The increase in the number of solar panels being used by homeowners continues, but how good are they at generating electricity and do you need a lot of them to fully power your home?
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As we live in a country with a variable climate, it may seem that relying on solar panels to generate electricity won’t work; however, according to the Energy Saving Trust, solar panels work even on cloudy days and can generate electricity during daylight hours.
Cost saving
One of the main reasons for installing solar panels is to reduce the cost of energy bills; however, there are times when you may have to supplement your electricity from the grid. This is usually at night when the panels are not generating electricity or if you are using more power around your home than is being generated by your solar system.
There are solar panels that are more energy efficient and can generate more electricity with just a small amount of sunlight. This is particularly important for homes with a small amount of roof space or located in a shaded area.
You can find out about the different types of solar panel systems from companies such as
https://gsmlimited.com/services/solar-panels/. Such companies are experts in assessing the suitability of a property.
What is meant by efficiency?
The efficiency of solar panels is measured by the amount of sunlight energy they convert to electricity. Worked out by standard test conditions, this means that if a panel is 15% efficient, 15% of the energy from sunlight absorbed by the panel is turned into electricity. If your solar panels are more efficient, you will need less of them and be less reliant on perfect weather conditions to power your home.
The quality of a solar panel’s components is a key factor in its efficiency, as are its colour and the quality of its photovoltaic (PV) cells.
Thankfully, the energy efficiency of solar panels has vastly improved in the last few years, with the average efficiency for a single home being around 21%.
