Towanda Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours
Solar Green Energy Summary for Towanda, Kansas
Lattitude: 37.7965
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: 7.8 hours per day
Looking at the average peak sunlight hours in Towanda is a valuable number for determining your solar power setup. Peak sunlight hours are only the hours a day in which the sunlight is strong enough for the solar panels to do their job. Not every hour of sunlight was created equal. For example, solar panels do not provide much use during early sunrise and sunset, and therefore you should not look at total hours of sunlight in a day, but instead focus on peak sunlight hours. Using this number will provide a much better estimate of your needs for setting up panels in Towanda, Kansas.
Sunlight hits the earth directly at the equator. This is why the equator has a latitude of zero degrees. The latitude of Towanda is 37.8. Knowing the latitude of Towanda 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.
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 Towanda. A fixed tilt mount for example will receive 5.5 average hours per day. For more efficiency for your system in Towanda you could use a 1-axis tracking mount and increase your daily peak sun average to 6.4 hours, or even further with a 2-axis panel to get an average of 7.8 hours.