Coupeville Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours

Solar Green Energy Summary for Coupeville, Washington

Lattitude: 48.2172

Sunlight

Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 3.7 hours per day

1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 4.5 hours per day

2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.1 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 3.7 per day can help you determine the amount of solar panels you need to install to power your home or business in Coupeville, Washington.

Your latitude is an indicator of when the sunrises and sunsets and certain times of the year. If you live near the equator with a latitude of near zero, the sun will rise and set close to the same time all year resulting in consistent total sunlight hours per day. If you live near the poles, the time of sunrise and sunset will vary dramatically with each season, resulting in long days for part of the year and very short days at other times. So, locations closer to the equator will have more consistent amounts of peak sun hours throughout the year than locations closer to the poles.

The sun moves through the sky during the day, and changes positions in the sky throughout the year as the seasons change. A fixed solar panel remains fixed in position during this movement. So, although it is effective in capturing sunlight, a 1-axis or 2-axis panel can be more efficient. A 1-axis panel tracks the sun's movement throughout the day from sunrise to sunset. In addition to that, the 2-axis panel also accounts for the movement throughout the year.

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 Coupeville 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 Coupeville one can expect close to 3.7 average peak sun hours per day. With a 1-axis tracking mount you would get 4.5 hours per day, and 6.1 hours per day with a 2-axis tracking mount that tracks the sun everywhere in the sky.


Solar Businesses in Coupeville, Washington

987 W Wanamaker Rd
Coupeville, WA 98239
(360) 678-7131
Visit Website



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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