Will the Sun Stop Producing Solar Power?

I had a customer who wanted to talk about the risks of pursuing a solar installation in Massachusetts.  He didn’t ask the typical questions about snowfall reducing generation or hail potentially damaging the panels.  “What if the sun stops shining next year, or for some reason there is greatly reduced sunlight?,” he asked.  He was concerned that he would make a large investment in solar power and his PV system would stop producing.  The estimates his solar installer gave him would now be inaccurate, but he would be the one absorbing the loss.  This was a first.  Not many times do we hear a customer doubting the power of the sun.  The question is… should they?  Scientists think we may have 4.5 billion years before we need to worry.

Let’s go over what we know about the sun.  It is a star that is about 109 times the size of the Earth.  The sun is at the center of the solar system.  It creates solar radiation because it is a huge ball of gas. Nuclear fusion occurs at the core of the sun causing the release of energy.  The reaction causes hydrogen to fuse into helium.  In about 4 to 5 billion years, all of the hydrogen on the sun will be consumed and it will no longer be able to fuse with helium.  It will fuse other gases until the sun eventually breaks down and dies, but we have a long time until that’s going to happen.

As a solar installer, it is important that our predicted production of your solar electric system is accurate.  For that reason, we are very conservative in our estimates.  We would be happy to speak to you more about the process we use to analyze solar power generation of your proposed site. Brightstar Solar is a licensed solar installer in Massachusetts and Connecticut.  If you’re interested in solar panels for your home or business, please contact us for a complimentary solar evaluation and free estimate.