How Lighting Conditions Affect Solar Panel Efficiency

When considering solar panels for your home, you’re probably concerned about Solar Panel Efficiency and whether the shading around the property will affect the output. One of those is often about lighting conditions and how they’re going to affect the efficiency of your solar system. Understanding the ways you can make the system more efficient and make the most of the lighting conditions you have is a very important part of a quality solar system. Here’s what to consider.

Does Shading Prevent a Good Solar Outcome?

Too much shade can sometimes mean that your solar system lacks efficiency. But a little shading for a short time during the day isn’t necessarily mean that your system doesn’t work as planned. It’s always better to position it where there’s more sun to get the maximum benefit, but sometimes that’s unrealistic. If that’s the reality where you live, taking full advantage of the non-shady areas and times is important. That way, you make your solar system as efficient as possible, and you can still have your panels located where you want them to be.

How Does Shading of Trees and Buildings Affect System Performance?

A system that’s getting maximum levels of sunlight will generally always perform better than a system that’s not getting as much sunlight. But the shading of trees may not be as significant of a problem as the shading caused by a building. Trees generally provide a more broken or dappled level of shade, where buildings provide more solid levels of shading that are closer to complete blockages of the sunlight. Some trees can also provide this, but it’s not as common. System performance can definitely be affected by anything that blocks sunlight for a period of time, and the longer the length of the blockage the bigger the overall effect on the system.

What is a Shading Analysis?

A shading analysis can help you see how much the shade in a particular area is going to affect the efficiency of your potential solar system. You can also have an analysis done of your current system, to see if there are ways to make it more efficient. Sometimes changing the angle of the panels with things such as tilt frames or cutting down a tree can mean improved efficiency of your solar system and can be well worth doing. Panels can also be moved in some cases, or installed in a location other than the one you were originally thinking of, however if you are planning on moving panels make sure you check with your installer for warranty violations.

Does the Location and Direction the Panel is Facing Matter?

The location of the panels and the direction they’re facing can absolutely matter. You may also want to adjust them with the seasons, when the angle of the sun is different. By doing that, you’ll be much more likely to have a good experience with your solar system and be able to use your panels at maximum efficiency. Then you get more quality and value, and you can feel better about the efficiency of your system, as well. Taking care where you place your system can be a very important part of using your solar system for the long term.

If you are interested in installing solar on your Blue Mountains or Hawkesbury home, contact E-Smart Solar for a quote.