4 Tips for Maximizing Your Solar Panels’ Output during the Summer Season

With global energy consumption steadily increasing year after year, it’s our responsibility to look for green energy solutions to help fulfill this rising demand.

This is why many people have turned to solar power as a way to supplement our growing energy needs. And there’s no better time to get into the solar energy groove than the summer season.

Summer is the best time to invest in a photovoltaic energy system due to the increased number of daylight hours. Regardless of this, you might not realize that you aren’t maximizing your energy output despite the optimal sunlight your panels are receiving. Here are several best practices on how to optimize your solar panels’ energy output this summer.

Solar Panel Placement and Orientation

Placing your solar panels on top of your roof and calling it a day just isn’t enough, especially if you want to get the most out of them. Careful consideration must be placed on solar power installation as well as its orientation based on your location. As a rule of thumb, the default orientation should always be perpendicular to the sun’s rays, and this depends whether you live in the northern or southern hemisphere of the globe. For Australians, who live in the southern hemisphere, the orientation of your photovoltaic panels should be tilted north to get the most out of them.

Clean Your Solar Panels Regularly

Neglecting to clean your photovoltaic panel can cause a buildup of dust and dirt to accumulate over time. This can cause sunlight to become diffused across the surface of the panel and reduce its efficiency in storing solar energy. It’s important that you make a habit of cleaning your solar panel from time to time to avoid this.

Installing Solar Panel Concentrators

If you want to maximize the efficiency of your solar panel output, then you might want to consider using a solar concentrator. A solar concentrator is essentially a lens or a mirror that focuses any light and makes it fall across a smaller area on your photovoltaic panel. Using concentrators can improve the total output of your solar panel by around 50%. Instead of investing in additional solar panels, solar concentrators can be a cost-effective method of getting more out of your current setup. Take note, however, that the additional solar radiation can cause your panel to overheat and lose efficiency, so you need to regulate your use of the solar concentrator to avoid this from happening.

Keep an Eye on the Temperature of Your Solar Panels

As mentioned above  overheating your solar panels can actually cause a loss of solar power output. As temperature increases, there is a marked decrease in the panels’ efficiency. Therefore, it’s important to take steps to prevent too much temperature from building up and affecting your photovoltaic panels. For instance, make sure that there’s a sufficient enough gap in between the panel and the roof to allow air to move freely and disperse any heat.

Now more than ever, it’s important to invest in greener forms of energy. Solar power is a great way to move in this direction, but it’s our responsibility to ensure that we make the most out of it. We hope that these tips can help guide you accordingly in terms of maximizing your use of solar energy.