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Solar Panel Energy on Overcast Days

nxdmsandkaskdjaqd
Posts: 871 Forumite


I am considering solar panels. I would be interested to know how much energy you produce on a cloudy and wet day in say November (such as to today in south England).
It just to give me an idea. Would also need to know how many panels you have.
It just to give me an idea. Would also need to know how many panels you have.
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I have a 4kW array - 16 panels - of which 4 face south and 12 face east. Output varies between about 20kWh at the height of summer to 0.5kWh on a cloudy and wet November day like the ones we've had recently. Hope this helps
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Kent, 4.6 kw South facing. 30 Watts so far todaynologoDeepest Kent. 4.6kW Growatt inverter, solar i boost+ 5.9kW Solar Edge
ok so far...2 -
It varies massively, but the handful of days with zero generation have been those when the panels are covered by a layer of snow2.22kWp Solar PV system installed Oct 2010, Fronius IG20 Inverter, south facing (-5 deg), 30 degree pitch, no shadingEverything will be alright in the end so, if it’s not yet alright, it means it’s not yet the endMFW #4 OPs: 2018 £866.89, 2019 £1322.33, 2020 £1337.07
2021 £1250.00, 2022 £1500.00, 2023 £1500, 2024 £13502025 target = £1200, YTD £9190
Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur1 -
A 6.35kWp array. The monthly TOTAL predicted output for December is 110kWh. Last December, daily outputs ranged from 10.3kWh to 300Wh. This year my total output is c.12% above what was estimated. Solar; Winter and heavy cloud etc do not produce much in the way of a useful output - both in terms of kW and kWh.
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Thanks for the feedback so far. So in summary, a 4kw array, on a wet cloudy day, could just keep the household ticking over with produced energy i.e (fridges, freezers, LED lighting, central heating pumps, standby devices, about 200 watts)0
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nxdmsandkaskdjaqd said:Thanks for the feedback so far. So in summary, a 4kw array, on a wet cloudy day, could just keep the household ticking over with produced energy i.e (fridges, freezers, LED lighting, central heating pumps, standby devices, about 200 watts)Living the dream in the Austrian Alps.1
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As an example, I have had 8kwh system up and running for 2 days, it’s an overcast, day at the moment, no direct sunlight and this is what the system is producing at the moment 11am.649w, and battery is giving back 71w, house load is asking for 605w. So running entirely on solar/ battery"All lies and jest, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest”2
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So in summary, a 4kw array, on a wet cloudy day, could just keep the household ticking over with produced energy
Err - no. You cannot take the total kWh generated in a day and divide by 24. If you look at my graph above, the TOTAL output from my array on the 21st November was just 280Wh or c. 1/4 of 1kWh. My inverter normally kicks in when the solar output exceeds about 70W.
As I post, my array is outputting 500W.
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Lincolnshire, 4kwp, 16 panels south facing, dull and overcast, current production 196w.1
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