Solar panel weather November 2024
What was the weather like in the past month for the solar panels? What does that tell us about the yield? And how does it compare to previous years?Just as the famous Dutch poet J.C. Bloem already knew, November isn't the most joyous and sunny month of the year. As usual the month met the low bar with grey skies, a lot of rain and a few heavy storms to wrap it up.
Nevertheless, the number of hours of sunshine was still reasonable: 65 according to the Dutch meteorological agency KNMI, compared to a long-term average of 70. The sun was mainly visible in the first week of November, when it was still calm and windless. Unfortunately, on windless days in the South there was a lot of fog, which is of course disastrous for the yield of solar panels.
the number of hours with sunlight was only a bit below average (source: KNMI)
Production problems?
From about mid-November it started to rain a lot, and on some days for a very long time too. The first snowfall was also recorded, up in Groningen. Our service department received a number of concerned messages from customers whose inverters indicated that there was a 'production problem'. That wasn't a technical fault, but simply a matter of too little sunlight to produce electricity!
At the end of the month we had the first major autumn storm of the year: Conall, with wind force 10 Beaufort on the island of Vlieland and also a lot of rain once again. The season for staying indoors has arrived! And to make it comfortable inside, we recommend using our air heat pumps: comfortable, gas-free and therefore cost-effective.
Even though they were rare, we still had a few sunny days in November
Rising gas prices
The low temperatures and dwindling gas supplies caused gas prices to rise. The price of electricity also rose, but not nearly as much: thanks to the strong wind, wind farms were running at full speed, which had a lowering effect on electricity prices, especially at night. Charging home batteries and electric cars at night was therefore a good idea (for those who have a dynamic energy contract).
The coming month is usually the darkest of the year. Last year we only had 35 hours of sunshine in the entire month of December so don't expect too much! We wish you happy holidays and hope to hear from you for the Self Consumption Challenge. See you next year!
