As the days get shorter and colder in the Midwest, prospective solar customers never fail to ask: “Does solar even work in the winter?”
The simple answer?
Yes!
As long as the sun is still shining, solar panels are hard at work, supplying renewable energy to homes, farms, and businesses. Don’t just take our word for it; we’ve got proof!
Case Study: 10 kW System in Davis, Illinois
January is often considered the height of winter in Illinois. January 2020’s daily average temperature high in Rockford, Illinois was 29°F, with only 9 hours of sunlight. NW IL typically see 9-10 inches of snowfall on average during January, as well.
So how does solar hold up against the brutal Northern Illinois weather? Here’s a snapshot of a 10 kW system’s production during January 2020.
Temperature doesn’t factor much into solar production. Sunny, bright days are easily reflected in this solar energy monitoring graph.
Similarly, we also get asked:
“What about snow?”
Solar panels have slick surfaces and are mounted at an angle, making it easy for snow to slip off. Similarly, solar panels are designed to absorb heat from the sun, easily melting snow away. Snow on panels rarely lasts for more than a few days. You may even see a building (like the one above) with snow on its roof, but the solar panels are clear of any snow or ice.
Snow can actually help clean solar panels by washing up any dirt or dust that may accumulate over the warmer months!
There’s no denying that solar production is lower than in the summer months. Using our SolarEdge monitoring system, a bell-curve can easily be observed. In the winter, solar is most impacted by cloud cover and shorter hours of sunlight.
Net-Metering is beneficial in allowing solar energy to be effective all year long. During the summer months, a solar system may produce more energy than needed. Excess and unused energy is then pushed back to the grid. That solar owner receives net-metering credits from their utility company for the extra energy production, which can then be used over the winter months, when their consumption may exceed solar production. Learn more about net-metering here.
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