Parkdale Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours
Solar Green Energy Summary for Parkdale, Missouri
Lattitude: 38.4795
Sunlight
Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 5 hours per day
1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 5.9 hours per day
2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.7 hours per day
Looking at the average peak sunlight hours in Parkdale is a valuable number for determining your solar power setup. Peak sunlight hours are only the hours a day in which the sunlight is strong enough for the solar panels to do their job. Not every hour of sunlight was created equal. For example, solar panels do not provide much use during early sunrise and sunset, and therefore you should not look at total hours of sunlight in a day, but instead focus on peak sunlight hours. Using this number will provide a much better estimate of your needs for setting up panels in Parkdale, Missouri.
Sunlight hits the earth directly at the equator. This is why the equator has a latitude of zero degrees. The latitude of Parkdale is 38.5. Knowing the latitude of Parkdale can help you plan for your solar panel setup, as the larger the latitude the more variance you will see throughout the year for total daily sunlight hours.
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.
Another reason to consider average peak sun hours is because weather can dramatically affect the day-to-day output of solar panels. It goes without saying that a dark stormy day will produce less output than a clear sunny day. Looking at a yearly average helps account for these daily variables.
We can use previous years of data to estimate the amount of peak sun hours in Parkdale. A fixed tilt mount for example will receive 5 average hours per day. For more efficiency for your system in Parkdale you could use a 1-axis tracking mount and increase your daily peak sun average to 5.9 hours, or even further with a 2-axis panel to get an average of 6.7 hours.