What Can I Expect With Solar Panel Projects During Winter?

You may be wondering how solar panels can work in an area that has long, harsh winters. After all, days or weeks of grey skies, snow flurries or heavy rains hardly seem compatible with a technology that relies on the sun to run it.

However, the last 10 years have brought a lot of innovation and progress to solar panel technology. Now solar technology is far enough along that solar panels can easily create electricity even during inclement weather conditions.

Are Solar Panels Resilient During The Winter?

If yours is an off grid system that works independently of a energy utility system, your solar energy system will include a set of storage batteries. These batteries are similar to the kind used in cars. They are designed to store any extra energy that your solar panels make during the daylight hours. If the battery storage system is properly designed for your locale, it will include the right number of these batteries to store power for the number of cloudy days that are typical for your geographical area.  

If your system is tied to the grid (connected to the local electric company) it won’t require storage batteries. Once the sun goes down or if there is a prolonged period of bad weather blocking the sun, your system will automatically use electricity from the local power company. Of course, on sunny days, your solar panels will be generating your electricity, so you will still be reaping the benefits of reduced power costs.

Ensuring Solar Panel Performance During Winter

In some places, you may even be able to sell electricity back to your local electric company. This arrangement makes solar energy even more cost effective. The way this works is that any surplus power that your solar panels generate goes back into the power company and you get a credit for it on your power bill.  That way, even if you need to use power from the grid at night or on overcast days, any unused electricity that your solar panels were able to generate will still be reducing your overall power costs.

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