels higher during these months. Large commercial systems have solar tracking systems that automatically follow the sun’s tilt through the day. Due to their high costs, they are not typically utilized for residential solar installs.

Temp

High temperature can severely reduce the solar panel’s production of power. Higher temperature raises the conductivity of the semiconductor, charges become balanced within the material, decreasing the magnitude of the electric field, inhibiting the charge separation, which lowers the voltage across the cell. Depending on the location, heat can decrease the output by 10% to 25%.

In the developed environment, there are a couple of ways to deal with high temperature. Install solar panels on a mounting system a few inches off the roof; this will help cool them by providing air circulation. Use photovoltaic panels that are designed to be added efficient in hotter climates. Ensure that panels are constructed with light-colored materials, to reduce heat absorption. Inverters and combiners can be transferred into the shaded area behind the array.

Shade

Shade can be the villain of solar power. The way solar is produced even a little shade on one panel can shut down solar production on all the other panels. Solar cells are attached in series and will operate at the current level of the weakest cell if one solar cell is shaded it will unfavorably influence the output of all other cells. When choosing a location for your solar panels do a shading analysis, make sure no shadows will fall on the solar panel array while peak sunlight hours. This may mean cutting a few trees.

Curious about solar hard costs vs. soft costs near you, and how that might affect your own solar panel pricing? We here at HahaSmart you will have a look at what we can offer you on the cost of solar panels and cost of solar installations. We will strive to find you the best prices available. Follow the solar experts. Try our price checker tool. It tells you how much solar power you need and how much you can save on your energy bills each month. Please visit our solar blog to find out more about the benefits of going solar.