If you want a simple answer then, yes solar panels do work on rainy days, although they are not fully efficient. So if you are going to rely on solar energy alone to run most of the home appliances then it is important for you to understand how efficient they can be on rainy and cloudy days.
Reducing Electricity Bills: Even on cloudy or rainy days, solar panels can help in lowering electricity costs, making them a financially viable option in the long run. While their performance peaks in direct sunlight, solar panels have proven their ability to remain functional and efficient even in less-than-ideal weather conditions.
There are numerous examples of solar installations in cloudy or rainy climates that are successfully meeting energy needs. To give you a clearer picture, on a cloudy day, a solar panel might operate at around 10-25% of its maximum efficiency. However, this doesn’t mean that they stop contributing to your energy needs.
We need to understand that if sunlight is limited, so is energy production. On cloudy or rainy days, PV panels typically produce anywhere from 10% to 25% of their optimal capacity, experts say. * The amount of electricity your solar panels will generate will depend on the density of cloud coverage or extent of rain.
So if you are going to rely on solar energy alone to run most of the home appliances then it is important for you to understand how efficient they can be on rainy and cloudy days. During the rainy season, we get to see cloudy weather and in this weather, there is a very limited amount of sunlight during the day.
But if you have solar or are thinking about installing panels on your home, you may wonder what happens to the energy your solar system produces when it rains. The short answer: your solar panels will still capture and convert light into electricity during rainy or cloudy weather.