San Rafael Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours

Solar Green Energy Summary for San Rafael, California

Lattitude: 37.9905

Sunlight

Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 5.8 hours per day

1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.8 hours per day

2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 7.7 hours per day

Peak sun hours are a vital measurement to understand when considering the installation of solar panels. Peak sun hours are not the same as total sunlight hours because not every hour of sunlight during the day has enough strength and solar insolation to qualify as a peak sun hour. The rule of thumb is that a peak sun hour is when the intensity of the sun that is hitting your solar panel is providing at least 1,000 watts per square meter. This is an arbitrary number, but it is a number where most solar panels will be producing an efficient output and not underperforming due to sunshine that is not strong enough or direct enough.

Your latitude is an indicator of when the sunrises and sunsets and certain times of the year. If you live near the equator with a latitude of near zero, the sun will rise and set close to the same time all year resulting in consistent total sunlight hours per day. If you live near the poles, the time of sunrise and sunset will vary dramatically with each season, resulting in long days for part of the year and very short days at other times. So, locations closer to the equator will have more consistent amounts of peak sun hours throughout the year than locations closer to the poles.

A tracking mount will increase the average peak sun hours for a solar power system. Think about a panel that is tracking the sun in the sky vs a panel that is fixed and not moving: you will see a higher efficiency ratio of productions. A 1-axis mount will track the sun from East to West from sunrise to sunset and move on a single axis of rotation. A 2-axis mount will track the Sun from East to West the same as a 1-axis mount would, but it will also track the angle of the sun in the sky as it slowly varies season to season. A 2-axis mount is more necessary in high latitude regions where the angle of the sun in the sky changes dramatically between each equinox.

There are more variables than latitude that can change average peak sun hours. Weather patterns and geography will influence solar insolation that reaches your system. Thick grey storm clouds for example will block out a lot of the sun to the point where there may be no peak sun hours in the middle of the day when the sun is usually very powerful. Trees and mountains can deflect the sunlight, so be sure your solar panel is selectively placed.

By taking the latitude of San Rafael one can get a close estimate of the amount of average peak sun hours per day for the geographical area. It varies with technology and the type of solar panel mount you use, but for a fixed mount solar panel in San Rafael one can expect close to 5.8 average peak sun hours per day. With a 1-axis tracking mount you would get 6.8 hours per day, and 7.7 hours per day with a 2-axis tracking mount that tracks the sun everywhere in the sky.


Helpful & Interesting

Some air conditioners will even use as much as 2.5kw, meaning that the minimum power of your solar panel system would need to be 3kw just to power the air conditioning. ... This would be consumed by the air conditioner in a mere four or five hours. They are high demand items that require a lot of energy to keep running.


Solar Businesses in San Rafael, California

136 Mitchell Blvd
San Rafael, CA 94903
(415) 458-5870
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2955 Kerner Blvd
San Rafael, CA 94901
(888) 567-6527
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