Silver Lakes Solar Power Information & Peak Sun Hours
Solar Green Energy Summary for Silver Lakes, California
Lattitude: 34.7519
Sunlight
Fixed Tilt Sunlight Hours: 6.6 hours per day
1-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 9.1 hours per day
2-Axis Tilt Sunlight Hours: 9.4 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.
Although you can easily predict sunrise and sunset hours each day to the minute, looking at latitude can help with your solar planning. The closer you get to the equator the closer your latitude gets to zero. Sunlight hours on the equator are consistent throughout the entire year. Places further from the equator can have large variance in daily sunlight. For example higher latitudes can have very long summer days with lots of sunlight and very dark winters. The latitude of Silver Lakes is 34.8.
You will notice that the average peak sun hours for Silver Lakes change based on the type of panel being used. The reason for this is quite simple. A fixed panel does exactly what it sounds like, remains fixed in one position at all times. A 1-axis and 2-axis panels have axis that allow them to rotate. The 1-axis rotates with the sun's daily east to west movement while a 2-axis also adjusts for seasonal changes.
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.
In Silver Lakes you can look at the average peak sun hours of a fixed solar panel mount, which will be 6.6 hours. This number iis an estimate based on data of previous years. With a tracking mount in Silver Lakes you could theoretically increase the amount of peak sun hours per with a 1-axis mount, and get 9.1 hours, or a 2-axis mount and potentially increase your average to 9.4 hours.