Embden Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours

Solar Green Energy Summary for Embden, North Dakota

Lattitude: 46.805

Sunlight

Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 5 hours per day

1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.2 hours per day

2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.8 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 Embden throughout the year can help you better estimate the amount of solar panels you will need to power your business or home.

The equator has a latitude of zero while Embden has a latitude of 46.8. Any city located on the equator will receive the most sunlight throughout the year because the sunlight arrives at a perpendicular 90 degree angle to the earth at the equator. The further you are from the equator the more your daily sunlight hours can vary.

There are a few ways to increase average peak sun hours per year for your solar power system. One way is to use a tracking mount solar panel instead of a fixed tilt solar panel. A 1-axis mount will track the sun throughout the sky from sunrise to sunset, giving your panel a more efficient facing direction towards the sun throughout the day. A 2-axis solar panel will track the sun in the sky throughout the day, but also change and follow the angle of the sun in the sky throughout the year. Both of these axis system solar panels will produce higher average peak sun hours than a fixed solar panel.

There are more variables than latitude that can change average peak sun hours. Weather patterns and geography will influence solar insolation that reaches your system. Thick grey storm clouds for example will block out a lot of the sun to the point where there may be no peak sun hours in the middle of the day when the sun is usually very powerful. Trees and mountains can deflect the sunlight, so be sure your solar panel is selectively placed.

For a fixed mounted solar panel in Embden, meaning that the solar panel will not track the sun in the sky, once can expect about 5 average peak sun hours per day. A 1-axis mount would increase this number to 6.2 hours per day because the panel would be facing the sun throughout the day. A 2-axis system that tracks the sun in the sky every day of the year would get approximately 6.8 hours per day in Embden.


Helpful & Interesting

In 2017, two-thirds of North Dakota's net electricity generation came from coal, more than one-fourth came from wind energy, and 5% came from conventional hydroelectric power.


Solar Businesses in Embden, North Dakota




Leave a Reply

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