Oak Grove Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours
Solar Green Energy Summary for Oak Grove, South Carolina
Lattitude: 33.7782
Sunlight
Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 5 hours per day
1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.2 hours per day
2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.6 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.
Knowing the latitude of Oak Grove will help estimate average peak sun hours for your area. The latitude is used to accurately estimate the time of sunrise and sunset, thus giving you the total hours of daylight each day. Once you know the total hours of daylight, you can estimate the amount of peak sun hours based on a number of variables such as weather, time of year, the angle of the solar panel.
Since a fixed solar panel is set in one position it is ideal to place it at an angle that will expose the panel to the most sunlight throughout the year. This angle is generally the same angle of your latitude which is 33.8 for Oak Grove. You do not need to strategically place a 1-axis or 2-axis panel as much as you do a fixed panel. A 1-axis panel follows the movement of the sun during the day. Additionally, a 2-axis panel also adjusts for the suns various positions in the sky throughout the year.
Climate in your geographical region is a major factor that will influence average peak sun hours per year. If you live in a region that does not have a lot of completely sunny days, then cloud coverage will greatly influence solar insolation on any given day. Mountains and trees may also contribute to lower solar insolation if they block the sun from your panels at any given point of the day.
By taking the latitude of Oak Grove one can get a close estimate of the amount of average peak sun hours per day for the geographical area. It varies with technology and the type of solar panel mount you use, but for a fixed mount solar panel in Oak Grove one can expect close to 5 average peak sun hours per day. With a 1-axis tracking mount you would get 6.2 hours per day, and 6.6 hours per day with a 2-axis tracking mount that tracks the sun everywhere in the sky.
Helpful & Interesting
Is solar tax credit refundable or nonrefundable?
A tax credit directly reduces your tax, dollar for dollar. If you are supposed to pay $5,000 in tax, a $500 tax credit reduces your tax to $4,500. On the other hand, a tax deduction reduces your taxable income, which indirectly reduces your tax. If you are supposed to pay $5,000 in tax, a $500 tax deduction reduces your taxable income by $500. If you are in the 15% marginal tax bracket, it reduces your tax by only $500 * 15% = $75. Therefore a $100 tax credit is worth a lot more than a $100 tax deduction.