I've got a small (20W) solar panel on my roof. I used it to charge batteries that ran a night light while I was away recently.
I've now taken the batteries off the system to conserve them, and wonder whether it is OK to leave the panel open circuit, put a suitable incandescent globe across it, or perhaps even put a cover over the panel whilst not required.
Thanks John, I sort of expected as much, but I put a suitable globe across it and at first it glowed fairly brightly (not as much as flat out), but today, with full Sun, it merely got slightly warm. Must check my wiring - hungry rats who won't eat their rat blox :) jack
The panel will be fine, unloaded. It will just get a tiny bit warmer than it would if it had a load across it.
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