Solar panels also cool.

Brief article

Solar houses (Heating, cooling and ventilation)

08/01/2011

Name: ASHRAE Journal Publisher: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. Audience: Academic Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Construction and materials industries Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2011 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. ISSN: 0001-2491

Date: August, 2011 Source Volume: 53 Source Issue: 8

Geographic Scope: United States Geographic Code: 1USA United States

268310451

SAN DIEGO -- Solar panels don't just provide clean power; they are cooling your house, or your workplace, too, according to a team of researchers led by Jan Kleissl, a professor of environmental engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.

In a study in an upcoming issue of the journal Solar Energy, Kleissl and his team published what they believe are the first peer-reviewed measurements of the cooling benefits provided by solar photovoltaic panels. Using thermal imaging, researchers determined that during the day, a building's ceiling was 5[degrees]F (2.7[degrees]C) cooler under solar panels than under an exposed roof. At night, the panels help hold heat in, reducing heating costs in the winter.

Kleissl's team determined that the amount saved on cooling on the study building amounted to getting a 5% discount on the solar panels' price or selling 5% more solar energy to the grid than the panels actually produce.

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Copyright 2011 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

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