Coon Rapids Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours

Solar Green Energy Summary for Coon Rapids, Minnesota

Lattitude: 45.1756

Sunlight

Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 4.3 hours per day

1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 5.4 hours per day

2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.4 hours per day

The average amount of peak sun hours in a day is a different and more useful number as it relates to solar panels than total sun hours. Total sun hours are exactly what you would expect; the total amount of hours that the sun is out during a 24 hour period. Peak sun hours, on the other hand, are the total number of hours in a day where the sunshine is strong enough to to be absorbed and used by solar panels. Sunlight early in the morning or late at night is often not strong enough to count toward peak sun hours. Because of this, total sun hours will always be more than peak sun hours. Looking at the average peak sun hours in Coon Rapids throughout the year can help you better estimate the amount of solar panels you will need to power your business or home.

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 Coon Rapids. However, still knowing that the latitude of Coon Rapids is 45.2 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

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.

Another reason to consider average peak sun hours is because weather can dramatically affect the day-to-day output of solar panels. It goes without saying that a dark stormy day will produce less output than a clear sunny day. Looking at a yearly average helps account for these daily variables.

In Coon Rapids you can look at the average peak sun hours of a fixed solar panel mount, which will be 4.3 hours. This number iis an estimate based on data of previous years. With a tracking mount in Coon Rapids you could theoretically increase the amount of peak sun hours per with a 1-axis mount, and get 5.4 hours, or a 2-axis mount and potentially increase your average to 6.4 hours.


Solar Businesses in Coon Rapids, Minnesota

1285 114th Ave NW
Coon Rapids, MN 55448
(763) 432-5261
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