Blacksburg Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours

Solar Green Energy Summary for Blacksburg, Virginia

Lattitude: 37.23

Sunlight

Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 4.6 hours per day

1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.1 hours per day

2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.3 hours per day

Peak sun hours is arguably the most important number to consider before installing your solar panels. Unlike total sun hours, peak sun hours are calculated by looking at the amount of sunlight hours in a 24 hour period that is strong enough to be absorb by a solar panel. One way to imagine peak sun hours is to think about a solar powered calculator you owned in school. If you covered the solar panel with your finger, or tried to use the calculator in the dark, the calculator would not work. As you slowly exposed the calculator to light the calculator would eventually turn on and be usable. The same is true with peak sun hours; these are the hours that your solar panels receive enough sunlight to work. Looking at the average peak sunlight hours of 4.6 per day can help you determine the amount of solar panels you need to install to power your home or business in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Knowing that the latitude of Blacksburg is 37.2 can be helpful for understanding total sunlight hour variance. As you approach the equator latitude approaches zero. The closer the latitude is to zero, the more consistent the daily sunlight hours are throughout the year. Total sunlight hour consistency simply makes planning for your solar power needs easier, but it is certainly not a requirement.

You will notice that the average peak sun hours for Blacksburg change based on the type of panel being used. The reason for this is quite simple. A fixed panel does exactly what it sounds like, remains fixed in one position at all times. A 1-axis and 2-axis panels have axis that allow them to rotate. The 1-axis rotates with the sun's daily east to west movement while a 2-axis also adjusts for seasonal changes.

Although weather predicting technology has greatly evolved over time, it is still a rather unpredictable factor that will affect the amount of peak sun hours your solar power system will receive. Cloudy days for example will usually have lower peak sun hours that a clear sunny day. And areas that usually have more average sunny days per year will probably have higher peak sun hours that areas that are often overcast or stormy.

By taking the latitude of Blacksburg 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 Blacksburg one can expect close to 4.6 average peak sun hours per day. With a 1-axis tracking mount you would get 6.1 hours per day, and 6.3 hours per day with a 2-axis tracking mount that tracks the sun everywhere in the sky.


Solar Businesses in Blacksburg, Virginia

3451 Cameo Ln
Blacksburg, VA 24060
(540) 961-5120
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1711 N Main St
Blacksburg, VA 24060
(540) 552-1511
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