For most people, winters are a relief after the long summer season in Pakistan. People get tired of the hot and scorching summer sun that stays for about 8 months. Despite the myth of solar panels not working efficiently in the cold months, the efficiency of solar energy produced is just as good as the summer months . Yes, you read that right winters are beneficial for solar panels. Pakistan’s top solar energy company, EBR Energy, has summarized how solar panels work more efficiently in winters and why it is the right time for you to get them installed for your industrial/commercial building or residence.
Solar panels turn sunlight into electricity even in freezing weather, that is because solar panels absorb rays from the sunlight not the heat. To understand how cold climates are optimal for solar panels efficiency let’s first understand how solar panels work.
How do solar panels work?
A single solar panel has many smaller photovoltaic cell units. A photovoltaic cell consists of semiconductor material usually made of silicon, doped with boron for positive charge or phosphorous for negative charge. A photovoltaic cell is made by making a sandwich of these two oppositely charged silicon layers. That creates an electric field between the silicon layers.
When a sufficient amount of photons (particles of sunlight) strike the solar cell, it creates a photon energy that dislodges electrons from their atoms. These electrons then move to the front surface of the cell. When an adequate amount of electrons migrate towards the front, an imbalance of charge is developed between the front and the back of the cell, creating a voltage potential just like in the negative and positive terminals of a battery. When these surfaces are connected with an external load, an electric current starts to flow due to change in energy. This is the reason why solar panels produce electricity more efficiently when it’s colder.
In winters there is a very less chance for solar panels to reach their peak temperature or peak power. Once the temperature of a solar panel rises above the peak temperature its efficiency starts to decrease.
According to researchers, solar panels efficiency reduces above the temperature of 77ºF.
But it does not mean that solar panels will not be as beneficial in summers as in winters. The diminished energy produced by solar panels is balanced out with the longer sunlight hours in summers.
Only less sunlight hours and snow fall are the reasons why solar panels produce less energy in winters. That also does not mean that areas with heavy snowfall should not get solar panels installed. Solar panels are installed even in Alaska. The important thing is the total amount of sunlight that solar panels absorb throughout the year as a whole instead of one day.
Solar panels are a guaranteed source of energy throughout the year letting you save electricity bills. Besides all of this, solar panels allow you to leave a much smaller carbon footprint on Earth because they are environmentally-friendly, and they don’t demand a specific atmosphere either.
Before winter ends, grab the opportunity to tap the solar power potential with EBR Energy and get solar panels installed for your homes, offices, commercial & industrial buildings, and convert them into your personal power house of electricity generation.