Extreme weather, like the heatwaves Pakistan is going through right now, tends to have an extremely debilitating effect on people, and not just their lives and what goes on around them, but also inanimate objects, specifically those that have been left at the mercy of the sun. Much like the solar panels and other parts of a solar energy system that have to deal with the harsh sunlight for the entirety of the day, extreme temperatures and harsh sunlight can put things at risk. In this blog post, we will look at just how safe your solar energy system is in extreme weather the likes of which Pakistan is going through right now. From extreme heatwaves to snow loads that threaten the physical integrity of buildings, the safety of solar energy systems, especially solar panels, comes under question if they are able to withstand such extremes? Are they or are they not able to brave the weather? Let’s start by looking at the answer.
Solar energy system safety in extreme weather Images are rife on the internet, showing common household items, car dashboards and other plastic items perishing in the heatwave. In Pakistan, where the heatwave brings with it temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius. This is where you can essentially understand just how hot it gets, and how many things around us are at a risk.
Solar energy systems, especially solar panels, are supposed to be out in the sun and heat at all times. Given that they are positioned to make the most out of the sunlight during the solar peak hours, the concern is viable that something might happen to the solar panels. However, the concern is unfounded. Solar energy systems and solar panels are very much built and manufactured to resist the negative effects of extreme heat and are capable of surviving extreme heatwaves without any adverse to their physical condition as well as their generation potential and their ability generate solar energy.
Solar panels in Extreme Heat
During extreme heatwaves, it is entirely natural for the solar panels to experience a temporary and insignificant drop in the generation potential that they offer. This is because solar panels, as opposed to popular thought, work off of both sunlight and the heat it brings. The heat causes the electrons within the solar cells in each panel to get excited and form a stream of current, which is essentially the output of the solar panel in the form of direct current. Solar panels are not known to cause any issues in extreme heat. Aside from the slight drop in generation potential, solar panels actually fare well in extreme heatwaves, and for an ideal mix of solar energy generation, the ideal temperature is just below the peak of 50 degrees Celsius that many areas in Pakistan usually experience. However, the need to worry about the physical integrity of the solar panels in such heat is unfounded and should be no cause for concern.
Solar panels in Extreme Cold
Pakistan is a country that has been blessed with all four weathers, and just like summers, winters here come with an equal level of ferocity and extremity. There are places in Pakistan that experience a higher level and rate of snowfall, and while winters are generally seen as low-yield for solar energy systems, severe winters can usually seriously affect the generation capacity of solar panels.
However, since the topic of discussion is the effect of extreme weather on the safety or physical integrity of the solar energy system and the solar panels, the effect that extreme cold has on the physical integrity of solar panels is again, unfounded. Solar panels are designed to be out in the elements for their lifespan, and as such, are manufactured to be extremely robust and resilient to all sorts of environmental factors.
Snow is usually the one aspect of the cold weather which can affect the performance of the solar energy system as well as threaten the physical integrity of the solar panels. However, solar panels are protected by their robustness and the fact that they are able to bear snow loads of upto 5400Pa, which is a considerable amount of pressure for a thin wafer of solar cells. All in all, even a snowstorm isn’t able to threaten the physical integrity of the solar panels, and you solar energy system will continue to perform effectively even during harsh winters.
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