Pinetop-Lakeside Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours
Solar Green Energy Summary for Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona
Lattitude: 34.1486
Sunlight
Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.2 hours per day
1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 8.3 hours per day
2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 8.7 hours per day
When trying to calculate your solar power needs there are a variety of factors to consider. Panel type and location, electricity needs, number of panels needed etc. One key to figuring out the math is factoring in the average peak sunlight hours in a day. Unlike total sunlight hours, peak sunlight hours are only when the sun is strong enough to power your solar panel. Using this number can help determine your needs to power your home or business in Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona.
Knowing the latitude of Pinetop-Lakeside will help estimate average peak sun hours for your area. The latitude is used to accurately estimate the time of sunrise and sunset, thus giving you the total hours of daylight each day. Once you know the total hours of daylight, you can estimate the amount of peak sun hours based on a number of variables such as weather, time of year, the angle of the solar panel.
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.
There are more variables than latitude that can change average peak sun hours. Weather patterns and geography will influence solar insolation that reaches your system. Thick grey storm clouds for example will block out a lot of the sun to the point where there may be no peak sun hours in the middle of the day when the sun is usually very powerful. Trees and mountains can deflect the sunlight, so be sure your solar panel is selectively placed.
We can use previous years of data to estimate the amount of peak sun hours in Pinetop-Lakeside. A fixed tilt mount for example will receive 6.2 average hours per day. For more efficiency for your system in Pinetop-Lakeside you could use a 1-axis tracking mount and increase your daily peak sun average to 8.3 hours, or even further with a 2-axis panel to get an average of 8.7 hours.