Welton Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours

Solar Green Energy Summary for Welton, Iowa

Lattitude: 41.9075

Sunlight

Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 4.8 hours per day

1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.6 hours per day

2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.8 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.

The latitude of the location is important for measuring peak sun hours. The latitude determines how much overall sunlight there will be in a day. With a given latitude, time and date, one can accurately determine when sunrise and sunset will occur. Areas with latitudes closer to the equator will have a more consistent range of solar insolation throughout the year. Whereas areas closer to the poles will have a greater variance during the summer and winter months due to their higher latitudes.

Depending on your output needs, to get more out of your solar panels you can either upgrade your technology, buy more panels, or buy different tracking type panels. A fixed solar panel remains fixed at one angle throughout the year. A 1-axis panel will produce more output because it follows the path of the sun from sunrise to sunset to maximize sun exposure. Even more productive is a 2-axis panel that not only follows the sun's path throughout the day, but also accounts for the more subtle sun changes throughout the year with the different seasons.

Looking at latitude, average peak sun hours and various data can obviously help when planning for your solar power needs. The one thing you can never fully account for is changing weather. Storms, rain, cloud coverage all have an impact on solar panel capabilities.

We can use previous years of data to estimate the amount of peak sun hours in Welton. A fixed tilt mount for example will receive 4.8 average hours per day. For more efficiency for your system in Welton you could use a 1-axis tracking mount and increase your daily peak sun average to 6.6 hours, or even further with a 2-axis panel to get an average of 6.8 hours.


Solar Businesses in Welton, Iowa




Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *