A team of researchers recently published measurements of the cooling benefits provided by solar photovoltaic panels, and found that during the day, a building’s ceiling was 5 degrees cooler under solar panels than under an exposed roof. The panels essentially act as roof shades: rather than the sun beating down onto the roof, which causes heat to be pushed through the roof and inside the ceiling of the building, photovoltaic panels take the solar beatings. “There are more efficient ways to passively cool buildings,” said Kleissl, a professor of environmental engineering at UC San Diego. “But, if you are considering installing solar photovoltaic… you can expect a large reduction in the amount of energy you use to cool your residence or business.”
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