The Myth That Solar Panels Only Make Sense in Summer

Solar panels do not make sense only in summer: in Hungary, from autumn to spring too, enough solar radiation reaches roofs for a well-sized system to produce a meaningful amount of electricity. In winter, however, it gives substantially less than in summer, and because with new systems the summer surplus can no longer be offset against winter consumption, winter generation today has to be thought through separately.

What arguments did the 2015 article make?

The article was published by 24.hu in autumn 2015, in the words of solar expert András Petre; the press monitoring of the Hungarian Solar Panel and Solar Collector Association picked it up on 29 October 2015. Its main ideas:

• Generation is proportional to sunshine. In midsummer the sun shines for more than 8.6 hours a day, in December for only about an hour and a half - the difference is almost sixfold.
• There is enough radiation in winter too. From October to March, solar radiation of 250-600 W/m² reaches the ground, which with an adequately sized system and a high-efficiency inverter already gives considerable generation.
• Better inverters. Earlier devices lost 5-8 percent of the energy; the most modern, according to the article, only 1-2 percent - which matters most with weaker winter generation. The price of systems had halved by the time of the article.
• Snow slides off by itself. On smooth-surfaced panels set at an angle of 40-45 degrees, snow does not stay, so no special maintenance is needed in winter either.

What has changed in billing?

The old article was built on the electricity provider accounting once a year for the difference between fed-in and consumed electricity. That way summer overproduction - for example electricity generated during a one-to-two-week July holiday - could also cover extra winter consumption. This annual net metering has ended for new systems:

• Gross billing since 2024. Since 1 January 2024, for newly established household solar systems in Hungary, the meter records sold and purchased electricity separately, and the two are accounted for separately.
• Net metering remains only for earlier applicants. Anyone who submitted an establishment request by September 2023 and also put the system into operation by 1 January 2026 can stay on the old method for a maximum of 10 years.

With a new system, therefore, electricity generated in summer cannot be "saved" for winter: the most valuable is what the house itself uses at the moment of generation.

What should you watch out for if you have electric heating?

• Start from the winter months. Heating needs the most electricity in December and January, when the solar panel produces the least. This difference has to be handled in the sizing - as the expert of the old article also stressed, the summer surplus and the winter demand have to be looked at together.
• It helps most in the shoulder seasons. In autumn and spring, heating demand and solar generation overlap better, especially for rooms used during the day.
• Calculate with real consumption. Payback is worth calculating from the house's actual heat demand and consumption profile, not from general promises.

The relationship between solar panels and electric heating is covered in detail on our solar panel page and in our analysis of the real savings of solar heating; how heating film and solar panels can be planned as one system is presented in our article Heating film and solar panels. Further common misconceptions are collected in our piece on solar panel myths.