Zuni Pueblo Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours
Solar Green Energy Summary for Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico
Lattitude: 35.0708
Sunlight
Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6 hours per day
1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 8 hours per day
2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 8.3 hours per day
If you put your solar powered math calculator in your backpack it will turn off from the lack of sunlight needed to power the device. As you slowly open your backpack and begin to let sunlight in, the calculator will eventually turn on when the amount of sunlight is enough to power the calculator. Similarly, peak sun hours refer to the hours of they day where the sunlight is strong enough to power a solar panel. This is different from total sunlight hours, which is simply the amount of hours in a day when there is any sunlight.
Sunlight hits the earth directly at the equator. This is why the equator has a latitude of zero degrees. The latitude of Zuni Pueblo is 35.1. Knowing the latitude of Zuni Pueblo 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.
Since a fixed solar panel is set in one position it is ideal to place it at an angle that will expose the panel to the most sunlight throughout the year. This angle is generally the same angle of your latitude which is 35.1 for Zuni Pueblo. You do not need to strategically place a 1-axis or 2-axis panel as much as you do a fixed panel. A 1-axis panel follows the movement of the sun during the day. Additionally, a 2-axis panel also adjusts for the suns various positions in the sky throughout the year.
The sunrise and sunset is very predictable every day, but things like cloud coverage and weather are less predictable and vary daily and annually. If a location that is usually very sunny experiences a huge increase in storms and cloud coverage in a given year than the average peak sun hours for that day or year will probably decrease. Tall objects such as trees and buildings can block out the sun during high solar insolation times, so be sure to strategically place your solar panels to get better efficiency.
Since we know the latitude of Zuni Pueblo we can take the average amount of total sunlight hours and estimate that with a fixed solar panel there would be an average of 6 peak sun hours per day. 8 hours per day with a 1-axis tracking mount that tracks the sun from sunrise to sunset, and 8.3 hours with a 2-axis tracking mount that tracks the sun everywhere in the sky.