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Question:

Solar panels don't work when it's too hot/sunny?

is this fact true? - its a limitation to solar panels during summer when it's in extremly hot countrie. I've heard it from my science teacher .. please give detail if you have any and any more benefits/limitations is welcomed .. Thank you :) !

Answer:

i couldn't see any evidence of that on the internet, but i only searched for a little while for ya. all i can say is in Australia 40 - 50 degrees celcious is about our hottest, and i have never heard of it being a problem. im sure that being the sunburnt country we would know as general knowledge if the solar systems didn't go well if it was too hot.
A good sunny day is best but allthough high temperatures will effect the output from the panel it will not be as affected as much as a cloudy day would.
WHAT? This is far from the truth, IN Scottsdale Arizona a small apartment complex was fitted with solar {photo voltaic cells in the late 70s. Every summer they sold electricity back to the power company. It gets up to 5 fairly often here, and as hot as 23 in the shade. On a roof top it is over 50 in direct sunlight. The opposite is true. When it is cloudy they produce less electricity. They may loose some efficiency when it is very hot, but not enough to make them not work at all, or even enough to really harm the output to any really appreciable extent. A new plastic photovoltaic material that produces about 40-45% of a silicon based solar cell is a neat option as it works when it is very cloudy, you can drive nails through it, and it is flexible. I think these items are kept artificially expensive by big business, but this is just a biased opinion of mine, but as far as not working in extreme heat, NO these solar panels work just fine when it is hot. I am in Phoenix Arizona, and it does not get a whole lot hotter than here. If the cells from the 970s worked OK newer ones are better and will do just fine too. Solar hot water heaters are a slightly different matter as they will over heat the water and the water must be mixed with cooler water, or you can really get into trouble. Maybe this is what he meant. Still I doubt it is enough of an issue to cause the device to be less efficient than a gas water heater, or electric, etc. Maybe he is referring to having to mix cooler water into solar heated water in a solar hot water heater, or some other system, Photovoltaic cells do not have any problems rendering them useless from hot weather on this planet, and in fact, they are used in space and it gets much hotter there.
So what do higher temperatures do to solar photovoltaic panels? As temperatures rise, the efficiency of solar panels decreases. Heat causes electrical resistance to the flow of electrons. On days where the temperature is more than 75 degrees, the electrical resistance makes the voltage fall thereby producing less kilowatts per hour. Your roof is much hotter than temperatures on the ground. That’s why solar panels are not mounted flat to a roof. There’s usually a few inches of spaces between the panels and roof so air flow can easily pass through and cool the panels down. There are some photovoltaic panels that are designed specifically to operate in hotter temperatures. These panels have a higher temperature coefficient. This is especially important in high heat climates like Arizona or New Mexico, but probably wouldn’t make too much of a difference in New England (except maybe this year). If you do live in one of these areas, you should speak to your solar installer to make sure they are using they right equipment for your region. Please note: Solar thermal panels used to heat water can withstand high temperatures without any degradation. In fact, hotter temperatures would actually be better for these types of modules.
Solar okorder /... you'll notice that they have different curves for different temperatures. But they do still produce power, certainly. I have an array on my roof, and it still manages to max out the inverter on a hot summer day. But I do notice that the top row, which is hotter due to heat rising from those below, consistently puts out a few less watts than the bottom row. So more sun is certainly better; direct light is exactly what's needed. But hot panels due to poor air circulation or high ambient temperature does cut into efficiency. (Solar thermal, of course, is a different story)

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