Nature & Environment
Solar Energy Generation Very Good in Snowy Areas
Brooke Miller
First Posted: Oct 25, 2012 06:05 AM EDT
If you are residing in the snowy place consider investing in photovoltaic panels. Even in the bleak midwinter, panels don't usually stay snow-covered for long
"Sometimes snow actually helps solar cells," says Michigan Tech's Joshua Pearce. He's referring to the albedo effect, when sunlight reflects off snow. It can make a panel generate more electricity in the same way that it gives skiers sunburn on sunny winter days.
The study was conducted by researchers from St. Lawrence College and Queen's University, in Kingston, Ontario, and a team of 20 industry partners.
For the study the researchers studied the effect of snow on the Open Solar Outdoors Test Field. With the help of a newly created computer model they predicted how much power generation would decline in various amounts of snow cover and on different types of solar modules mounted at different angles, from flat to steep pitch.
This model was later validated with data from many of Ontario's huge commercial solar farms.
"In most cases power losses are minimal, even in snowy Canada," Pearce said. However, the group has developed a model that can be used to design the most efficient photovoltaic systems, no matter how much snow is in the area.
The paper "Prediction of Energy Effects on Photovoltaic Systems Due to Snowfall Events," was published in the proceedings of 2012 38thIEEE Photovolatic Specialists Conference.
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First Posted: Oct 25, 2012 06:05 AM EDT
If you are residing in the snowy place consider investing in photovoltaic panels. Even in the bleak midwinter, panels don't usually stay snow-covered for long
"Sometimes snow actually helps solar cells," says Michigan Tech's Joshua Pearce. He's referring to the albedo effect, when sunlight reflects off snow. It can make a panel generate more electricity in the same way that it gives skiers sunburn on sunny winter days.
The study was conducted by researchers from St. Lawrence College and Queen's University, in Kingston, Ontario, and a team of 20 industry partners.
For the study the researchers studied the effect of snow on the Open Solar Outdoors Test Field. With the help of a newly created computer model they predicted how much power generation would decline in various amounts of snow cover and on different types of solar modules mounted at different angles, from flat to steep pitch.
This model was later validated with data from many of Ontario's huge commercial solar farms.
"In most cases power losses are minimal, even in snowy Canada," Pearce said. However, the group has developed a model that can be used to design the most efficient photovoltaic systems, no matter how much snow is in the area.
The paper "Prediction of Energy Effects on Photovoltaic Systems Due to Snowfall Events," was published in the proceedings of 2012 38thIEEE Photovolatic Specialists Conference.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone