Thanks to our Team’s experience and knowledge we can manage actively the effects of seasons and weather planing a correct maintenance for our PV plants.
THE SUN, THE SEASONS, THE WEATHER: PHOTOVOLTAIC AND SEASONALITY
Photovoltaic power generation relies chiefly on the Sun, but key factors are seasons and weather, due to the role they play on sunlight diffusion and on the plant’s components.
Winter brings several issues
The most blatant is the reduction of light hours in the day, which means a shorter generation span.
Through the day, the Sun is set on a lower height and shadows are longer: it is more probable that trees or structures near the plant obscure the panels with their silhouettes.
Plus, abundant snow can cover the modules: in this case we usually wait for the snow to melt, since most plants are located in countryside areas not easily reachable in those conditions, and also because after the clean-up a new snowfall could cover the modules again.
If the snow blanket is thin, leaving the panels free, it can have a surprisingly positive effect thanks to the albedo (reflection on sunrays), which goes to enhance the lighting of the panels. This effect is most felt in those plants with bifacial modules or thin film modules. For these reason some plants try to replicate it by whitening the ground with quicklime.
The most productive season is summer thank to long days and high Sun.
Usually 60%-70% of the yearly production takes place between June and September, peaking in July.
That said, both panels both inverters suffers from high temperatures: cabins holding these are usually conditioned or provided with heath pumps to avoid overheating the electrics and electronics of the inverters and the decrease of production. Summer, moreover, brings another danger: fires, that can originate in plots of land near the plant.
The best seasons for plant efficiency are springs and autumn, thanks to the balance between light and heath. Ideal production setting is 25°, which allow a proper functioning of all components.
Weather can interfere with production too.
Rain, which by its nature causes a disadvantage to solar power generation because of the lesser production, but it can provide some benefits too: rainfall washes the dirt away from the panels. Furthermore, rain water cools down the cable, reducing energy dissipation as heath.
In an ideal scenario, clean rain followed by sunny weather can increase a plant production even between 20% and 30%.
Dirty rain on the other hand can increase its negative effect on generation, by depositing wind-swept dirt and sand on the panels, usually in the summer, forming crusts on the edges of the cells. This is why it is important to plan some washings through the year.
Wind too, is both enemy and friend of photovoltaic: on one hand, it can help keeping the panels clean and cool, thus increasing their efficiency, on the other, if it’s blowing too strong, it can eradicate them.
Us of EF Solare Italia, thanks to our Team’s experience and knowledge can manage actively the effects of seasons and weather, creating predictive models based on our track record, which allows us to plan maintenance for our plants.