Why solar panels do not always live up to expectations

Houses of BeterWonen in Tilburg with solar panels (source: BeterWonen) - TU/e researcher tested the performance of solar panels in real-life by looking at 256 identical residential PV systems all across the Netherlands. The need to switch to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar has never been more urgent. As the gas tap is slowly turned off, electricity becomes more and more expensive, and the effects of the warming climate are becoming painfully visible, more and more people are acquiring solar panels. The performance of solar panels has been tested extensively in the laboratory. But do these PV systems indeed deliver what they promise? Researcher Bin Meng decided to test the solar panels in real-life. He found that on average the performance of the tested PV systems is 6 procent lower than expected. We talked to Meng to find out what is happening.