Springfield Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours

Solar Green Energy Summary for Springfield, Idaho

Lattitude: 43.0816

Sunlight

Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 5.5 hours per day

1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.4 hours per day

2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 7.4 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.

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.

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.

Weather is one of the major culprits that will cause inconsistent total peak sun hours for any given day. The sunrise and sunset will always be predictable every day, but the weather is hard to predict and cloud coverage can greatly diminish the efficiency of a solar power system on any given day. On the bright side, a location that is known to have cloudy weather a majority of the year could have unexpectedly more sunny days, so it can go both ways.

The average daily peak sunlight hours in Springfield, Idaho is 5.5 hours. Use this number when trying to calculate your solar needs in Springfield. As you can see above, if you were to use a 1-Axis or 2-Axis panel then the daily average would increase to 6.4 hour and 7.4 hours, respectively.


Helpful & Interesting

Wind turbines convert around 45% of the wind passing through the blades into electricity (and almost 50% at peak efficiency)6,7. Over time, coal power stations operate at around 85% of full capacity (known as the capacity factor).


Solar Businesses in Springfield, Idaho




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