Do solar panels work in the rain?

Jane Howarth, Marketing Manager at Green Route clears up a common misconception.

As anyone who has received a sunburn on an overcast day can tell you, much of the sun's UV light still gets through to the earth even if there are clouds or rain.  It's that same UV light that is mostly responsible for creating energy in solar panels.  So even in dark and rainy weather, panels are still producing energy for you.
 
However of course, they don't produce quite as much energy.  In fact, there are a few conditions that may cause your solar panels to be less efficient:
 
Dark and Cloudy - 40% - 50% drop in efficiency
Rainy -  60% - 70% drop in efficiency depending on how dark & heavy the rain clouds are
Heavy fog - 15%-20% drop in efficiency
Light fog - 8%-15% drop in efficiency
 
So even in different weather conditions, your panels will still produce energy for you, and even on a very rainy April day, we would still recommend that you go solar!
 
If you are ready to make the move to solar, please fill out our contact form and we'll get in touch.  We'll also send you our guide to going solar that will help you through the process.