# solar power and cold weather



## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

I thought that the cold weather would hold back the charging power of my panels.
But seems like they do a little better in the cold. Strange?


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

The power generation depends on the amount of light hitting the panels and the temperature of the panels. The more light that hits the panel at 90 degrees (straight on) the more power is generated, however as light is changed into electricity the panel heats up which lowers its output. If the temps are low enough and you still get good light to the panels it will produce more power when cool compared to the power when it is hot.

If you want to be most like mother nature you can use the heat generated by the panels to heat and cool your home or at least add to the capacity you have now.


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## Montana Rancher (Mar 4, 2013)

I agree with Paul, since we don't know where you live (hint, update your location) in general a colder panel produces the most amps, there have been tests done with a panel in water and they give off a lot more amps than panels that are air cooled.

The angle will make a difference but it depends on how big your load is. I choose to have 25% more panels and just leave them at a fixed angle rather than messing with them 6x a year to get the proper angle. Here I can get really high winds (up to 80mph this year) so keeping them flush with the roof line makes more sense than hoping the wind doesn't make them into $300 kites.


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

Heat is the enemy of solar panels. When roof mounting, the underside of the panels get extremely warm. Though they work beter in cooler weather, there are less hours of daylight. So overall due to twice as many daylight hours in the summer, day for day you get more power out of the panels in the summer.


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## rickkyw1720pf (Nov 17, 2012)

Temperature will make a big difference in just about all types of storage batteries though.


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## Will2 (Mar 20, 2013)

To the OP yes there is a heat threshold... panels work better in cold weather, the hotter the panels the less efficient, there are thresholds for minimum and maximum values for most pv systems. Bear in mind batteries tend to start freezing at a few degrees below 0.. you get to minus 10 or 20 and you got a real problem. If you don't got the right type of batteries what happens is that batteries with liquid such as h20 that is water as a electrolite.. will not be able to hold new charge.. and the battery will end up accumulating sulfides and the like.. meaning the battery gets killed. It is very dangerous. Up here tempeatures can go -30 -40 and even colder.. in those temps if you dont have your battieries in a heated area.. or perhaps burried underground.. then you loose your ability to charge and draw from batteries.. I am looking into how individuals can safely burry batteries in cold areas.


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

Solar panels work fine in Alaska year round as long as you keep the snow off them.


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