The Cost of Running Appliances in Your Home

Roof Orientation

Generally speaking, in Australia northern facing solar panels will convert the most amount of sunlight into energy. However, it shouldn’t overshadow the fact that east and west facing panels also have the potential for efficient conversion. Prior to installation, roof orientation is closely assessed to determine whether a home will benefit from solar power. Homes and businesses can often benefit from a combination of north facing and east or west facing panels. Positioning will reflect your lifestyle and electricity usage patterns. If your peak consumption is in the evening, west facing panels could work well as they’ll receive more sun exposure in the afternoons.

If your home isn’t north facing, don’t be alarmed. Solar power has the potential to be just as beneficial for your home.

Shade

Solar panels are able to reach their full potential in direct sunlight. The amount of shading on your roof is something that is carefully assessed in the initial stages of solar system development. Even partial shading on the cells of one solar panel can affect the efficiency of your panels, so it’s important to ensure your panels are predominately, if not completely, unshaded. This is all taken into consideration during your solar installation and our team will use a range of mapping tools to ensure the system installed is best suited to the level of shading your home receives.

Solar panels have the potential to last as long as 25 years. The vegetation surrounding your home is likely to change and grow over the years, so a tree that currently isn’t shading your home could be in five years time. It’s important to assess the level of shading on your solar panels during routine maintenance.

Thankfully, solar panel technology is continually reducing the impact of shading.

Weather

Blue skies and sunshine are perfect for solar panel performance. However, it’s inevitable that we’ll experience overcast and rainy days amidst the favourable weather. The question is, how do cloudy days affect your solar panel performance? Unarguably, they do reduce conversion, however the panels will continue to produce electricity, just at a lower rate. The weather patterns in your local area are a deciding factor in which panels are recommended for your property.

Here in Queensland, we’re lucky to have sunshine almost all year round, making it one of the best places to have solar panels for energy production for your home or business. Despite the heavy and often somewhat unexpected storms, the sun will inevitably prevail and power production will increase.

Seasonal Changes

Shorter days and less hours of sunlight will unfortunately result in lower conversion. However, on the other end of the spectrum, solar panels are less efficient on scorching hot summer days. Lack of sunlight and extreme temperatures will negatively affect your solar panel system. Transitional seasons like spring and autumn will allow for the most consistent energy production.

While certain elements can create repercussions for your solar energy system; our installation specialists will ensure a majority of the challenges are avoided or overcome. Pre-solar inspections will ensure close assessment to guarantee the most suitable panels for the job. If you’d like to learn more about whether solar power is the right move for you, get in touch with us today.