Will Daylight Savings Affect My Solar Energy?

Daylight savings time has recently come to an end for 2017, and that means nighttime hours rapidly approach each day. Now that the days are getting shorter, how will this impact your solar panel system which depends on the sun to produce energy? Will you suddenly start seeing a drop in your energy generation, and thus an increase in your energy bills? Those who have recently purchased and installed new panels may be experiencing this issue for the first time this winter, so here is some valuable information for homeowners about how your system will be impacted.

Panel Efficiency

Now that our clocks have fallen back an hour, the sun actually comes up earlier, and consequently sets earlier. What that means is that your panels will start generating electricity earlier on in the morning and then likewise stop producing electricity earlier as well. What this means is that when you get home from the office, it’ll probably be dark outside which means you’ll probably already be using grid electricity. Because you’ll be on grid electricity during this peak time, your energy bills could theoretically rise. However, because the sun will be up earlier, your home could start generating electricity faster, which means you could start saving money there, depending on your lifestyle.

Energy Storage

There’s one way you can continue to save money during peak hours in the winter season: storing electricity from earlier peak generating times for when you need it most later in the day. A battery backup system takes the energy your panels generate but isn’t consumed and stores it in a large battery for later use. Then, once the sun goes down and your panels stop generating power, your home switches over to battery power and continues to run as normal. Because you generated this power on your own already, you don’t have to worry about paying peak rates or your overall energy expenses from your electric company going up.

Battery backup systems are also great because they can help you keep the lights on and your critical appliances running if the power were to go out. Large enough systems combined with a high-efficiency solar panel system can even ensure you have enough power to get by for a week or more without any energy input from the municipal grid system! This is the best way to reduce your energy bills to zero or even earn a credit on your bill each month, eventually gaining complete independence from the local utility grid!