14 Jul How Solar Panels Work At Night

We all know that solar panels are working their hardest when they are absorbing as much sunlight as they possibly can. However, a common myth about solar panels is that when the sun goes down they completely stop working. This is not true. Instead, your panels continue to work through the dark nights in order to provide you the energy you need to power your home through the night. To see how your panels are able to work without the sun we are going to map out the process of energy production to help you better understand.

During the Day:

During sunny days your solar panels are working at their best capacity.  It only takes about 8.5 minutes for the sun’s photons, particles that carry energy, to travel 93 million miles to Earth. When those photons reach our solar panels, the energy is converted into usable electricity that powers more homes every year. The average home uses about 30 kWh per day. The average home will produce about 45kWh with their solar panels per day. This energy is the energy that will be used throughout the entire day and onward. Because the panels are collecting more energy than what is being used, this helps you to save money. Any energy that is not used will then be credited at the end of the month. This gives you more of a reason to try to not use as much energy throughout the day. You can find more information on these savings in the Net Metering section of our website.

During the Night:

Even though the moon shines like the sun, the panels do not work on moonlight. Your panels collect solely sunlight to power your home. When your panels are not collecting sunlight, they are working extra hard. All of the energy that has been collected, and not used, during the day is used to power your home through the night. This stored energy is the power that will be used when the sun is no longer shining. With this, our installation experts always ensure to install more than enough panels on your home to power through every single night with no worries. However, it is also important to remember that during the night your panels are not collecting energy from the sun. They are simply using the energy that has been stored.

To start saving money on your electric bill Contact Us. We know that the concept of solar can be very confusing. However, we hope by educating you that we can help with your confidence in this process. To get started on your residential solar panel installation, contact us.