Wednesday 16 April 2014

Solar Panel Shading - What is the Impact on Generated Output?

How does shading affect Solar Panel Electricity Output?

The simple answer is a lot. The more detailed answer is that it depends on your inverter setup. If you had separate strings on the inverter or micro inverters then the impact of shading on panels can be mitigated and generation from the unshaded panels maintained.

For shading such as below with a telegraph pole casting a shadow over the panels in winter this would be a suitable option to optimise the output of the unshaded panels.
Solar Panel Shading - What is the Impact on Generated Output?
Solar Panel Shading - What is the Impact on Generated Output?


However with the panels in the location in the photos below I doubt there is anything that can be done to optimise output when all the panels are covered in shade. These photos were taken in mid winter when there were no leaves on the trees. In spring and summer I'd expect those panels to be shaded virtually the whole day.



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