San Joaquin Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours

Solar Green Energy Summary for San Joaquin, California

Lattitude: 36.6056

Sunlight

Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 5.4 hours per day

1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 7.1 hours per day

2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 8.8 hours per day

Peak sun hours is arguably the most important number to consider before installing your solar panels. Unlike total sun hours, peak sun hours are calculated by looking at the amount of sunlight hours in a 24 hour period that is strong enough to be absorb by a solar panel. One way to imagine peak sun hours is to think about a solar powered calculator you owned in school. If you covered the solar panel with your finger, or tried to use the calculator in the dark, the calculator would not work. As you slowly exposed the calculator to light the calculator would eventually turn on and be usable. The same is true with peak sun hours; these are the hours that your solar panels receive enough sunlight to work. Looking at the average peak sunlight hours of 5.4 per day can help you determine the amount of solar panels you need to install to power your home or business in San Joaquin, California.

Sunlight hits the earth directly at the equator. This is why the equator has a latitude of zero degrees. The latitude of San Joaquin is 36.6. Knowing the latitude of San Joaquin can help you plan for your solar panel setup, as the larger the latitude the more variance you will see throughout the year for total daily sunlight hours.

The sun moves through the sky during the day, and changes positions in the sky throughout the year as the seasons change. A fixed solar panel remains fixed in position during this movement. So, although it is effective in capturing sunlight, a 1-axis or 2-axis panel can be more efficient. A 1-axis panel tracks the sun's movement throughout the day from sunrise to sunset. In addition to that, the 2-axis panel also accounts for the movement throughout the year.

Although weather predicting technology has greatly evolved over time, it is still a rather unpredictable factor that will affect the amount of peak sun hours your solar power system will receive. Cloudy days for example will usually have lower peak sun hours that a clear sunny day. And areas that usually have more average sunny days per year will probably have higher peak sun hours that areas that are often overcast or stormy.

For a fixed mounted solar panel in San Joaquin, meaning that the solar panel will not track the sun in the sky, once can expect about 5.4 average peak sun hours per day. A 1-axis mount would increase this number to 7.1 hours per day because the panel would be facing the sun throughout the day. A 2-axis system that tracks the sun in the sky every day of the year would get approximately 8.8 hours per day in San Joaquin.


Solar Businesses in San Joaquin, California




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