Dot Lake Village Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours
Solar Green Energy Summary for Dot Lake Village, Alaska
Lattitude: 63.6622
Sunlight
Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 3.2 hours per day
1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 3.6 hours per day
2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 4.9 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 3.2 per day can help you determine the amount of solar panels you need to install to power your home or business in Dot Lake Village, Alaska.
Sunlight hits the earth directly at the equator. This is why the equator has a latitude of zero degrees. The latitude of Dot Lake Village is 63.7. Knowing the latitude of Dot Lake Village 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.
Depending on your output needs, to get more out of your solar panels you can either upgrade your technology, buy more panels, or buy different tracking type panels. A fixed solar panel remains fixed at one angle throughout the year. A 1-axis panel will produce more output because it follows the path of the sun from sunrise to sunset to maximize sun exposure. Even more productive is a 2-axis panel that not only follows the sun's path throughout the day, but also accounts for the more subtle sun changes throughout the year with the different seasons.
Looking at latitude, average peak sun hours and various data can obviously help when planning for your solar power needs. The one thing you can never fully account for is changing weather. Storms, rain, cloud coverage all have an impact on solar panel capabilities.
In Dot Lake Village the average yearly peak sun hours for a fixed tilt non-tracking solar panel mount is 3.2. This is for a fixed panel mounted at an angle that is equal to the latitude of the location for the entire year. The amount of peak sun hours increases to 3.6 hours if you are using a 1-axis panel, and to 4.9 hours if you upgrade to a 2-axis solar panel.