Cloud Cover Solar Panel Efficiency

Figure 4 shows different profiles of the pv module recorded in cloudy days for the months of may june july and august.

Cloud cover solar panel efficiency.

Of course it is rare to have one entirely cloudy day as it is rare to have one entirely clear day. Eventually with heavy cloud cover solar panels will produce really little useful power. Eventually with heavy cloud cover solar panels will produce very little useful power. In a city with extreme summer heat solar is a little less efficient which is part of the reason why solar panels in cloudy san francisco can actually produce more power over a year than the slightly sunnier hotter city of sacramento.

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. So there is no doubt that during thick cloud cover you lose a lot of efficiency. Indeed on 7th of august 2015 the maximum power was completely below 25 of the rated power 25 w. According to the data collected as cloud cover increases the power production efficiency decreases for all types of solar panel mounting.

The effects of clouds on a solar panel can be unexpectedly great. This does not shut down power production however. Yet when the sun shines through the clouds solar panels still get direct sunlight plus light reflected from the clouds. The thicker the clouds the less power the system will produce.

How the edge of cloud effect can produce more solar power than a sunny day. It just reduces the output of energy. 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. The clouds impacts are more pronounced in august and july.

Information in relation to cloud cover levels is used to provide estimates of the solar insolation at a specific location. An additional valuable source of solar radiation data is the determination of solar radiation from satellite images. A silver lining to that cloud. During those peak sunlight hours your solar panels will produce power at their maximum capacity.

The thing is when clouds cover the sun the solar system doesn t stop working producing power. Incredibly your solar panels will put out their supreme amount of peak power during cloudy weather. 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 capture a broader range of the sun s light. These images provide information about the level of cloud cover in a particular region.

Thicker cloud cover will reduce operations further. When clouds cover the sun light levels are reduced. 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. 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.

For that same reason solar panels can still produce electricity on cloudy days.