Solar Systems on Cloudy Days and Evenings

Here at Y Solar, some of the questions we get asked a lot all have to do with available solar and production. 

One of the top questions we get is, Will I still get power even during the evening when there is no sun?

Our answer is - yes, you will definitely get energy even during the evening. Despite the fact that Solar photovoltaic panels require sunlight to actually produce solar electricity, you will still be able to use electrity during the evening from your electrical provider. Although no solar system will produce electricity during the night, you will be given access to the mains electricity at night. However you should note that the credits you receive for excess electricity generated in the day will taken off due to the  the cost of this. That is, if you export 15kWh of energy for grid during the day and you use 15kWh during the evening, you will have a balance of zero. 

For many of our clients cloudy days are also a concern. To explain this, the amount of solar electricity that your system produces is directly proportional to the amount of sunlight available at any moment. For example, Solar systems can still generate around 50% of their peak output under bright overcast conditions. However, during heavy clouds, this can significantly reduce the production of your system due to the reduction of brightness during the day.