La Union Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours
Solar Green Energy Summary for La Union, New Mexico
Lattitude: 31.9507
Sunlight
Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.1 hours per day
1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 7.7 hours per day
2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 8.2 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 6.1 per day can help you determine the amount of solar panels you need to install to power your home or business in La Union, New Mexico.
The equator has a latitude of zero while La Union has a latitude of 32.0. 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.
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.
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.
We can use previous years of data to estimate the amount of peak sun hours in La Union. A fixed tilt mount for example will receive 6.1 average hours per day. For more efficiency for your system in La Union you could use a 1-axis tracking mount and increase your daily peak sun average to 7.7 hours, or even further with a 2-axis panel to get an average of 8.2 hours.