Solar panels are gaining traction among the home owners who wish to tame the rising power costs and also contribute to a greener footprint. If you are also planning to get them installed, the first question that you must ask is how much power does a solar panel generate per square foot. The answer to this question will eventually help you determine the size of the solar panel installation in your home. The size is important because it ultimately factors into the total cost of the installation.
Composition of Solar Panels
In order to understand the amount of power produced by solar panels per square metre, we must first understand what material solar panels are made of. Most solar panels combine copper with silicon and are fitted with a glass surface that traps light. This makes them capable of generating energy efficiently.
Role of Temperature Light and Angle
In order for a solar panel to produce the maximum amount of power per square metre, it must make optimal use of the amount of available light, the temperature, and the spectrum and angle of light. Let’s see how each of these affects the ability of the panel to generate power:
- Temperature: It is a common notion that the greater the sunlight and the higher the temperature, the more power will be generated. This is not entirely true. When the temperature is much high (say about 25°C), it impedes the ability of the panels to operate efficiently. High temperatures lead to lower power production.
- Spectrum of Light: Another misconception is that on cloudy days, the solar panels do not work at all. They do. While there isn’t much sunlight on a cloudy day, there is still a wide spectrum of infrared and ultraviolet light available which is not visible to a human eye. Solar panels are able to utilise this light to produce power even on cloudy days.
- Angle of light: Every home has a unique orientation to the sun. Hence, solar panel installation in every home is also unique. Normally, the panels are installed facing north so as to harness maximum sunlight. Solar panels are fitted with anti-reflective glass that allow the light to enter the panel and then bounce it back towards the solar cell to generate power. The power production peaks around noon when there is maximum sunlight. The panels work in perfect harmony with each other. If one isn’t getting enough sunlight due to shade from trees or dust, the other panels can make up for the slowdown in power production.
SunPower solar panels are well-known to collect the maximum power from the available resources even under unfavourable conditions resulting from the three factors discussed above. They keep the losses from high temperatures to a minimum, utilise more infrared and more ultraviolet light than conventional solar panels, and their anti-reflective glass has a very slow degradation rate making them the best options for solar panel installations.
So, based on these factors and how they vary for different homes, it is difficult to state the exact amount of power a solar panel will generate. It will depend on the size of the installation. A system that is rated to produce 2 Kilowatts at 2 Watts per square metre will cover roughly 15 square metres of the area for the power requirement of your home. SunPower E-series solar panels are powered by the Maxeon cell technology that provides panel conversion efficiencies of up to 20.1%. Rated for a peak output power of 435 W, these are the most efficient and longer lasting solar panels you can ask for.
Aztech Solar is locally operated solar panel suppliers and installers operating in Sydney, Newcastle, Central & North Coast. Call us today for a free quote or if you have any questions about any of our products at 0249257718.
