Solar panels also cool your roof

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The solar panels on your roof aren’t just providing 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 cooling benefits provided by solar photovoltaic panels. Using thermal imaging, researchers determined during the day, a building’s ceiling was five degrees Fahrenheit cooler under solar panels than under an exposed roof. At night, the panels help hold the heat in, reducing heating costs in the winter, according to a release.