Do You Need Direct Sunlight For Solar Panels To Work

Do solar panels need direct sunlight to work.

Do you need direct sunlight for solar panels to work.

Solar panels produce electricity from the photons present in natural daylight rather than from the sunlight itself so panels don t actually need to be installed in direct sunlight to work. If x kws are required to supply y kwhrs yr do you first divide y by the number of hrs yr to get x and then multiply this number by the fractional number of sunlight hours in a 24 hour period. Well the reason is that the photons in natural daylight get converted into electricity by solar panels. In overcast or winter weather you can easily charge solar lights with indirect sunlight.

For example solar panels are approximately 40 percent as effective on a cloudy day as they are on a sunny day. Solar panels use daylight energy to generate electricity so panels do not need direct sunlight to work. Remember that solar lights work best in direct sunlight so cloudy weather can diminish how well they perform. The matter of fact is solar panels use daylight energy to produce electricity and they do not need direct sunlight to work.

Instead you need to add the total amount of solar irradiance received by the location. Solar panels are rated in kws. How to determine size of solar panel needed. However when calculating the total amount of peak sun hours received at any location you don t just consider hours with 1000 w m 2 of solar radiation.

A surprising answer isn t it. So while direct sunlight provides the best conditions for solar lights and panels to produce electricity the cells also work in all daylight conditions although at reduced efficiency. Depending on where you live and the amount of sunlight you get throughout the year you may choose to either store your lights for some part of the year or strategically place them so that they receive the maximum amount of sunlight. However even if you don t have access to direct sunlight you can still charge your solar lights in other ways.

All solar panels will perform better in open south facing locations that get direct sunlight. What s more you can even charge your solar lights with no sunlight at all. If 4 hours then the multiply factor should be 6. It is photons in natural daylight which is converted by solar panel cells to produce electricity.

Heat has no effect on the production of electricity. Amorphous panels will work best in shady or cloudy conditions but will not compete with monocrystalline or polycrystalline panels will when the sun comes out. Heat isn t a factor in how much electricity pv solar panels can generate either so a cool spring day can be as productive if not more than a hot. You then express that in terms of the equivalent number of hours with 1000 w m 2.

Solar panels use the energy from daylight not necessarily direct sunlight to produce the energy that they then convert into useable electricity.