Georgetown Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours

Solar Green Energy Summary for Georgetown, South Carolina

Lattitude: 33.3595

Sunlight

Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 5.9 hours per day

1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.4 hours per day

2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.8 hours per day

Peak sun hours are a vital measurement to understand when considering the installation of solar panels. Peak sun hours are not the same as total sunlight hours because not every hour of sunlight during the day has enough strength and solar insolation to qualify as a peak sun hour. The rule of thumb is that a peak sun hour is when the intensity of the sun that is hitting your solar panel is providing at least 1,000 watts per square meter. This is an arbitrary number, but it is a number where most solar panels will be producing an efficient output and not underperforming due to sunshine that is not strong enough or direct enough.

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 Georgetown. However, still knowing that the latitude of Georgetown is 33.4 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.

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.

In Georgetown you can look at the average peak sun hours of a fixed solar panel mount, which will be 5.9 hours. This number iis an estimate based on data of previous years. With a tracking mount in Georgetown you could theoretically increase the amount of peak sun hours per with a 1-axis mount, and get 6.4 hours, or a 2-axis mount and potentially increase your average to 6.8 hours.


Solar Businesses in Georgetown, South Carolina




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