As I write this watching the rain drizzle down outside my office window, it's hard to believe that Sunday marks Midsummer.
Midsummer?
It hasn’t even started yet.
Also known as the Summer Solstice, 21st June is the longest day of sunlight in the year.
Which should make it a pretty good day for solar generation.
So we dug out the stats from one Activ8 customer on 2024's Summer Solstice to see what actually happened.
It turns out their solar panels were still generating electricity at 11:15pm.
Looking at data from 21st June 2024, this customer's solar system recorded its first electricity generation at approximately 3:30am.
At that stage, most people were still asleep.
Lights were off and the kettle certainly wasn't on.
But the solar panels had already started generating electricity which is one of the things many homeowners don't realise about solar.
Panels don't suddenly switch on when the sun appears overhead.
They begin generating electricity as soon as sufficient daylight becomes available.
Perhaps even more surprising was when generation stopped.
The customer's system recorded its final solar production of the day at approximately 11:15pm, long after that night’s Euro 2024 matches had finished.
That's almost bedtime for some households.
In other words, this solar system was generating electricity for an astonishing 19 hours and 45 minutes, not bad for a country that often gets accused of lacking sunshine.
Across the day, the system generated approximately 37kWh of electricity.
To put that into perspective, that's more electricity than many Irish households use over several days.
Of course, every home is different and generation levels vary depending on factors such as system size, roof orientation, location, weather conditions and shading.
However, it provides a useful real-world example of what's possible during the peak of the Irish solar season.
One of the most interesting parts of the data wasn't the amount generated, but what happened to the electricity afterwards.
Approximately 14.79kWh was used directly within the home throughout the day.
A further 22.21kWh was exported back to the grid.
In other words, around 60% of the electricity generated wasn't needed immediately and was available to be exported.
This is where solar can become particularly attractive for homeowners who benefit from export payments through Ireland's Microgeneration Support Scheme.
Another figure that stands out was grid usage.
Despite normal household electricity demand, the property imported just 0.17kWh from the grid across the entire day.
That's an exceptionally low figure.
While every home's experience will differ, it demonstrates how significantly solar generation can reduce reliance on imported electricity during brighter months.
No.
The Summer Solstice represents something of a best-case scenario because it delivers the longest daylight hours of the year, but solar generation remains strong throughout spring and summer.
Even outside peak summer months, modern solar systems continue generating electricity whenever daylight is available.
In fact, one of the biggest misconceptions in Ireland is that solar only works during heatwaves or cloudless skies.
Solar panels generate electricity from daylight rather than heat.
Which is fortunate, because Ireland isn't exactly famous for Mediterranean temperatures either.
One thing that often gets overlooked in conversations about solar is daylight.
Ireland may not enjoy the same sunshine levels as southern Europe, but during summer we benefit from exceptionally long days.
Around the Summer Solstice, daylight stretches from early morning until late evening.
That gives solar panels a much longer window to generate electricity than many homeowners realise.
As this customer's data shows, generation can begin shortly after 3:30am and continue until after 11:00pm. Those extra hours add up.
The honest answer is that it depends on the time of year, weather conditions and the specific system involved.
But as this real-world example shows, solar generation can begin shortly after 3:30am and continue until after 11:00pm around the Summer Solstice.
That's almost twenty hours of electricity production from a single day.
For a country that supposedly doesn't get enough sunshine for solar panels, that's not a bad return.
Solar panels generate electricity whenever sufficient daylight is available. During the Summer Solstice, some systems may produce electricity for close to twenty hours.
Yes. Solar panels generate electricity from daylight rather than direct heat, meaning they continue producing electricity during cloudy and overcast conditions.
This depends on the season and available daylight. During midsummer, generation can begin shortly after 3:30am in some parts of Ireland.
Solar production gradually reduces as daylight fades. Around the Summer Solstice, generation can continue until after 11pm.
Real-world performance is often the best way to understand what solar can achieve.
With over 20 years' experience and more than 25,000 installations across Ireland, Activ8 Solar Energies helps homeowners understand how solar performs in real Irish conditions rather than relying on assumptions about the weather.
If you'd like to explore what solar could look like for your home, including battery storage, EV charging, available grants and projected savings, you can get in touch with the Activ8 team here.
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