Last Thursday's heat wave in Phoenix hit 118 and I watched my neighbor's solar panels actually shut down

I was sitting on my porch around 2 PM (stupid idea I know) and noticed his inverter kept clicking off every 10 minutes. He came over and said the panels get too hot to work efficiently above 115 degrees. So at the peak of the day when you need AC most his system was barely producing anything. Has anyone else seen this happen with their own setup?

3 comments

3 Comments

lindag3328d ago

Oh yeah my system in Vegas did the exact same thing during that July heatwave it was brutal.

mary_west28d ago

Wait is it really that bad though? I mean AC units are built to handle heat, right? My system in Arizona was chugging along fine at 115 and people were acting like the world was ending. Might just need to change the filter or check for leaves blocking the outside unit before we blame the weather. Not saying it's not hot, but maybe people are a bit dramatic about it. Could be a minor maintenance thing they've been ignoring for months.

oscarc1228d ago

... and that's exactly what I saw happen with my cousin's setup in Tucson a couple summers ago. He'd just had them installed and was bragging about how much he'd save, then that July heatwave hit and his inverter was kicking off more than a mule at a rodeo. Ended up running his generator to keep the AC going, which kind of defeated the whole purpose. @lindag33 I'm curious, did yours ever come back online after the sun went down or was it a lost cause for the whole day? I've heard some of the newer panels handle heat a little better but it's still a problem you don't really think about until you're sitting there sweating.