How to Choose the Size of a Solar Panel

Using solar lights has become an important part of modern people's life style. While enjoying the convenience brought by solar energy to them, they always feel good about their lives being sustainable to the nature. However, some people often worry that a solar energy converting system, for instance, an outdoor solar light, won’t work in their location because they think there is limited sunshine but many more cloudy weather during the year. The solar light might not receive enough sunshine to generate sufficient electricity to light itself up for long hours at night. Particularly, those who live in a Northern place. Mistei Lighting wants to tell them to get rid of this concern. Of course, all places close to tropical areas will receive more sunshine than those locations close to North and South Polar areas. However, this is Okay for them to use solar lights. Based on our profession and experience, Mistai Solar Lighting want to tell everybody when choosing solar energy products. In other words, solar energy could work in most areas on earth as long as solar panels could get a direct view of the sun and their sizes are properly chosen to meet people’s needs. In other words, people could use solar lights everywhere only if they can choose solar lights with appropriate sizes of solar panels.

Basically, the size of a solar panel is decided by the amount of sunshine it could receive in the location. If you want to get more energy from the solar panel, you should choose a bigger size one. You should consider a big size solar panel when you want to install it in a northern place where sunshine is less than a city in the tropics, such as Miami. A solar panel in a bigger size could help it receive more sunshine during the day. On the contrary, if this solar light is installed in a place where sunshine is plenty and easy to get, the solar panel could get sufficient sunshine during the day. So, you don’t need much electricity generated from the solar panel to power up the solar light at night. Then, you can purchase a small-sized solar panel. For instance, when this solar light is used in a Southern place, such as Miami USA, you can choose a solar light with a small panel because it’s easy to get plenty of sunshine during the year. On the contrary, you’d better choose a big solar panel for a solar light used in a Northern location in Alaska. According to our experienced engineers,the power consumption (wattage) of a solar device (an outdoor solar light, for instance) could determine the size of its solar panel. What's more, how long the day could be and what the sun levels are in that location could determine how much energy the solar panel could receive, which could also determine the size of a solar panel. Before purchasing a solar lighting system for your property, you’d better check the data about the amount of sunshine in the local place throughout the year. Or you can ask local solar light dealers whether the size of a solar panel is enough for the solar light during the year, particularly in rainy seasons or winter days when sunlight could be blocked for several days. However, most solar light manufacturers have designed the solar panel, including its size, to meet the increasing need of sunshine during those winter months. However, we still suggest you that you’d confirm a solar light’s panel is big enough to light itself up throughout the year. Sometimes, the solar light manufacturer could tell you to readjust the timer base the night length to endure the light could be lit from dusk to dawn.

In addition to choosing appropriate solar panel sizes, it is also important to install them to get sunshine as much as possible. In those northern places where the sunshine level is lower that that in southern places. Mistei Lighting suggest that you should install the solar panel steeper. To be specific, the solar panel should be installed 15°or more in order to ensure it could receive the maximum sunshine during winter days (the worst time for solar energy). If you are installing a solar street light in San Francisco where it’s easy obtain sufficient sunshine throughout the whole year, you’d better install the solar panel 56°or so.

To sum up, if you can choose appropriate solar panel size to ensure it could receive enough sunshine during those worst days of sunshine levels, you can enjoy the light during the whole year. Local professional solar light dealer could help you with some advice on how to install solar lights, too.