Cross Plains Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours

Solar Green Energy Summary for Cross Plains, Wisconsin

Lattitude: 43.1147

Sunlight

Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 4.5 hours per day

1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 5.7 hours per day

2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 5.9 hours per day

Peak sun hours is one of the most important criteria to examine when considering installing a solar power system. Peak sun hours are different than total sunlight hours in a day because the strength of the radiation of the sun varies throughout the day. For example, during sunrise and sunset the solar insolation from the sun is less powerful than at noon. For a moment of sunshine to be considered a peak sun hour the intensity needs to be at least 1 kilowatt per square meter. This means that a square meter of your solar panel should be receiving 1 kilowatt of energy from the sun. This number is used because it is an amount of light that allows a solar panel to produce output efficiently and not under perform due to lack of sunlight power.

The equator has a latitude of zero while Cross Plains has a latitude of 43.1. 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.

Peak sun hours are greatly affected by weather patterns. Cloud coverage is a huge factor in peak sun hours per day because heavy cloud coverage will diminish the power of the solar insolation. You can use historical climate data to estimate average cloud and weather coverage, but it will obviously vary slightly from year to year.

By taking the latitude of Cross Plains 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 Cross Plains one can expect close to 4.5 average peak sun hours per day. With a 1-axis tracking mount you would get 5.7 hours per day, and 5.9 hours per day with a 2-axis tracking mount that tracks the sun everywhere in the sky.


Solar Businesses in Cross Plains, Wisconsin




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