Can solar panels work when partially shaded? Expert Video

Solar panels are increasingly important sources of energy. Whether used on buildings, benches, or boats, harnessing the sun’s power is becoming deeply embedded into society.

As the popularity of solar panels increases, some of their flaws become apparent. And one of the biggest of these problems? When solar panels are partially shaded, their efficiency plummets.

For example, if a tree casts a shadow on part of the hardware, even if it’s just a single cell, the power output of the whole system decreases significantly. Think of it like a gardening hose: if you pinch it in one spot, this interrupts the flow of water throughout the entire thing.

The issue is plain to see. With solar panels more ubiquitous than ever, it’s increasingly likely they’ll be used in situations where they may be shadowed. If, when this happens, their performance drops and essential services are interrupted, it’s a worry.

Thankfully, the team at DC Opportunities wanted to try and fix this problem with solar panels.

The company focuses on the development and implementation of DC grid technologies and researched whether there was a way to fix this technological block.

Did they succeed? Well, you can watch the video below to follow DC Opportunities’ journey to designing solar panels that function well in environments where they’re partially shaded.

And are you still hungry for more information? Then read the full research paper.