Solar panel weather October 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?October 2024 was no champion in terms of sun. With 128 hours of sunshine against a long-term average of 120, it was a fairly average month. The distribution of sunshine over the month was interesting, because there were some very sunny periods and also some very gray and gloomy moments in between. For example, it was especially sunny from October 3 to 7 and from 22 to 27, while there were many days around those periods with barely a ray of sun to behold.
Number of hours of sunlight in October from 2015-2024 (source: KNMI)
The sun was unevenly distributed over the Netherlands. The northwest coastal area fared a lot better than South Limburg. Wheres the northwest enjoyed 135 hours of sunlight, in the south east there were only 110, plus there were days with a lot of rain down there.
There were a few sunny periods in October with very gloomy days in between (source: KNMI)
As is becoming increasingly common, last month was once again a 'mild' month with relatively high temperatures. The minimum temperature at night did not drop much, meaning that people who mainly heat their homes with an air-to-air heat pump did not have to use the gas boiler at any time.
Little wind and no negative electricity prices
Normally we get a lot of wind in autumn, but so far it hasn't been too bad (although that depends on how you look at it: the wind turbines produced a lot less power than in October last year, so that's not great). Lack of wind also leads to fog, which is not favorable for solar panels.
As far as negative electricity prices are concerned, there was nothing to worry about for people with solar panels last month: the electricity price for customers with a dynamic energy contract was at no time lower than 15 cents/kWh (source: energyzero.nl). For those who use batteries to trade electricity on the spot market, it was nice that there were a few days with large differences between minimum and maximum prices: on October 21, for example, you could earn 26 cents/kWh by charging and discharging the battery at the right time.
We're moving into the darkest time of the year. Over the next three months, your solar panels can take a break from the hard work they've been doing over the summer. But at Zonnefabriek we won't be sitting still: come rain or shine, we keep on installing. Not just solar panels, but more and more EV charging stations, heat pump boilers and home battery storage systems. Is there something in that list for you that might help you win the Zonnefabriek Self-Consumption Challenge, for example? Let us know; that's what we're here for!
