Many question 'what happens when it's cloudy or the sun's not out?'.

When a qualified designer talks about the amount of electricity expected from a particular system, these things are accounted for.

I often hear 'It's not like we're in Florida'.  Let's look at the facts.

Solar PV systems are designed based on calculations of 'average peak sun per day' numbers.  The amount of 'peak' sun that hits 1 square meter of surface area in a specific location as an average daily figure over the course of 1 year.  Obviously that number will be different in January than it is in June.  You may have 6 hours per day in June and only 2 in January but have an average of 4.

The United States is divided into zones for average wind speed, average peak sun hours (also called solar insulation), average deep earth temperature and more.

For 'peak sun hours' Florida is Zone 4 receiving an average of 4.5 hours per day while Massachusetts is Zone 5 and receives an average of 4.2 hours per day.

As you can see, that's not the difference many would expect.  Clearly Florida is a warmer average climate and that adds to the belief that solar panels would produce greater output of electricity.  The reality is that solar panels generate less electricity when the temperature gets to high.