Solar Panels in the Winter: Myths and Motivators 101
It may not be surprising to you that when the sun is further away from the earth, ie during the fall and winter months in the northern hemisphere (Nov-Feb), less sunlight reaches the earthâs surface.
So, it would stand to reason that less sunlight is hitting your roof-top during this time-frame than the remainder of the year.
In todayâs blog post weâll explore this phenomenon in more detail, as well as some of the myths about producing solar energy in the winter, as well as a couple of reasons why you might still want to make the purchase anyway, to take advantage all year long of energy savings.
MythsÂ
- âSolar panels do not produce energy in the winter.â
False. In fact, solar panels produce on average produce 35% of their overall annual energy production in Texas during the winter time (âOn average, 65% of our local solar systemâs annual energy output is generated between March 21st and September 21st of each year. The other half of the year, between September 21st and March 21st, accounts for the other 35% of annual solar output.â https://www.lighthousesolarny.com/blog/2017/february/the-seasonality-of-solar-energy-production/).
During the winter storm in February of 2021, Texans learned first-hand just how helpful solar panels can be in an emergency winter storm â check out the following article from Pecan Streetâs Chief Technology Officer, Scott Hinson, here: https://www.pecanstreet.org/2021/02/solarstorm/.
- âSolar panels are less efficient in the winter, because of rain and snow.â
This one is partially true, if you live in Seattle or Greenbay, where rain and snow in the winter time should come as no surprise at all. However in Texas, with average rainfall reaching 27.25″ (https://learn.weatherstem.com/modules/learn/lessons/182/19.html#:~:text=The%20average%20annual%20rainfall%20for,climatic%20regions%20of%20the%20state), and average snowfall typically in the ânoneâ range, itâs safe to say that your solar panels will absorb energy as efficiently in the summer months, if the distance of the sun were negligible.
- âThe further distance of the sun during the winter months means that your panels will produce less energy than they would in the summer months.â
True, but only if you live in the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere the sun is actually closer to the earth, and therefore would produce more solar energy in what Americanâs would think of as âwinter time,â and if you donât believe me, just check out the following link which explains this exact phenomenon: https://solarcalculator.com.au/solar-panel-orientation/.
Motivators
Even if you live in the northern hemisphere, where solar production may dip in the winter months, youâre still likely to produce some extra energy â as we saw in myth buster #1.
Additionally, if you were to perhaps accompany your solar system with back-up battery power and/or a generator, you could also keep your heat on should say a winter storm hit and take down the energy grid in your neighborhood for 4-5 days. This is a huge incentive to start looking into solar power generation from your home, because outside of a zombie-apocalypse occurring, youâll want to start preparing to save money and keep your home well insulated against the negative effects of climate change as well, and having solar energy & energy storage could make a difference if the grid in your area is shut off.
However, if youâre not interested in saving money, or want to save money and carbon emissions in the most effective way possible, going green has really never been easier with solar! Harvesting energy from the sun is renewable and there is a lot of sun to go around, however unlike geothermal heaters or wind turbines, the set up for rooftop solar is fairly simple, and will only require a few months of planning and execution before youâre able to enjoy energy credits on your utility bill from your solar production.
Finally this brings us to the #1 motivator to go solar: Net Metering. If you donât know what this is, weâve discussed it on earlier blogs so be sure to check those out (here: https://suntexllc.com/energy-components-electrical-components-smart-meters-net-metering-and-data-monitoring-what-do-they-all-have-in-common/, and https://suntexllc.com/electrical-components-smart-meters-net-metering-and-data-monitoring-what-do-they-all-have-in-common-part-2-of-2/ â to reference just a couple, feel free to uncover more using the search feature).
Net metering is the icing on top of the solar cake that makes this technology feasible in modern every-day life. Net metering works exactly how it sounds: your meter is typically upgraded to a smart meter so that youâre able to measure not only energy consumption, but energy production as well. Therefore, when your solar array produces energy to send to the grid, your utility company can then take the ânetâ or difference between what energy was consumed and what energy was produced and apply energy production credits to your utility bill. These credits are applied to your energy bill each month and deducted (in simple terms) from your total energy bill, thus making your energy cost more affordable.
So, if emergency planning, saving money, reducing carbon emissions and gaining energy credits on your utility bill havenât convinced you yet of the benefits of solar, Iâm not sure anything will, but feel free to share some additional comments in the section below, and hopefully we can help get those myths busted, and those panels installed!