San Jose Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours

Solar Green Energy Summary for San Jose, Arizona

Lattitude: 32.8169

Sunlight

Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6 hours per day

1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 8.7 hours per day

2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 8.8 hours per day

If you put your solar powered math calculator in your backpack it will turn off from the lack of sunlight needed to power the device. As you slowly open your backpack and begin to let sunlight in, the calculator will eventually turn on when the amount of sunlight is enough to power the calculator. Similarly, peak sun hours refer to the hours of they day where the sunlight is strong enough to power a solar panel. This is different from total sunlight hours, which is simply the amount of hours in a day when there is any sunlight.

Although you can easily predict sunrise and sunset hours each day to the minute, looking at latitude can help with your solar planning. The closer you get to the equator the closer your latitude gets to zero. Sunlight hours on the equator are consistent throughout the entire year. Places further from the equator can have large variance in daily sunlight. For example higher latitudes can have very long summer days with lots of sunlight and very dark winters. The latitude of San Jose is 32.8.

You will notice the difference in peak sunlight hours depending on the panel type. The more flexibility the solar panel has the efficient it can be throughout the day and the year. A fixed solar panel remains in the same position at all times. A 1-axis panel follows the sun throughout the day as it moves through the sky and eventually sets. A 2-axis panel not only tracks the daily movement, but also adjusts based on the sun's changing position in the sky throughout the year as the seasons change.

Another reason to consider average peak sun hours is because weather can dramatically affect the day-to-day output of solar panels. It goes without saying that a dark stormy day will produce less output than a clear sunny day. Looking at a yearly average helps account for these daily variables.

We can take the latitude of San Jose and use that number to know the amount of total sunlight hours in the region from sunlight to sunset and estimate that with a fixed solar panel, San Jose will receive 6 average peak sun hours per day. This number can be increased to 8.7 hours by using a 1-axis tracking mount, or 8.8 hours from a 2-axis tracking mount.


Solar Businesses in San Jose, Arizona




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