Solar panels produce less energy on cloudy days
Solar panels rely on energy from the sun to work. But does that mean that they can’t work at night or on cloudy days? Solar panels are designed to store energy so that they can power a building consistently. This means that homes with solar panels can still use electricity at night, even if the solar panels aren’t drawing in additional energy from the sun at that time.
Do Solar Panels Work at Night?
Technically, solar panels work at night in that they can still power your house during that time. However, this is because they store energy throughout the day in order to meet the home’s energy needs at night. They don’t take in more power at night because the sun’s presence is required for them to do that.
Do Solar Panels Work on Cloudy Days?
On cloudy days, solar panels typically get between 10% and 25% the amount of energy from the sun compared to bright, sunny days. If you’re using solar storage, then this can help to make up the difference between the home’s power needs and what the solar panels can provide on a cloudy day.
Are Cloudy Areas Good for Solar Panels?
It’s for this reason that parts of the country with a lot of cloudy weather can still benefit from solar panel usage. Solar panels aren’t confined to just Florida and California and other places known for their sun. People who live in cloudier locations may just need more solar panels do counteract the effects of the clouds.
Why Do People in Cloudy Areas Use Solar Panels?
What determines whether solar panels are popular in an area isn’t the number of cloudy or sunny days. Instead, it’s the cost of paying for electricity. Cities with high energy costs will see more people purchasing solar panels in order to reduce or eliminate those costs. The higher the cost of energy, the more financial benefit to homeowners, no matter how cloudy the weather.
Which Cities Have the Most Solar Panels?
The top ten cities in the United States for solar panel usage are:
- Los Angeles, California
- San Diego, California
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- San Antonio, Texas
- New York City, New York
- Phoenix, Arizona
- San Jose, California
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Washington, D.C.
While some of these cities are in sunny locations, many, like New York City and Washington, D.C., aren’t exactly known for their sunny weather. Yet they’re in the top ten solar panel cities in the United States, beating out cities located in much sunnier areas. San Francisco, which is well known for its fog, is also an up and coming contender in the solar panel world.
How Do Solar Panels Store Energy?
It’s because solar panels can store energy for future usage that enables them to save extra energy for use at night. Homeowners can purchase batteries that the solar panels would then feed into whenever they produced more energy than the home actually needed to use. Some homeowners choose not to invest in solar storage and instead use energy from the grid whenever their solar panels aren’t producing enough energy, such as at night.
Those who choose to supplement their solar panels with energy from the grid often offset those costs with net metering.
What Is Net Metering?
Net metering is the practice of selling extra solar energy back into the grid. If you don’t have solar storage, then if your solar panels are producing more power than you currently need, you can sell the energy to electric companies and then later use that money to cover electricity costs on cloudier days or at night.