As the sun shines and temperatures rise, many people are considering how to stay cool. If you have solar panels installed, you might be wondering whether the heatwave will boost your electricity generation, providing more free power to run air conditioning or fans—or even to sell back to the grid.
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Longer days mean more sunlight, which naturally results in more power being generated by your solar panels. However, high temperatures can actually reduce the efficiency of solar panels. While this may sound concerning, the good news is that, in the UK, the impact is relatively minimal. Solar panels typically perform best at temperatures of 25 degrees Celsius or below, and while they can operate in temperatures as high as 85 degrees, efficiency may decrease slightly as temperatures soar beyond this point.
According to Solar Energy UK, modern solar panels are designed to work in a wide range of temperatures, from minus 40 degrees Celsius to 85 degrees. The heat doesn’t cause a significant drop in performance in the UK, where extreme temperatures are less common than in some other parts of the world. Still, understanding the dynamics of temperature and solar power can help you better manage your energy use during summer months.
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For homeowners with solar panels, the potential savings and benefits are evident. For example, a three-bedroom house with a 3.6kW system could save £540 annually on energy bills, with the system paying for itself in around nine years. Larger systems for bigger homes offer even more significant savings, with some households seeing a return on investment in as little as five years, depending on the size of the system and the amount of energy consumed and sold back to the grid.
