Do Solar Panels Work At Night?

Solar panels are known for harnessing sunlight and creating energy from it. However, a common question often arises: ‘do solar panels work at night?’. 

You may be concerned about powering your home at night or wonder how much energy can be produced when the sun isn’t shining. 

In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need about solar panels and energy production during the nighttime. 

How Do Solar Panels Create Energy? 

To understand the conditions needed to get solar panels to work, we must first discuss how solar panels create energy in the first place.

Solar panels are made up of photovoltaic cells (PV cells), which are all interconnected within the panel. When the sun’s light hits a cell, it excites the electors in the silicon atoms within them – causing them to flow and generate an electric current.

The solar cells are connected in a series, which produces Direct Current (DC) electricity when the cells work together. 

To use this energy for domestic or commercial purposes, you must hook your solar system up to an inverter, which converts the electrical energy generated by the panels into Alternating Current (AC) electricity. 

Do Solar Panels Work During The Night?

The simple answer to this is no, solar panels do not work during the nighttime. 

Solar panels can only produce electricity when there is sunlight to convert.

 However, just because the panels aren’t actively making energy during this time doesn’t mean that your solar system isn’t storing energy that can be used to power your home. There are some other ways to keep your electricity running at night, including:

Using A Solar Battery 

A solar battery can be used to store power generated by your solar panels during the day so that you can use this to power your home at night time. 

This allows you to power your appliances, lights and more with your independent energy system without relying on the grid at night. 

Using Grid Energy At Night Time 

Another way to use solar energy at night is to connect your solar panel system to the grid. If your solar panels generate more electricity than you need during the day, you can sell the excess energy back to the grid for credit. 

At night, when the solar panels are not generating electricity, you can switch back to grid energy – using a grid supply, so long as you are confident that you can afford it, or use your credits to cover it. 

Speak To A Smartly Solar Expert 

Are you interested in investing in a solar system for your home? Speak to one of our Smartly solar experts to learn more about creating the perfect solar system to meet your energy demands. 
You can reach out to us using our enquiry form or use our live chat function to get a fast response from one of our solar experts.

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