Trowbridge Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours

Solar Green Energy Summary for Trowbridge, Illinois

Lattitude: 39.3103

Sunlight

Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 4.4 hours per day

1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 5.6 hours per day

2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.2 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.

If you open the newspaper in the morning or watch the weather channel on the news you can get an accurate prediction of sunrise and sunset each day for Trowbridge. However, still knowing that the latitude of Trowbridge is 39.3 can be a helpful number for your solar panel setup and planning. The closer your latitude is to zero the closer you are to the equator. At the equator you find the most consistent total sunlight hours throughout any given day of the year. As your latitude increases you can see larger discrepancies of daily sunlight hours during the year. For example, having very long summer days and very short and dark winter days

They type of solar panel you use has an affect on the average peak sunlight hours. Some panels allow for movement, so they can track the sun as it rises in the east and sets in the west, or as the seasons change and the sun's path changes. A fixed panel remains fixed and does not have the ability to rotate, whereas a 1-axis and 2-axis panel can adjust with the sun.

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.

In Trowbridge you can look at the average peak sun hours of a fixed solar panel mount, which will be 4.4 hours. This number iis an estimate based on data of previous years. With a tracking mount in Trowbridge you could theoretically increase the amount of peak sun hours per with a 1-axis mount, and get 5.6 hours, or a 2-axis mount and potentially increase your average to 6.2 hours.


Solar Businesses in Trowbridge, Illinois




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