Do solar panels work in cloudy weather?
Solar panels absorb photons of certain wavelengths, of which big portion is in visible spectrum and hence the dark color of solar cells. Silicon crystal based solar panels could use photons directly from the sun, or reflected light from clouds etc., or even diffused light. In general, higher the intensity of light, higher the efficiency of the panels, so dim light usually does not generate much electricity. Monocrystal panels are the only ones with good efficiency at low light intensities, like in cloudy weathers, thus with monocrystal panels, you can achieve more energy on average.
