One of the questions we’re asked most often here at Think Hire is can solar panels generate electricity in winter? After all, your solar tower lighting will be needed more in the darker winter months than on bright summer days, so you need to know that you can count on it to keep your site safe.

The good news is that solar power works in any weather, any time of year. For example, our solar compound lights produce 11.5 hours of light from just an 8 hour charge. That means they can be fully recharged on even the shortest of December days.

Is solar power affected by the weather?

To understand why solar power works in winter, you need to understand how solar power works in the first place. Contrary to popular belief, solar panels do not need direct sunlight, or heat, to function. Photovoltaic (PV) cells get their energy from any light, whether it’s direct sunlight or light that’s been dispersed and diffused by clouds.

Your solar tower lighting will work even on those depressingly dark and cloudy winter days. The only difference is that when the days are shorter, and the sun is lower, the amount of light reaching the panels will be less, which in turn lowers the output. However, the high position of the PV panels on our solar tower lighting ensures the maximum amount of light reaches the cells to generate the maximum amount of electricity to power your lights.

Does solar power work when it is cold?

Another question we’re often asked is does temperature affect solar power? Once again, solar energy is generated by light, not heat, so it doesn’t need to be hot to make your solar tower lighting work. Solar panels are actually more effective in cold temperatures, because the energy difference between the electrons in the panel and the photons of light that hit them is greater, so more current is produced.

In fact, solar panels become less effective the warmer the weather gets. However, since this is only at temperatures above 25°C, it’s not something we have to worry about very often here in the UK. What’s more, the increased sunlight that goes with warmer weather more than compensates for the drop in efficiency of the solar panels.

At the other end of the scale, snow can actually increase the output from your solar panels, as it reflects light from the ground and other surfaces like nearby roofs. Solar panels even work at sub-zero temperatures, with a clear, crisp frosty day often producing lots of bright sunlight to power your solar tower lighting.

Making the most of solar power in winter

The key to using solar power in the winter months is high quality battery storage. This means you can charge your batteries during the daylight hours and have that power ready to use to light your site and heat your welfare units when it goes dark.

Think Hire solar tower lighting and Solartainer Versatile hybrid generators both have built-in lithium-ion battery storage. We can also supply independent battery packs such as the portable SiteGrid X3, and the powerful SiteGrid X45, which can be linked to your Solartainer Versatile or to freestanding Solar Skyframes deployed on cabin roofs.

Clean, green energy all year round

There might not be much greenery around in the depths of winter, but you can keep your site clean and green with Think Hire’s renewable energy equipment for hire, including site generator hire, solar site lighting and much more.

Summer or winter, rain or shine, solar power keeps on working. If you’d like to find out more about making it work for you, talk to our expert team today. They’ll show you how easily, and affordably, you could be accessing renewable energy all year round, cutting emissions and cutting operating costs at the same time.