Atwood Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours

Solar Green Energy Summary for Atwood, California

Lattitude: 33.8656

Sunlight

Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 5.6 hours per day

1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 7 hours per day

2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 7.2 hours per day

The average amount of peak sun hours in a day is a different and more useful number as it relates to solar panels than total sun hours. Total sun hours are exactly what you would expect; the total amount of hours that the sun is out during a 24 hour period. Peak sun hours, on the other hand, are the total number of hours in a day where the sunshine is strong enough to to be absorbed and used by solar panels. Sunlight early in the morning or late at night is often not strong enough to count toward peak sun hours. Because of this, total sun hours will always be more than peak sun hours. Looking at the average peak sun hours in Atwood throughout the year can help you better estimate the amount of solar panels you will need to power your business or home.

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 Atwood is 33.9.

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.

Since we know the latitude of Atwood we can take the average amount of total sunlight hours and estimate that with a fixed solar panel there would be an average of 5.6 peak sun hours per day. 7 hours per day with a 1-axis tracking mount that tracks the sun from sunrise to sunset, and 7.2 hours with a 2-axis tracking mount that tracks the sun everywhere in the sky.


Solar Businesses in Atwood, California




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