More sunlight will mean more productivity
Longer days mean more hours of sunlight, plain and simple, and that’s great news if you have a solar panel on your roof or somewhere else on your property. Here in Massachusetts, we will enjoy about 14 to 15 hours of daylight per day from now until the end of the summer. We know that there will be cloudy days and stormy weather, but still, this prime season is what your panels were made for: the sun is up, it’s strong, the weather is generally favorable for hours and hours of light. You should expect your panels to deliver peak productivity for the year.
High heat means harder work
One of the best things about summer is the warm weather. We all know that the heat index will head up to uncomfortable levels and that’s when it’s time to hit the beach or crank the A/C. Your solar panels will also feel the heat this summer, and that heat may impact the overall performance of your system.
Your solar panels are designed to absorb the light of the sun’s rays and convert that light into electricity used for your home. During these summer months when the weather is hot, your panels will retain more heat and run a bit less efficiently in their conversion. During cooler weather, your panel has the capacity to more efficiently use the light it captures to produce electricity.
Take heart, however! The summer days are hot, but they have extra hours of daylight, so the abundance of sunlight to harvest makes up for the (slight) dip of efficiency in the system.
Work hard now. Reap the benefits later.
Heading into the favorable season with plenty of sunny days, your panels will work hard for you and may even provide more than enough energy to power your home. When Solar Five® installs your panels, your home is still connected to the power grid. Any unused energy produced by your solar panels are given back to the grid, and your electrical company will pay you for that energy. This is known as net metering. So, if you usually pay $0.21 per kWh a month in energy, your energy provider will provide you $0.21 per kWh that you return to the grid. This can be applied as a credit during the winter months when the days are shorter and your solar panels can’t provide the full amount of your home’s energy needs.
Storms Can Be Disruptive
Thunderstorms can be lovely to listen to, even though they sometimes disrupt our care-free summer days. Power outages happen, and people wonder if their solar panels can be a saving grace and an energy source even if power is off in the neighborhood. The short answer is no, unfortunately. When the power goes out, your solar panels switch off. This is for safety reasons: because our systems are bidirectional (energy comes to you, you give energy back), it is possible that a solar energy system could send electricity to wires that engineers are trying to fix during a storm, causing a potentially dangerous situation. Yes, your power outage is an inconvenience, but the safety of our communities is vitally important.
Having solar panels means that the way you consume energy is fundamentally changed. Summer time is the best time to see the full benefits of your choice and you may be surprised about how much you will save on your energy bills. Though summer feels like such a short season here in New England, the benefits of the long days ahead of us will reap rewards for the rest of the year! So, enjoy your summer!
Prime Solar Energy Is Here To Help!
As you consider whether solar panels are a sound investment for your home, make sure you take into account cost, warranty, longevity and overall efficiency, but just know Prime Energy Solar will be here to help guide you thru the process. So the next time you are search solar company near me or solar panels near me, click on the local leader of Solar Polar Installation, click on Prime Energy Solar.
