Do Solar Panels Work All Year Round?

Solar Panels work in all kinds of weather, they are tested for rain, cloud, snow, hail … even hurricanes!

The reason they have to be tested for all kinds of weather isn't just because they spend all year outside, it's also because solar panels work on daylight, not just direct sunlight.

Solar panels and sunlight

Buckle up, we’re about to get science-y.

As we have mentioned, it isn’t direct sunlight that gets your panels generating that lovely green energy.

Inside a PV panel you’ll find a network of little cells made of silicon – the world’s second most abundant element.

Silicon is used as it is currently the cheapest PV material we have – although, modern research is pinpointing all sorts of new, more efficient possibilities.

Light particles, called photons, fly through the air full of energy, hit the silicon and cause the atoms inside to move from positive to negative.

Obviously, we have over-simplified the process there, but this blog isn’t being written by Brian Cox so we don’t need to get into a full physics lecture.

It's enough to know the silicon gets jiggled, creates a charge and that charge is then carried across the cell, through the connecting wires and into your house.

Any light can get the particles jiggling, but the strength of that light is what makes the charge big enough to be useful.

So, your panels will work whether (weather?) it’s raining, sunny, snowing, cloudy or hailing.

What happens when it’s cloudy then?

Your panels will be pumping out loads of electricity … well, depending on the time of year.

Panels won’t produce as much electricity on a cloudy day as they do when the clouds part, but they will produce more than enough to power your home … again, depending on the time of year.

Why do we keep using the caveat ‘depending on the time of year’?

Well, because the strength of the sunlight is weaker in the colder months as our star is further away from the earth.

Super strong, direct sunshine can also affect the output of your panels negatively.

When silicon is heat up past a certain temperature it can become more resistivite.

This means it’s harder for the charge created by the light to travel through the silicon.

So, you don’t really want the sun to be too strong if you’re looking to generate electricity.

Which means the UK is actually a very good place to utilise solar power.

‘Edge of Cloud’

That is not a phrase you would usually hear anywhere except in a Solar Power blog!

But another benefit of being in a country like the UK, that has variable weather, is that our panels get this extra boost from the edge of clouds.

So, how does that work?

Well, as the clouds clear and the sun starts to emerge, its light intensifies by combining both direct sunlight and light bouncing off water droplets in the cloud.

While is effect will only last a matter of minutes, it does boost the light hitting your panels.

What about when it rains?

Rain is not the enemy, your panels need it occasion.

What’s more, panels will still produce plenty of energy even if it’s pouring down.

While the yield is going to decrease a bit if it rains, for most of the year you can easily pump out enough electricity to run your home.

The reason we mentioned panels needing a little rain is to keep them clean.

Do solar panels work at night?

No, not with current technology.

While there is a little light at night if the moon is out, it isn’t strong enough to jiggle the molecules inside the solar cells

But, in labs all over the world, all over the world clever people are trying to find ways to harvest sunlight reflected off the moon. but we are not holding our breath for them to be released.

Can you still get power from your system at night-time?

You can if you have batteries.

Battery storage has become so affordable that it’s a given that you would add them to your solar system – we are very surprised when people don’t bother.

Batteries will soak up all the excess electricity your panels produce, come rain or shine, and allow you to use it during the night.

Most energy suppliers offer cheap, overnight rates that will also fill your batteries while you sleep too.