Cloud Cover Solar Panel Efficiency

Fortunately sunpower solar panels with a record breaking efficiency of more than 22 percent highest efficiency panels commercially available 1 use cells with a unique one of a kind design that.

Cloud cover solar panel efficiency.

The thing is when clouds cover the sun the solar system doesn t stop working producing power. If there is enough light to cast a shadow in spite of the clouds your solar panels should operate at about half of their full capacity. The effect of cloud cover is immediate with a drop in global solar irradiance and hence in power output for a short time while the effect of dust accumulation has a long term effect. An additional valuable source of solar radiation data is the determination of solar radiation from satellite images.

Information in relation to cloud cover levels is used to provide estimates of the solar insolation at a specific location. In full bright sunlight solar panels receive maximum levels of light. The effects of clouds on a solar panel can be unexpectedly great. Solar panels function by absorbing photons which they convert into an electrical charge.

Eventually with heavy cloud cover solar panels will produce really little useful power. When clouds cover the sun light levels are reduced. That s because even though cloud cover can block the brightest sun rays it s still penetrated by a sizeable amount of solar radiation and that s a big part of the reason that solar panels still work. In july and august 2015 the heavy cloud blocks the direct component of the solar irradiance resulting to minimum value of daily energy.

There is some debate about exactly how much efficiency is lost but low thick cloud cover could take solar panels to a quarter of their normal efficiency. Solar power production efficiency. Of course it is rare to have one entirely cloudy day as it is rare to have one entirely clear day scattered and broken clouds in reality have a minimal effect on the efficiency of photo voltaic solar panels. These images provide information about the level of cloud cover in a particular region.

But depending on the cloud cover and the quality of the solar panels efficiency can drop to anywhere from 10 to 25 percent of the energy output seen on a sunny day. Incredibly your solar panels will put out their supreme amount of peak power during cloudy weather. Yet when the sun shines through the clouds solar panels still get direct sunlight plus light reflected from the clouds. Thicker cloud cover will reduce operations further.

The tracking solar panel appeared to be the most efficient even though it had a large decrease about 9 when the values of the cloud cover slider were changed. This does not shut down power production however. It just reduces the output of energy. The amount of direct sunlight is reduced by fog and clouds but solar panels function better at cooler temperatures so the electricity output in san francisco is still significant.

The thicker the clouds the less power the system will produce. So there is no doubt that during thick cloud cover you lose a lot of efficiency. In a bit more depth.