You’ve heard all about solar power and what it can do for your home and energy bills. You may even be thinking about taking the plunge into solar panels for your own home but still wonder about a few factors. One of the biggest questions about solar is whether solar power will work on a cloudy day to produce enough energy. Here at 1 Stop Solar, we know the answers to all your solar questions, including residential solar power in Florida and how you can benefit the most from your solar panels.
How Does Solar Work?
At their basic form, solar panels work by gathering up electrons through the panels themselves. Sunlight will knock these electrons off of the atoms and then are available for capturing. The flow of electrons can be turned into electricity, and thus are gathered by the solar panels through that flow and turned into an electric current. The panels gather the energy into direct currents (DC) and then convert it into alternating current (AC) energy. AC energy is what your typical house will use electricity wise, through the energy in your outlets and electrical panel. Depending on the amount of energy and electricity you use in your home, this can easily supply all the power you need to your home throughout the day.
Producing Power on Cloudy Days
Knowing that the solar panels collect the sunlight during the day, you may wonder how they operate on cloudy days, then. The answer, then, is that they still produce energy, even if there are clouds in the sky. Most people believe that the clouds create too much of a layer between the sunlight needed for the solar panels, but this isn’t true. When clouds enter into the forecast, they will typically decrease the amount of energy collected by about 10-25%, which isn’t that much of a drop. This means you are still producing at least 75%, if not more, of the energy needed to power your home. And in some situations, the clouds can even enhance the sunlight being collected by solar panels. The clouds can occasionally magnify or reflect sunlight directly to the solar panels, enhancing the overall performance of your residential solar power. Clouds may seem like the enemy when it comes to solar power, but they really don’t affect solar energy in the way you would imagine it too. Your solar professionals will also take all these factors into consideration when making the space for the panels, ensuring their locations will get the most sun and least amount of shade possible for maximum efficiency.
Solar Energy
Solar panels and energy are quickly becoming the new set-up for residences and even countries. Despite the worry that cloudy days will affect solar production in a day, many cities and countries rely on solar in highly cloudy areas. Countries like Germany and South Korea are the biggest cheerleaders for solar, even though they have a lot of cloudy, cold winters. It’s because the energy does still get produced, and the cost of electricity through solar is so much cheaper than traditional methods. Cities like San Francisco and Seattle will often see more cloudy days than sunny but huge proponents of solar energy. It’s because the clouds don’t matter in the long run, and solar energy is a renewable and energy-efficient way of generating your own power.
Contact Us
Are you ready to finally take the plunge and get residential solar power? Knowing that solar power on a cloudy day doesn’t make a difference will help you understand the finer details of solar energy. 1 Stop Solar in Florida can help you get the right solar panel installation set up quickly and efficiently, getting you the freedom you deserve from utility bills. Call us today to get started!