you can expect 0-2% output from a panel in the winter time

I can confirm this. My family is off-grid and there have been extended periods the last two winters when it has simply been too dark for too long to depend on the solar without installing 50x more panels.

Also, the problem with having larger battery capacity to span these periods is that if they don’t get fully recharged or cycled properly the batteries get damaged and eventually die. We learnt that the hard way.

Solar is the undisputed champion for 80-90% of the year but needs the complemented with something else for the remainder, if you want uninterrupted on-demand electricity.