Boothbay Harbor Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours

Solar Green Energy Summary for Boothbay Harbor, Maine

Lattitude: 43.8556

Sunlight

Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 4.4 hours per day

1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 5.1 hours per day

2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.6 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.

Throughout the day the sun obviously moves throughout the Boothbay Harbor sky. The suns position in the sky also changes throughout the year with the seasons. A fixed solar panel does not accommodate for these changes. However, a 1-axis panel rotates and follows the sun’s path during the day. A 2-axis panel both follows the sun’s daily path as well as the seasonal differences

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 take the latitude of Boothbay Harbor and use that number to know the amount of total sunlight hours in the region from sunlight to sunset and estimate that with a fixed solar panel, Boothbay Harbor will receive 4.4 average peak sun hours per day. This number can be increased to 5.1 hours by using a 1-axis tracking mount, or 6.6 hours from a 2-axis tracking mount.


Solar Businesses in Boothbay Harbor, Maine




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