If you are collecting the Sun’s heat then atmospheric temperature must not drain away the warmth provided by the Sun. Technically, the solar heating will continue no matter what the air temperature but the colder the air, the less efficient the solar collector until the amount of benefit becomes negligible.
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Hey Flippy, Tim and Oginne are quite right. If you are heating water, air, or some other medium, then you solar collector will continue to heat, but lose some energy at the same time to atmospheric cooling as the air gets colder. Many systems, particularly those that heat domestic water with an alcohol medium, are designed to withstand subfreezing temperatures, but they really don’t accomplish anything in that environment. They are designed to withstand subfreezing temperatures to get through the night, so that they can heat water in daytime temps around 40 or 50 degrees F. If it is below freezing during the day, the fluid in the collector almost never gets above the temperature you’re trying to heat your water to, so it can’t do you any good on a day like that.
There is a misnomer about solar electric panels that they do not perform as well in cold temperatures as they do in heat. Actually, the reverse is true. We have a home that is powered by the wind and sun in the Northern Great Lakes. Solar panel manufacturers warn you that if you live in an area that experiences temperatures below 32 F (0 C), that you must upgauge your wiring from the array because the panels actually put out more power than they are rated for, a fair amount more in fact. Our main array is rated at 48 amps at 70 degrees F, but I have personally watched it produce over 60 amps on cold winter days. Even though the days are shorter, we can get nearly the same power out of our panels during the day if the sun is out as we do on a long sunny summer day. At temperatures below 0 degrees F, a solar electric panel can put out as much as 140% of its rated full power. This can create a problem if you charge controller, disconnects or wiring are not designed for the extra power. The reason for this is the same reason we cool supercomputers to make them work faster, the semiconductors, largely made of silicone, slows the flow of electrons as they heat up. A solar panel is made primarily of the same substance. Many of our remote research and weather stations in the arctic use solar power even in the winter, because at such drastic temperatures, the panel can do the work of 2 panels in the midwest when the sun shines.
You’re asking a fairly uncommon question, one that most people who are not involved in the use of solar power not only don’t know the answer, but are not even aware of the effect. If you want to learn more, I’ll include some sources below. Good luck, and take care…Rudydoo
they’ll work as long as there is sun. but they’ll work less efficiently at temperatures below 25 degrees celcius and above 50 degrees celcius. there are two other factors that determine how much power the solar panel makes (the amount of solar cells, and the amount of sunlight)
That depends on how you are collecting it.
Photoelectric generators work at any temperature.
If you are collecting the Sun’s heat then atmospheric temperature must not drain away the warmth provided by the Sun. Technically, the solar heating will continue no matter what the air temperature but the colder the air, the less efficient the solar collector until the amount of benefit becomes negligible.
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As long as there is sunlight or a source of light, photovoltaic cells will work at any given temperature.
Hey Flippy, Tim and Oginne are quite right. If you are heating water, air, or some other medium, then you solar collector will continue to heat, but lose some energy at the same time to atmospheric cooling as the air gets colder. Many systems, particularly those that heat domestic water with an alcohol medium, are designed to withstand subfreezing temperatures, but they really don’t accomplish anything in that environment. They are designed to withstand subfreezing temperatures to get through the night, so that they can heat water in daytime temps around 40 or 50 degrees F. If it is below freezing during the day, the fluid in the collector almost never gets above the temperature you’re trying to heat your water to, so it can’t do you any good on a day like that.
There is a misnomer about solar electric panels that they do not perform as well in cold temperatures as they do in heat. Actually, the reverse is true. We have a home that is powered by the wind and sun in the Northern Great Lakes. Solar panel manufacturers warn you that if you live in an area that experiences temperatures below 32 F (0 C), that you must upgauge your wiring from the array because the panels actually put out more power than they are rated for, a fair amount more in fact. Our main array is rated at 48 amps at 70 degrees F, but I have personally watched it produce over 60 amps on cold winter days. Even though the days are shorter, we can get nearly the same power out of our panels during the day if the sun is out as we do on a long sunny summer day. At temperatures below 0 degrees F, a solar electric panel can put out as much as 140% of its rated full power. This can create a problem if you charge controller, disconnects or wiring are not designed for the extra power. The reason for this is the same reason we cool supercomputers to make them work faster, the semiconductors, largely made of silicone, slows the flow of electrons as they heat up. A solar panel is made primarily of the same substance. Many of our remote research and weather stations in the arctic use solar power even in the winter, because at such drastic temperatures, the panel can do the work of 2 panels in the midwest when the sun shines.
You’re asking a fairly uncommon question, one that most people who are not involved in the use of solar power not only don’t know the answer, but are not even aware of the effect. If you want to learn more, I’ll include some sources below. Good luck, and take care…Rudydoo
they’ll work as long as there is sun. but they’ll work less efficiently at temperatures below 25 degrees celcius and above 50 degrees celcius. there are two other factors that determine how much power the solar panel makes (the amount of solar cells, and the amount of sunlight)