How Much Do Trees Affect Solar Panels

If you are considering cutting down fewer than 50 trees to get the most out of a 7 500 watt solar electric system don t feel guilty.

How much do trees affect solar panels.

Many households are now located in green spaces with tree planting being paid much attention to. They come with a 30 year warranty on the pv cells and the inverter. The standard envision solar tree is mounted on a single central tower with a 35 square foot 60 module solar photovoltaic panel a solar array mounted on top. Like a real tree solar trees can offer shade making them ideal for integration into an open park or property.

Envision also provides a custom solution for self sustainable electric vehicle charging stations in these stations the solar powered trees produce energy that is stored. Once shade causing items are properly modeled we can accurately determine how much impact will be seen on solar kwh production. Even a small obstruction like a leaf can have a considerable impact on the performance of your system. Manufacturing a typical 5 kilowatt kw solar energy system produces about 10 metric tons of co2 so the total co2 emissions associated with removing one tree and installing a residential solar power system are roughly 10 5 metric tons.

Clearly trees growing within the vicinity of solar array can be a leading factor to shading. This is even more so the case with semi evergreen and evergreen trees such as the dreaded leylandii which can grow up to a metre a year and reach heights of 35 metres tall. From a carbon offset standpoint the solar array is a big win. The 9 606 pounds of co2 that our solar system offsets every year is equivalent to the carbon absorbing capability of about 50 trees.

Often times solar trees have customizable options to add features in the shade below the panels such as attached seating or a table. In the example above shading due to the trees at the south east side of the church will cause around 5 6 estimated power loss. Thus you may risk having solar panels covered by growing trees and foliage during their 25 year average lifespan. Trees and buildings or other landscape features such as hills can block incoming radiation and cast a shadow reducing the usable solar radiation.