Joining the Renewable Heating Hub forums is completely free and only takes a minute. By registering you’ll be able to ask questions, join discussions, follow topics you’re interested in, bookmark useful threads and receive notifications when someone replies. Non-registered members also do not have access to our AI features. When choosing your username, please note that it cannot be changed later, so we recommend avoiding brand or product names. Before registering, please take a moment to read the Forum Rules & Terms of Use so we can keep the community helpful, respectful and informative for everyone. Thanks for joining!
Question about shaded roof to pv owners
I am thinking about Solar panels to help with carzy electricity prices. I have a South facing roof. As u can see in the picture I will have some shading on when the leaves grow back on two trees that are casting shdowes on my roof. This gets better as we go towards the summer as the sun gets up above them.
My question is: Is it true that new panels need day light to work not necessary sun? Do they still produce energy if sade is on them? I am think about 6-8kw system
16kw Samsung TDM ASHP. 8.4kw PV, power optimizers 20×420watt panels 6kw SolarEdge inverter.
I'm only an owner, not an expert. However, I have a PV array that's rated at about 6.5kW, so should give you some context.
What I can say is that during February when the sun was fairly low in the sky, and with a useable time range of around 9am to 16:30, I have seen my array generate up to about 15kWh. That has needed pretty much constant sunshine and a really clear day. Days like that this year have been interspersed with days of complete cloud throughout, and the same timespan on those days has seen my array producing around 2-3kWh.
As you can see, I'm not answering specifically about shade. However, it's obvious from this that a solar panel will definitely generate electricity without bright direct sunlight, but that efficiency tails off rather dramatically. It looks in the photograph as if you have a second (smaller) South-facing roof that does get full sunlight, and I suspect a few panels on that would likely generate a similar amount in full sun to the larger roof covered in solar panels when in shade.
Naturally, the sun doesn't stay still, so I don't know if the shade from the trees is all day long or just for a certain number of hours. That will also influence your decision.
Hope that helps.
105 m2 bungalow in South East England
Mitsubishi Ecodan 8.5 kW air source heat pump
18 x 360W solar panels
1 x 6 kW GroWatt battery and SPH5000 inverter
1 x Myenergi Zappi
1 x VW ID3
Raised beds for home-grown veg and chickens for eggs
"Semper in excretia; sumus solum profundum variat"
- 26 Forums
- 2,716 Topics
- 63.6 K Posts
- 742 Online
- 7,116 Members
Join Us!
Installer Finder
Degrees of Separation
Latest Posts
-
That isn't the dominant factor in the case of Derril Wa...
By Transparent , 11 minutes ago
-
RE: Indevolt Batteries UK Support & Info Thread
Those are very good questions and indeed ones I was ask...
By JamesPa , 1 hour ago
-
For cooling a whole building, or even a big room with l...
By EtchedPixels , 2 hours ago
-
RE: Comms and power cabling to outside unit
@old_scientist 100%, the cover is for warrantied unit...
By Papahuhu , 2 hours ago
-
I don't remember the manufacturer name, but I saw simil...
By bobflux , 4 hours ago
-
RE: Weather compensated secondary circuits with Biomass
UFH is ideal to get max efficiency with a heat pump, bu...
By bobflux , 4 hours ago
-
RE: Vaillant Arotherm Pro vs new Plus
when our system was installed in September 2 years ago ...
By Judith , 19 hours ago
-
RE: Rate the quality of your heat pump design and installation
I had a Heat Geek lead install by Green Heat Norfolk. T...
By Orlando , 1 day ago
-
RE: Mitsubishi Ecodan FTC6 settings
While @F1p's dongles are great, the FTC can do this its...
By RobS , 2 days ago
-
RE: Samsung heat pump - data cable issue
If it's a data cable, current will be minuscule, voltag...
By bobflux , 2 days ago
-
RE: MCS Quality Audit – Has Anyone Had One? Did It Lead to Remediation?
I got hit with an RHI audit in 2022. It was far from c...
By Abernyte , 2 days ago
-
RE: Electricity price predictions
@papahuhu Groucho Marx had something to say about no...
By Toodles , 2 days ago
-
RE: Octopus Cosy Heat Pump Owners & Discussion Thread
@jamespa haha very true, although the engineer yesterda...
By swwils , 2 days ago
-
RE: What a difference a few degrees make.
Wow. Having accepted the challenge, I ran the cold tap ...
By Old_Scientist , 3 days ago





