Does Solar Work in the Rain

On sunny days, installing solar panels might seem like a great idea. However, what about the days when it is raining? Would rain and cloud have a significant impact on the energy production of your solar power system? These are some of the questions that many beginners ask.

TLDR: Yes, rain and cloudy days would reduce the energy production of your solar power systems.

However, if you are wondering why we need to look at how solar panels work.

 

How Do Solar Panels Work?

Solar panels convert the energy from the sunlight into electricity. So, on days when there is an inadequate amount of sunlight, it is natural to expect the power generation to be lower. Hence, solar energy is impacted directly by weather variations and seasons. 

Typically, on a fully sunny day, your solar power system will generate the highest amount of energy around noon. This is when the intensity of sunlight is the highest. So, on days when the sunlight is at its peak, your solar power system would work very efficiently. 

What About the Cloudy Days?

Even on cloudy days, you can expect some amount of sunlight to reach the solar panels. However, of course, the intensity of the sunlight would be greatly reduced. Since the solar flux would be lower, the energy generation would be lower as well. Though, it will not completely diminish to zero.

What About the Rainy Days?

Do not worry, because your Solar System Setup may generate some power even on rainy days. That is because some sun rays will still make it through the cloud cover and rain. Though, you can naturally expect the sunlight to be lower in such weather conditions. So, the production of electricity on such days would be very inconsistent. 

Will You Run Out of Electricity?

Well, if your home is connected to the grid, you can use the electricity from the grid as backup power. Alternatively, if you have sufficient electricity stored in your Solar Battery Setup, you can utilize that too.

Since electricity is very limited on a rainy day, experts recommend new buyers always integrate a solar battery along with their solar power system. This ensures some backup. However, if you are not fully off-grid, there is nothing to worry about as you can always use electricity from the grid.

For as long as you have sufficient energy always stored in your solar battery, you are not likely to run out of electricity. That is because a solar battery has nothing to do with sunlight itself. The only purpose of a solar battery is to store the excess energy that your solar panels produce on regular days. 

Since this energy is not utilized in your house, it remains safe in the solar battery for later use. People who fully live off-grid often utilize backup energy from their solar batteries during the night. Similarly, those who are on-grid save it as a backup source for rainy and cloudy days. 

NEED HELP?

If you would like to discuss any of the points above or you are just wanting to engage with a genuine, customer-focused solar company that will deliver a solar installation at a fair and reasonable price, give our friendly team a call on 1300 197 237 or contact us here.