Clouds And Solar
Power'
A solar power panel holds a great deal of benefits,
both for the individual power consumer and for the world at
large. From an economical point of view, solar panels promise to cut down on the cost of electrical
energy. On the environmental side, a solar power panel system
has the ability to provide cleaner, sustainable power that will
not require further pollution of the environment or depletion of
natural resources. By using a solar power panel system, remote
areas can have the benefit of electricity and thus education or
medical information for example can be brought to such areas.
However, a cloudy sky could diminish all these effects of a
solar power panel system. This means that in certain areas on
the globe, or in certain seasons, clouds make a solar power
panel system a lot less efficient. And it is a good question to
ask yourself if you plan on investing in a solar power panel
system for your household or business: Will clouds affect my
solar panels?
The answer is yes because a solar power panel
system produces electrical energy dependent on the level of
light received. Thus, on a bright sunny day, solar panels
receive maximum levels of light and produce the maximum amount
of energy, especially at those "peak" sunlight hours.
Unavoidably, when clouds fill the sky, covering the sun, light
levels are reduced. But it doesn't mean that your solar power
panel system stops producing power, it's output will reduce to
about half is there is enough light to cast shadows. A thicker
cloud blanket in the sky reduces operations even more and by the
time heavy clouds show up, solar power panel systems will
produce very little power.
If all of that sounds too
demoralizing, take note that effects of clouds on a solar power
panel can be surprisingly good as well. It may be unbelievable,
but your solar panels output their peak during a cloudy weather
type! When the sun shines through a gap between clouds, the solar panels receive both direct sunlight and the light
reflected from the clouds. This means more than they can receive
on a clear sunny day! And amazingly, your solar power panel system actually outputs 50 percent or more than in direct
sunlight conditions on such type of cloudy weather.
Here are
a few ways to meet the cloud challenge. 1. If you have clear
mornings and cloudy afternoons try aiming you solar power panel
toward the east. 2. It is advisable to use a battery of a large
enough capacity to be able to maximize the amount of stored
power for when clouds cover the sky.
Using these tricks,
people in cloudy regions on the globe sprinted ahead of the US
in solar power panel produced energy.
Effects of Clouds on
a Solar Power Panel system in Germany
is a special example where solar power is concerned because it is typically a very
cloudy country. In spite of this, Germany is by far the world's
biggest user of solar power panel systems. Citizens of Germany
can actually sell power they produce in excess back to the main
power grid.
In 2006, the largest solar park in the world
was opened in Germany. Europe's most modern solar housing
project can also be found in Germany - a solar village! Over 50
solar houses producing more energy than they use!
Back to Articles
Top |
